Decisions Below Are Six Questions

¶ … Decisions

Below are six questions that might be found on questionnaires. Comment on each as to whether or not it is a good question. If it is not, explain why. (Assume that no lead- in or screening questions are required. Judge each question on its own merits.)

Do you read National Geographic magazine regularly?

This question is too general in the information is asks for. First, we need to assume that the people answering the question read National Geographic at all. If they answer "no" does that mean that they never read the magazine or that they do not read it "regularly." The other problem with the question is that "regularly" is completely undefined. For some people, reading a magazine regularly is reading every single issue; for others it may be reading it six times a year or even less often. To gather useful data, the question needs to be rewritten into a two-part question. First, do you read National Geographic (yes or no) and second, how often do you read the magazine (multiple answers available.)

b. What percentage of your time is spent asking for information from others in your organization?

This question may be easily misunderstood by survey-takers because "percentage of your time" is not easy to quantify and people may use different methods of calculation to come up with their answers. One employee may figure the percentage based on his entire eight-hour day while another may base hers just on the time she actually works at her desk. It is also unclear what "asking for information" means. Do phone calls count? E-mails? Text messages? How does one quantify the time it takes to send an instant message to a colleague. A better form for the question would be to list the different methods of asking for information and to have employees answer how many times a day they use each method.

c. When did you first start chewing gum?

Again, the question assumes that the survey-taker chews gum at all. Second, the question gives no time frame. Do they mean the first time you ever chewed gum, the first time you chewed a certain brand of gum?

d. How much discretionary buying power do you have each year?

This question doesn't define what "discretionary buying power" is -- is the survey-taker supposed to answer in a dollar amount? It would be better to have a multiple choice question with ranges of dollar amounts to choose from. With this method, the survey designer can set the ranges in a way that is most useful for their needs.

e. Why did you decide to attend Big State University?