When you design a questionnaire or survey tool for your research study, there are many things that are significant to consider before finalizing it. This is because you need the right kind of responses from your subjects that are also relevant to your study. Here we discuss some ways in which you can design a standardized tool to gain proper data.
Check Your Objectives
Relevant data can only be gathered when you are clear about your needs and requirements. Check the demands of your work, as well as data collection. See what the goals of your research are and accordingly design the questionnaire. In order for your data to be relevant, make sure that you have only included non-redundant questions in your tool that can help you elicit the apt responses from your subjects.
Understand Your Subjects and Study Type
It is important to design questions according to your study type that can be qualitative or quantitative. Not all kinds of tools work in both these types of studies. The application of the tool may vary according to your work and subjects of investigation. Thus, you should also carefully understand your respondents before you develop questions for them. Avoid personal questions if your subject type does not make them seem right.
Look at the Application Technique
If you design a questionnaire for personal interviews, it may not be useful when you decide to email the same questionnaire to respondents. Thus, it is critical to see the mode of application of your tool before you settle down creating a right one.
Stay Simple and Reliable
Instead of using complex language or beating around the bush, ensure that your questions to your subjects are simple and direct. Thus, write crisply and ethically. In addition, check the validity and reliability of your questionnaire by applying it on a sample before you actually use it in your study.