1- 1 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia PART THREE Chapter 7 Questionnaire Design, Measurement and Scaling
1- 1 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
PART THREE
Chapter 7
Questionnaire Design,
Measurement and Scaling
7-2 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
Explain the purpose of a questionnaire.
Describe the process of designing a questionnaire.
Understand the concepts of measurement and scaling.
Discuss the primary scales of measurement.
Classify and discuss scaling techniques as comparative and non-comparative.
Describe the various comparative and non-comparative scaling techniques.
Discuss the decisions involved in constructing itemised rating.
7-3 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Questionnaires and Observation forms
Standardise data collection for survey and
observation, respectively.
Ensure comparability of the data, increase speed
and accuracy of recording and facilitate data
processing.
Definition
Formalised set of questions for obtaining
information from respondents
7-4 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Objectives of a Questionnaire
Translate the information needed into a set of
specific questions that the respondents can and
will answer
To uplift, motivate, and encourage the
respondent to become involved in the interview,
to cooperate, and to complete the interview
Questionnaires should minimise response error
7-5 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Figure 7.1 Questionnaire Design Process
Specify the information needed
Specify the type of interviewing method
Determine the content of individual questions
Design the questions to overcome the respondent’s inability and unwillingness to answer
Decide on the question structure
Determine the question wording
Arrange questions in proper order
Identify the form and layout
Reproduce the questionnaire
Eliminate bugs by pretesting
7-6 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Specify the Information Needed
Consider the constructs
[theory, hypotheses/research question
developed earlier]
Keep in mind the target population and ask
questions appropriately
[tertiary educated may have different levels of
understanding compared with migrant groups]
7-7 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Type of Interviewing Method
Personal interviews
Lengthy, complex and varied questions
Telephone interviews
Short and simple questions
Mail questionnaire
Simple questions, detailed instructions
7-8 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Individual Question Content
Is the question necessary?
Every question should contribute to the
information needed or serve some
specific purpose.
[questions to develop rapport, questions which
disguise the purpose or sponsorship of the project,
questions may be duplicated for the purpose of
assessing reliability or validity]
7-9 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Individual Question Content cont.
Are several questions needed instead of one?
Avoid ambiguity and double barrel questions.
Are you fit and healthy?
Do you prefer to patronise a department store
close to your home or work?
7-10 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Overcoming Inability to answer
Is the respondent informed?
Filter questions are often used to ascertain
familiarity, product use and past experience
Are you the main grocery buyer in the household?
Have you purchased car tyres in the last 3 months?
7-11 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Overcoming Inability to answer cont.
Can the respondent remember?
Inability to remember can lead to
Errors of omission
Telescoping
Creation
The ability to remember events are influenced by
the event itself
time elapsed since the event
presence/absence of other events that would
help memory
7-12 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Overcoming Inability to answer cont.
Can the respondent articulate?
Respondents may be unable to describe the
situation accurately
Inability to articulate may lead to
respondents ignoring questions
refusing to respond to the rest of the
questionnaire
7-13 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Overcoming Unwillingness to Answer
Effort required of the respondent
Unwilling to devote a lot of effort to provide
information
Context
Unwilling to respond to questions which are
considered inappropriate for the given context
7-14 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Overcoming Unwillingness to Answer cont.
Legitimate Purpose
Unwilling to divulge information which they do
not see as serving a legitimate purpose
Sensitive information
Unwilling to disclose sensitive information
because this may cause embarrassment or
threaten the respondent’s prestige/ self-image
7-15 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Increasing the willingness of respondents
Place sensitive topics at the end of the
questionnaire
Preface the question with a statement that the
behaviour of interest is common
Ask the question using the 3rd person technique
Provide response categories rather than asking
for specific figures
Use randomised techniques
7-16 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Structure
Unstructured questions
Open-ended questions that respondents answer
in their own words
Express general attitude
Interviewer bias is high
Coding is costly and time consuming
What were you expecting by attending this event?
7-17 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Structure cont.
Structured questions
Specify the set of response alternatives and the
response format
Types: multiple-choice, dichotomous, or a scale
7-18 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Structure cont.
Multiple-choice questions
Respondents are asked to select one or more alternative
Which of the following people had an influence on your
choice of university?
None
Parents
Friends
Ex-Uni student
Teachers at secondary school
Careers teachers at secondary school
Colleagues
Other please specify………………….
7-19 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Structure cont.
Dichotomous questions
Only two response alternatives
Have you stayed in Japan?
Yes No
7-20 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Structure cont.
Scale
Can be comparative or non-comparative
Do you intend to buy a new computer within the next 6
months?
Definitely Probably Undecided Probably Definitely
will not buy will not buy will buy will buy
1 2 3 4 5
7-21 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Structure cont.
About structured question
Can be administered quickly
Coding and processing is less costly and less
time consuming
Effort required in designing alternatives
May require exploratory research for determining
choices
Bias response because people pick alternatives
offered
Potential order bias
7-22 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Wording
Define the issue
Define the issue by considering
6 Ws
Use ordinary words
Match the vocabulary level of the respondents
Avoid jargon and technical marketing words
Avoid ambiguous words
The word should have a single meaning which is
known to the respondents
7-23 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Wording cont.
Avoid leading or biasing questions
Avoid clues which will lead the respondent to
answer in a particular way
Avoid implicit alternatives
Alternatives should be explicitly stated
Avoid implicit assumptions
Implicit assumptions about what will happen as a
consequence
7-24 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Choosing Question Wording cont.
Avoid generalisations and estimates
Respondents should not have to make
generalisation, only specific questions should be
asked
Use dual statements – positive and negative
Avoid bias by altering statements
7-25 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Determining the Order of Questions
Opening Questions
Important in gaining confidence and co-
operation of respondents
Questions should be interesting and non-
threatening
Could be qualifying question
7-26 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Determining the Order of Questions cont.
Type of Information
Basic
Classification
Identification
7-27 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Determining the Order of Questions cont.
Difficult questions
Sensitive, embarrassing, complex or dull
questions should be placed late in the sequence
Effect on subsequent question
Questions asked early in a sequence can
influence the responses to subsequent
questions
7-28 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Determining the Order of Questions cont.
Logical order
All questions that deal with a particular
issue/topic should be asked before proceeding
to a new topic
Use branching questions to direct respondents
to other questions
7-29 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Figure 7.2 Flowchart for questionnaire design
7-30 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Form and Layout
Format, spacing and position are important
A questionnaire can be divided into several parts
All questions should be numbered
Questionnaires are sometimes pre-coded where
each possible response to a question is
associated with a unique number (or letter)
Questionnaire should be serially numbered
7-31 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Reproduction of the Questionnaire
Use good quality paper and have a professional
appearance
Consider using booklet if the questionnaire runs
to several pages
Avoid splitting a question and response
categories over two pages
Use single columns for response categories
Avoid overcrowding questions
Directions or instructions for individual
questions should be placed close to the
questions as possible eg [PROBING]
7-32 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Pre-testing
Testing the questionnaire on a small sample of
respondents to identify and eliminate potential
problems with [Question content, wording,
sequence, form and layout, question difficulty,
instruction]
Use protocol analysis or debriefing
After each significant revision of the
questionnaire, another pre-test should be
performed with a different sample
Responses obtained should be coded and
analyses
7-33 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Observational forms
Specify the who, what when, where, why and way
of behaviour to be observed
Offers consistency, structure, completeness
7-34 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Measurement and Scaling
Measurement
Assigning numbers (symbols) to certain
characteristics of objects according to certain
pre-specified rules
Scaling
Creating a continuum upon which measured
objects are located
7-35 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Primary Scales of Measurement
N ominal
O rdinal
I nterval
R atio
7-36 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Table 7.2 Primary Scales of Measurement
Scale Basic
Characteristics
Marketing
Examples
Descriptive
Statistics
Inferential
Statistics
No
min
al
Numbers identify
and classify
objects
Brand numbers,
store types,
gender
classification
Percentage,
mode
Chi-square,
binominal test
Ord
ina
l
Numbers indicate
relative position
not magnitude
Preference
rankings, market
position, social
class
Percentile,
median
Rank order
correlation,
Friedman
ANOVA
Inte
rval
Differences
between objects
can be compared
Attitudes,
opinions, index
numbers
Range,
mean,
standard
deviation
Correlations, t
tests, ANOVA,
regression,
factor analysis
Ratio
Zero point is fixed;
ratios of scale
values can be
computed
Age, income,
costs, sales,
market share
Geometric
mean,
harmonic
mean
Coefficient of
variation
7-37 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Figure 7.3 A Classification of Scaling Techniques
7-38 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Comparative Scaling Techniques
Paired comparison scaling
A respondent is presented with two objects and asked to select one accordingly to some criterion
Do you prefer Qantas or Virgin Blue?
Ordinal in nature
Analysis: percentages of respondents; transitivity of preference
Modifications: include a neutral / no opinion response; graded comparison where respondent is asked which brand is preferred and how much it is preferred
7-39 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Rank order scaling
A respondent is presented with several objects simultaneously and asked to rank them
Place a 1 beside your most preferred soft drink; 2…
Diet Pepsi
Pepsi
AC Cola
Coke
Ordinal in nature
Used to measure preferences for brands and attributes
7-40 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Constant sum scaling
A respondent is allocated a constant sum of units such as points among alternatives presented
Average is taken from all respondents
Ordinal in nature
Factors important when buying a car No of points
Style 20
Ride 10
Economical 25
Warranty 5
Price 40
Friendly Dealer 0
-------
100
7-41 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Q-sort
Rank order procedure where objects are sorted
into piles based on similarity with respect to some
criterion
Number of objects between 60 and 90 can be
ranked
Pre-specified number in each class
Each object is than assigned a rank order
7-42 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques
Continuous rating scale Respondents rate objects by placing a mark at the
appropriate position on a line that runs from one extreme of
the criterion variable to the other.
Interval data
Easy to construct but scoring is cumbersome and unreliable
To what extent do you involve your children in family decision making?
Not at all Extremely involved
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Alternatively, mark with an X
7-43 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Example: Rapid Analysis and Testing Environment
RATE is a continuous measurement of “gut reaction”.
Roy Morgan’s The Worm can measure response to
concept testing, advertising, even election debates.
Between 50 to 100 respondents are provided with a
Worming dial and asked to record their reaction to the
material being tested.
The information is fed into a computer which tabulates
second-by-second response profiles. The responses are
also stored in a data file for further analysis.
Respondent demographics are obtained via a
questionnaire and used to cross-tab the key information.
Source: www.roymorgan.com
7-44 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Itemised
rating
scales
Likert scales
Semantic
differential
scale
Stapel
scale
7-45 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Likert Scale
Respondents indicate a degree of agreement or
disagreement [5 response alternatives] with each of a series
of statements about a stimulus object
Str
on
gly
dis
ag
ree
Dis
ag
ree
Ne
ith
er
ag
ree
no
r
dis
ag
ree
A
gre
e
Str
on
gly
Ag
ree
The website displays is visually pleasing design 1 2 3 4 5
Learning to operate the website is easy for me 1 2 3 4 5
The website is innovative 1 2 3 4 5
The website loads quickly 1 2 3 4 5
I trust the website to keep my personal information
safe
1 2 3 4 5
Shopping at this website is usually a satisfying
experience
1 2 3 4 5
I will continue to purchase from this Website. 1 2 3 4 5
7-46 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Semantic differential Scale
Seven point rating scale with end points associated with bipolar
labels that have semantic meaning
Used in comparing brand, product and company images
Please evaluate the quality of Australian designed cars by placing an X
on the blank that best indicates your feelings
Unimaginative _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Creative
Unattractive _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Attractive
Obsolete _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ State-of-the-art
Inefficient _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Efficient
Common _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Exclusive
Poor Performance _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Excellent Performance
Inferior Product design _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Superior Product Design
7-47 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Non-Comparative Scaling Techniques cont.
Stapel Scale
Unipolar rating scale with 10 categories without a neutral
point
Respondents indicate by selecting an appropriate numerical
response category how accurately or inaccurately each term
describes the objects
No need to pre-test adjectives
The website displays is visually pleasing design -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
The website is innovative -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
The website is creative -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
The website loads quickly -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
I feel safe in my transactions with the website -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5
7-48 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Non-Comparative Itemised Rating Scale
Decisions
Number of scale categories
Balanced versus unbalanced scales
Odd or even number of categories
Forced versus non-forced scales
Nature and degree of verbal description
Physical form or configuration
7-49 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Number of scale categories
5-point scale
The website is innovative
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Agree
• Strongly Agree
7-point scale
The website is innovative
• Strongly disagree
• Disagree
• Disagree somewhat
• Neither agree nor disagree
• Agree somewhat
• Agree
• Strongly agree
7-50 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Balanced versus unbalanced scales
Balanced
How important is price, as far as you are concerned?
• Very important
• Of some importance
• Of little importance
• Of absolutely no
importance
Unbalanced scales
How important is price, as far as you are concerned?
• Very important
• Of some importance
• Of little importance
• Of absolutely no
importance
7-51 Malhotra Hall Shaw Oppenheim Essentials of Marketing Research © Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Australia
Forced versus non-forced scales
Forced scales
In general how interested
are you in trying a new
brand of toothpaste?
• Very interested
• Somewhat interested
• Not too interested
• Not at all interested
Non-forced scales
In general how interested
are you in trying a new
brand of toothpaste?
• Very interested
• Somewhat interested
• Unsure
• Not too interested
• Not at all interested