It assumes that the respondent fills out the questionnaire in the presence of the questionnaire or without him, less often the questionnaire fills out the questionnaire according to the interviewee. The form of the survey can be individual or group, when a significant number of people can be interviewed in a relatively short time. The survey is also full-time and by correspondence - in the form of a mail survey; survey through a newspaper, magazine, computer network.

Questionnaire is the main tool and is a sociological document containing a structurally organized set of questions, each of which is associated with the objectives of the ongoing . This relationship is expressed in the need to obtain information that reflects the characteristics of the object under study.

The questionnaire has a certain structure, where the important elements are: the introductory part, the "passport", the main part.

Introductory part. Formation of the questionnaire should begin with the title page, which must indicate the name of the questionnaire, reflecting the topic or problem of the survey, the place and year of issue of the questionnaire, as well as the name of the organization conducting the survey. For example:

applied research

"Dynamics of integration of internally displaced persons into the local community"

Stavropol, 2006

Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The introductory part usually briefly explains the goals and objectives of the survey, its significance and prospects for using the results. It also explains the rules for filling out the questionnaire, it must be indicated that the survey is anonymous. An example of an introductory part:

Hello!

We invite you to take part in the discussion of the problems of integration of forced psrssslsns into the local community in the territory of the region. We appeal to you, because no one can convey deeper and more accurately how this happens. We also hope to receive answers to similar questions from representatives of various population groups living in our region. Your sincere responses will encourage openness in your interactions with the local population.

Attention! To fill out the questionnaire, you need to choose the answer option that corresponds to your opinion and circle the number that indicates this option. You can also add your answer on the line provided for this. It is not necessary to sign the form.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Some rules for filling out and registering answers can be placed separately, in the text itself, consisting of separate questions of the main part of the questionnaire. For example, it could be an indication of how many answers can be selected in a particular question ("Please select one answer" or "Check all that apply").

"Passport" consists of questions relating to socio-demographic and other characteristics of the respondent. As a rule, it is placed either at the beginning of the questionnaire or at its end, and in the latter case ends with an expression of gratitude to the respondent for participating in the survey. Some researchers believe that the “passport” at the very beginning of the questionnaire can cause distrust in the sociologist and doubt the actual anonymity of the survey and, accordingly, affect the sincerity of the answers. At the same time, the location of the “passport” at the beginning of the questionnaire is justified psychologically, since it allows you to gradually increase the complexity of the questions.

Main part The questionnaire consists of questions related to the goals and objectives of the study, as well as the very procedure for filling out the questionnaire. The sequence of questions, their wording, graphic design are of great importance. Questions and answer options, as a rule, are proposed to be highlighted in font, number, frames. The text of the questionnaire is usually adapted to the level of culture and education of the respondents. It is possible to use diagrams, graphs that can activate the attention of survey participants.

When compiling questions questionnaires should be guided by requirements that are proven in practice and increase their validity and reliability of the questionnaire.

Questionnaire questions

In the study on the integration of forced migrants, in particular, it was decided to find out the reasons why migrants decided to move to the Stavropol Territory (Table 1.3). In the study, all answers were divided into economic, socio-cultural, geopolitical, geographical and psychological ones according to their nature. Obviously, migrants are attracted to the Stavropol Territory primarily for economic reasons (the opportunity to earn money). Almost the same number of respondents have relatives in the region, which also facilitated labor migration.

Table 1.3. Reasons for migrants to move to work in the Stavropol Territory, %

Reason for entering the region		Reasons for moving
Opportunity to earn more than in other regions of Russia		Economic
Easier to find a job than in other regions of Russia
I have relatives		Sociocultural
Familiar with the local culture
Presence of a national diaspora
The proximity of the Stavropol Territory to the borders of your state		Geopolitical
Favorable climatic conditions		Geographic
Everyone came here, maybe I'll stay alive		Psychological

The sum of the answers in the column of the table. 1.3 exceeds 100% because the respondents could choose more than one option. Thus, uncontested questions were put before them. If respondents were asked to choose only one answer, which determines the reasons for moving, then the sum of the answers would be 100%. In that case the question would be alternative. Here is a simple example of an alternative question:

Do you regret taking on the job?

Hard to say - 20%

Total - 100%

The examples given show that there are questions alternative and non-alternative. In addition, they contain explicit prompts ("yes" or "no"), as well as a "menu" for answers. Therefore, such questions are called closed. There are also semi-closed questions that allow the respondent to complete the “menu”. In this case, there are options for coding additional responses at the end of the responses provided.

What is your family's income?

Wage.

Scholarship.

Other (write down)

Sociologists use and open questions, such that do not provide clues. With open questions, the respondent has the opportunity to freely and fully express his opinion, and the sociologist has the opportunity to collect rich information. So, to the open question “What do you dislike the most in your work? (write)” the respondent is free to choose and formulate the answer, for example: “payment conditions”, “working conditions”, “relationship with management”, etc.

For the researcher, the main inconvenience of open questions lies in the difficulties of their formalization and, accordingly, subsequent processing. Answering the question, the respondent is guided solely by his own ideas. Naturally, the answers received are individual and varied, therefore, an open question is used in cases where complete information is needed about the respondent's ideas on the problem under study, his vocabulary, and ability to argue. In addition, the respondent is more willing to answer the question if he considers himself competent and interested in the area under study. If this area is little known to him, then he either evades answers or gives deliberately low-quality information.

So, when choosing the form of the question, it is advisable to consider:

• the specifics of the study: closed questions are preferable for identifying facts and opinions that involve a certain list of possible answers, and open questions are preferable when collecting richer and more individualized information;
• features of the subsequent processing of answers: in the closed form of the question, the respondent, marking one of the alternatives, simultaneously encodes it, which greatly simplifies further processing, and in the open form, the researcher himself has to encode all the variety of answers, ultimately reducing them to a certain limited number of the most frequently repeated answers.

Other types of questions

Any questionnaire contains questions aimed at collecting materials in accordance with the main task of the researcher, therefore questions of this type are called basic. However, practice shows that in surveys it is necessary to check the sincerity of the respondent (control questions), as well as to identify data on a certain part of the respondents (filter questions). Control and "filter" questions are called minor, secondary.

test questions are located either immediately after the main ones, or somewhat later. For example, if the main question is: “Do you know about the causes of conflict in the enterprise?”, Then the control question could be the following: “Which of the causes of conflict in the enterprise do you consider the main ones?” Suppose that the respondent answered negatively to the main question, and positively to the control one, and listed several conflicts: in this case, there is doubt about the thoroughness of filling out the questionnaire or the sincerity of the respondent.

Filter Questions they are asked in order to separate the one part of the respondents that is of interest to the sociologist from other respondents. So, when studying the opinions of students about military service, you can enter a filter question about the experience of students who served in the army. For example, "Are you familiar in practice with the army" hazing "?". This filter question will immediately select from the entire array of respondents those who can later be asked questions about the manifestations of hazing.

Question wording relating to the study of people's opinions and attitudes is extremely important. An “optimal” question is the one whose wording does not affect the distribution of answers while maintaining a pre-prepared list of their possible options. In practice, there are always significant biases in the responses.

Researcher E. Neumann illustrates the significance of the wording of the questionnaire as follows:

1st wording of the question: “Do you think that all workers at the enterprise should be members of the trade union?”

2nd wording of the question: “Do you think that at the enterprise all workers should be members of the trade union, or should everyone decide for himself whether to be a member of the trade union or not?”

The answers of the respondents at first glance seem unexpected (Table 1.4). It turned out that when the alternative was introduced in the 2nd formulation, the shift in explicit answers was significant, and the uncertain answer drops to 6%.

Table 1.4. The significance of the wording of the question in determining the nature of the answer, %

Special studies have revealed several features and trends associated with the wording of the question, depending on the type of survey. In particular, the so-called question-menu presents the respondent with a set of alternatives, in which he must choose one (or several) possible answers. It turned out that most often the alternative was chosen if it was at the beginning, at the bottom or in the middle of the list.

When the researcher chooses a scale question, the "start effect" noted above is preserved. In this case, the direct scale of the form:

• I completely agree
• I agree
• Disagree
• Completely disagree respondents seem more natural.

The reverse scale looks like:

• Completely disagree
• Disagree
• I agree
• I completely agree

With a straight scale, the percentage of non-responders is somewhat lower than with a reverse one, only a few respondents go beyond the list proposed by them, giving their own answers. The following features have also been identified:

• in questions-menu and scale questions, the “beginning effect” is noted, i.e. relative shift of answers to the beginning of the scale (to the question asked first);
• respondents construct responses based on the proposed alternatives;
• the complexity, long length and terminological load of the question lead to the loss of stability of the distributions of answers;
• in two- or three-alternative questions, the “end effect” is noted, i.e. the alternative mentioned last has a great attraction.

Sequential arrangement of questions

The order in which questionnaires are set can also be a source of distortion. So, to the question: “Do you approve of the increase in public spending on higher education?” the majority of Russians answer, as a rule, positively. But most likely the distribution of answers will be different if this question is preceded by another, for example, "Does every person need a higher education?"

To the question "Should the Japanese government be allowed to impose restrictions on the importation of American manufactured goods into Japan?" the majority of Americans polled answered in the negative. But at the same time, 2/3 of the other equivalent group responded positively, since the question mentioned above was the question: “Should the US government be allowed to impose restrictions on the import of Japanese manufactured goods into the US?” Since the majority of the equivalent group agreed on the first question, it is logical that they also agreed that Japan has exactly the same right.

As a rule, the text of any questionnaire ends with an expression of gratitude to the respondent for participating in the survey.

Dear student!

This study is being conducted to explore your attitude to the need to be able to choose your goals in life and achieve them. The results of the study will be used to develop mechanisms for improving the quality of education and the effectiveness of the educational process.

Your sincere answers are very important for the accuracy of the solution to the problem. We thank you in advance and guarantee anonymity.

In the questions below, please tick the answer that you think is the most correct. Try to answer as frankly as possible.

Questions directly

1. In your opinion, should a person set goals for himself and achieve them?

001 Yes, a person must have a goal and try to achieve it.

002 goals need to be set only sometimes, the end result is not important.

003 no, goals are not important, you just need to live, satisfying emerging needs.

2. Do you consider yourself a purposeful person?

005 to some extent.

3. How many goals should a person have?

007 a lot, they change, new ones appear.

008 is small, they are monotonous, new ones do not appear.

009 shouldn't be there at all.

4. When you set a goal, who or what forces you to set that goal and how often?

For each item, select a frequency.

5. What is more important for you, the final result of your actions or the process of achieving the goal, the set task?

034 is more important to me than the process.

035 is more important to me than the end result.

036 both the process and the result are important.

037 absolutely nothing is important.

6. How do you feel when you achieve the desired result?

038 I feel a sense of joy and emotional uplift.

039 I am indifferent to this.

040 I am upset, (the result has been achieved - there is nothing more to strive for).

7. How do you feel when you do not achieve the desired result?

041 I am very upset, I experience a breakdown.

042 I am indifferent to this.

043 I experience an emotional and energetic rise, (I want to try again and again to achieve my goal).

8. Do you always achieve your goals?

044 always.

045 almost always.

046 sometimes.

047 is very rare.

048 never.

9. If you have goals, what are they mainly focused on?

049 to improve my financial condition.

050 to get a good education (intellectual and spiritual growth).

051 to enjoy life.

052 I don't have any goals at all.

10. If you are a purposeful person, does your purposefulness help you master the material well, get good grades, pass exams and tests?

053 yes, definitely.

054 almost always.

055 sometimes.

056 no, it doesn't help.

11. What do you think is the best way to pass the exam?

057 prepare well and pass.

058 prepare cheat sheets and use them in the exam.

059 ask the teacher for a "troika" for attending his subject.

060 use your dating.

061 Your answer

12. What motive drives you when passing an exam, test?

062 I just like to study.

063 get a good grade, transfer to the next course.

064 expectation of material benefits (the promise of parents to encourage for the successful passing of the subject; my scholarship for the next semester depends on how I pass this subject).

065 just to hand over this hated object.

13. What is your goal while studying at the university?

066 get a good education, complete graduate school, do science.

067 get a good education, become a great specialist and work in your specialty.

068 to get a diploma and "hang" from the army.

069 I went to university simply because it's prestigious.

070 Your answer

071 14. How are you going to find a job after graduation?

071 through the labor exchange.

072 sending out your resume to various organizations via the Internet.

073 using familiarity.

074 I'm already working

075 I haven't thought about it yet.

15. What kind of job would you like to get?

076 in a specialty, even a low-paid one.

077 any highly paid.

078 I will wait for a job in my specialty, but a higher paid one.

079 I will open my own business.

16. If you work in your specialty, will you improve in this area?

080 Yes, I will regularly attend advanced training courses and be interested in all the latest in my profession.

081 Yes, if I have free time for it.

082 no, I am satisfied with my initial knowledge.

17. Having received an education, a good job, what do you want to achieve in life?

083 material wealth (wealth, become a millionaire).

084 I will direct my material resources to the development of my spiritual level (travel, literature, theater).

085 I will be engaged in self-improvement, self-realization as a person (discovering new opportunities in myself, self-knowledge).

086 Your answer

18. Would you like your children to continue your work or that they have their own goals, their own paths?

087 yes, everything that I could not do, my children will do.

088 I would like my children to follow in my footsteps if they have such a desire.

089 no, everyone should have their own goal and their own ways to achieve it.

Your data:

20. Age.

092 Specify

21. What course are you a student of?

093 Specify

22. Form of study:

094 paid.

095 budget.

23. University where you study:

096 Specify

Dear student, thank you for participating in the survey.

When applying for a job, a questionnaire is one of the necessary documents, on the basis of which the employer forms his opinion about applicants for a vacant position. The questionnaire provides all the necessary information about the applicant, in the future it will be attached to the employee's personal file.

The essence and form of the questionnaire for employment

At the moment, there is no specific form of the document defined by law; it is usually compiled on the basis of some main points, since it is impossible to develop the most informative version. In different cases and for different enterprises, it has its own, often the official of the organization, when hiring, offers to fill out his own sample questionnaire, which would disclose to the manager the information he needs to make an official decision. An example of filling out such questionnaires is also provided by the head or human resources department of the organization.

Usually, the questionnaire reflects the most socially significant aspects, such as citizenship. Place of residence, education and right to work, criminal records, professional skills and information about the previous place of work, biographical information. When compiling a document, it is important not to overdo it with information, you should not write it on several sheets, one will be enough, in which the data is briefly and succinctly presented.

A correctly completed sample questionnaire allows the employer to assess the job seeker when applying for a job in terms of his compliance with the specifics of the job, the proposed position, as well as determine the main personal and professional qualities of a person, his ability to perform assigned duties.

Successful and high-quality filling of the application form when applying for a job can be the key to obtaining the desired vacant position.

Questionnaire Tricks

In addition to its main function, filling out questionnaires when applying for a job helps the manager not only to get acquainted with the information that the applicant wants to provide, but also to obtain more accurate information through psychological techniques.

In many organizations, questionnaires are compiled not only by employees of the personnel department, but also by psychologists in order to analyze the hidden capabilities of a person or facts about him. Such questionnaires, in addition to standard questions, contain those that will help to better understand the personality of the candidate and his character traits. These questions are not relevant, usually they are about hobbies, musical preferences, favorite literature and movies, friends, possible phobias. It can also be questions-situations where the applicant is invited to answer how he would have acted in a particular case.

There are no wrong answers to such questions, they are all individual. However, for applicants for different positions, the answers to such “tricky” questions should be different. For example, a positive answer to the question “Do you like to dream” will add pluses to the applicant for the position of an animator or designer, but for an accountant or auditor such an answer would be inappropriate.

Sample of filling out the questionnaire

Not all organizations, when applying for a job, offer the applicant to fill out their sample questionnaires, however, they may request this document for review. We offer you an example of the correct compilation of the questionnaire. So, this document should contain the following minimum information:

1. Full name of the job seeker;
2. Place and date of birth of the applicant;
3. His nationality;
4. Applicant's contact details (address, home and mobile phone numbers);
5. Passport data (number and series, date of issue, authority that issued the document);
6. Applicant's education (Higher, secondary, secondary professional. You must specify the educational institution);
7. Attitude towards military service (for men);
8. Information about labor activity. The period of work, the name of the enterprise, position and functional duties are indicated;
9. Professional skills and abilities;
10. Additional skills (for example, good command of a PC and office equipment, possession of some highly specialized programs);
11. Marital status and information about family members;
12. Applicant hobby.

This is a basic example of an applicant questionnaire. However, some documents may require you to attach a photo or answer additional questions, such as:

• Having a criminal record;
• Sources of additional income;
• Traits;
• Desired salary level and others.

An example of filling out a questionnaire

Please take a look at this sample form. This type of question is standard for most businesses. Usually it is filled in manually or has printed options for the answer, from which you need to select the correct one.

Filling example:

FULL NAME.	Kolesnikova Natalya Sergeevna
Date of Birth	08.01.1986
Citizenship	Russian citizen
Registered address	Saratov, Parkhomenko str., building 11, apartment 144
Actual residential address	The same
Passport data	Series 00 00 number 000000, issued on March 20, 2010 by the OUFSM of Russia, Saratov Region, Leninsky District
Family status	married
Children	Daughter - 4 years old, son - 7 years old.
Close relatives	Husband Kolesnikov S.V., Mother - Ilonova M.K., Father - Ilonov S.Yu.
Education and educational institution	Higher. Russian State Trade and Economic University.
Speciality	Accounting, analysis and audit
Applying for a position	Auditor, accountant
Work experience	Total experience 10 years
Last 3 jobs	Parus LLC. Worked as an auditor from 01.09.12 to 01.09.14. The reason for the dismissal is the bankruptcy of the organization.
Additional education	Computer courses on the PC system administrator.
PC knowledge	Confident PC user. I own basic programs, as well as 1C: Enterprise.
Knowledge of a foreign language (what language, degree of knowledge)	Fluency in English and German in spoken and written language.
Having a driving license	Not
Personal qualities	Sociability, responsibility, purposefulness, diligence, self-development, ability to learn, stress resistance.
Bad habits	Missing

There are no special instructions in the standard on the technique of filling out the questionnaire. Some information about the design of the questionnaire is contained in the section "Control and measurement", in which paragraph 8.2.1 "Customer satisfaction" states:

As one measure of the characteristics of a quality management system, an organization should monitor information related to customer perceptions of how the organization satisfies customer needs. Methods for obtaining and using this information should be defined.

There are two indications in this brief quotation from the standard. The first is that the organization must measure whether it is meeting customer needs, and this in turn has two implications for the design of the questionnaire. The first implication was described in Chapter 3, where we found that in order to determine whether consumer needs are being met, the questions asked must be centered around their core needs. They are determined by exploratory research using the "customer's point of view". If the “organizational point of view” is used, then the administration asks those questions that it would like to highlight, and the study will not provide a measure of customer satisfaction. The second implication is that the questionnaire must take into account both sides of the problem established in our definition of customer satisfaction: the importance of the request and the degree of its satisfaction, otherwise we will never be able to know with sufficient reliability the relative importance of customer requests.

The second indication contained in paragraph 8.2.1 is in the words "consumer perception". The information collected and monitored does not necessarily reflect the actual characteristics of the organization. This will be the consumer's perception of these features. Consumer perception is not always fair and accurate, but it is the information on which consumers base their judgment and future supplier choice. Therefore, understanding the perception of consumers is the most useful factor that needs to be checked. This means that objective consumer research is the only way to collect this information, and that the questionnaire should aim to elicit the opinions of consumers, and should not attempt to influence the consumer, for example, by providing him with information about the real characteristics of the organization.

6.2 Questionnaire layout

Registration of the questionnaire - layout

Sample questionnaires, covering all aspects of their design, explained in this chapter, are included in the appendices at the end of this book. The first thing to outline is the general layout; the key problems that arise are shown in figure 6.1.

6.2.1 Questionnaire length

If you are designing a fillable questionnaire or preparing it for an interview, then 50 questions is a good guideline for its maximum length. However, whatever the type of research being conducted, it will take ten to fifteen minutes to complete the questionnaire. Some differences in wording are acceptable and this will be explained later. When filling out a questionnaire on paper, it can be placed either on two pages or stretched over four. Experience shows that although it is generally desirable to have short questionnaires, a four-page questionnaire achieves a higher response rate and better quality because the questionnaire in this case looks more attractive, it is easier to navigate, it is easier to understand and fill it out. Some respondents will never fill out a questionnaire that is printed in small print or looks illegible because they find it difficult to complete.

6.2.2 Questionnaire sections

The next stage is the division of 50 questions into sections. The starting point is a list of the most important customer needs identified during exploratory research, and these need to be ranked in terms of importance and satisfaction. The exact number of questions you include from the exploratory survey will depend on how many additional questions you wish to ask. Most of the additional questions will be used to classify respondents, but it may be that a few of the questions you want to ask have nothing to do with customer satisfaction. If you include 20 consumer queries from an exploratory study, you will have 40 questions used, as each query must be rated in terms of importance and satisfaction. If you examine low-scoring queries and ask for comments explaining each one, the result will be an average of three additional questions per respondent. You will most likely need four or five questions to classify respondents, leaving two or three questions to explore other topics.

Attempts to reduce the number of controlled consumer inquiries in order to ask more follow-up questions should be resisted. After all, you're doing customer satisfaction research, and that's what should be the focus. If you're trying to solve too many problems with a single study, then chances are you won't solve any of them properly. The sections of the questionnaire, as well as guidance on the number of questions in each section, are shown in Figure 6.2. More detailed explanations for some sections are given below.

6.2.3 Instructions

The first thing the respondent will see on the questionnaire is the directions, and they must be absolutely clear. If it is possible to fill out the questionnaire incorrectly, then you can be sure that some of the respondents will do it. So your directions need to be very clear, even if it takes up quite a lot of space. Examples of instructions can be found in the sample questionnaires provided in the appendices at the end of the book.

6.2.4 Satisfaction and importance questions

Customer requests should be reflected in two separate sections related to satisfaction and importance. It's tempting but wrong to show both satisfaction and importance on one query before moving on to the next. Using this approach, you will get an untrue correlation between importance and satisfaction scores for each query. Therefore, separate sections should be used for importance and satisfaction, but in what order? Although it is common to start with questions in the importance section, our experiments at Leadership Factor show that it is better to start with satisfaction ratings, as this allows respondents to familiarize themselves with all requests before they are asked to rate their importance. . When the importance section comes after the satisfaction section, a wider range of importance ratings is usually obtained, which allows more selection in the analysis step. Satisfaction scores have little effect on whether the questions in this section are asked before or after the importance questions.

Thus, you must list the requests and, first of all, get estimates of the degree of their satisfaction. You should then examine all requests with low scores (only effective for interviews, not for completed questionnaires) before listing them again to assess their importance. But in what order should these requests be listed? Strictly speaking, they should be listed in random order and, strictly speaking, this order should be set separately for each questionnaire, on the grounds that earlier questions may affect the attitude of respondents towards later ones. Therefore, for truly accurate studies, the order of questions must change.

However, it has not become common practice to print ten different versions of a consumer research questionnaire in which the questions are reversed. In real life, most commercial research is done with the same order of questions in each questionnaire. When deciding on the order of questions in the questionnaire, two options are possible. The first one is based on the sequence of events that a consumer usually encounters when interacting with your company, and this option is good for one-time events like receiving a deposit or claiming insurance. However, for many organizations that have a continuous interaction with customers that includes a variety of contacts on different issues at different times, using a sequence of events to prioritize issues does not work. In such a situation, it is better to group questions by topic, combining quality questions into one group, delivery questions into another, and so on.

6.2.5 Classification questions

Classification questions should be at the end of the questionnaire. Some people may feel offended by seemingly inappropriate questions about age, job title, or income, so it is always best to have classification questions answered by respondents after they have answered other questions. The only exception is quota-based sampling, where respondents must be classified prior to their participation in the study.

6.2.6 Appearance problem

This advice applies only to completed questionnaires that should look professional and attractively designed. We have already said that the layout of the questionnaires should be spacious and attractive, even if it requires more pages. You can also use color. Even a two-color questionnaire can look much more attractive, since halftones can be used very effectively for explanation and differentiation.

6.3 Questionnaire wording

Figure 6.3 shows a checklist. You can compare your questionnaire with this table and check if it violates any of the listed wording rules.

Rice. 6.3 Wording of questions

6.3.1 Awareness of respondents

First of all, you need to determine whether the respondents have the knowledge that enables them to answer your questions. The fact is that the lack of such knowledge will not stop them! People tend to think that they have a right to their own opinion about various things. Let's say you're asking passengers at an airport about their views on the differences between flying in economy class and business class. Many people will answer this question even if they have never flown business class. This is not a problem if you want to understand economy class passengers' perception of business class travel, but it will lead to very wrong conclusions if you are trying to understand the real experience of business class passengers. Thus, if you only want people who flew business class, then you need to classify the respondents before including them in the study.

A similar problem arises when respondents' experiences with your organization's characteristics do not apply to all of the queries under investigation. For example, the chief executive may not have information about the parameters of your organization that characterize the timeliness of delivery. To avoid misjudgments from misinformed members of the administration, you should make it clear that you can use the “not applicable” box for each of the satisfaction questions. It is not necessary to offer a “not applicable” box for importance ratings, as respondents will have a view of the relative importance of each query, including those in which they are not personally involved.

6.3.2 No ambiguous questions

The second thing to check is whether the respondents understand the questions or, more precisely, whether they give the question the same meaning as the questionnaire author. There are several possible problems here, often related to the fact that words that we use well in everyday speech carry a potential danger if they are used in questionnaires, because they are not accurate enough. A corresponding example is shown in Figure 6.4.

What exactly does the word "regularly" mean? When the answers to this question are analyzed, what will they reveal? "Regularly" can mean anything from every day to once a year. When formulating questions, you must be extremely precise, one might even say pedantic. You cannot afford the slightest ambiguity, otherwise you may find that your research results are meaningless when you complete the questionnaires. So the question about newspapers should be worded as shown in Figure 6.5.

Rice. 6.5 Precise questions

6.3.3 Lack of jargon

Another reason for the respondent not understanding questions is the use of unfamiliar words. Everyone knows that jargon is not recommended, but most people underestimate how jargon can be for consumers in the words they constantly use at work with their colleagues. This is, of course, another very important reason to do exploratory research because it will result in you using consumer terminology rather than your own. The same applies to technical names, because even such words as equipment and convenience can be understood ambiguously and misinterpreted.

6.3.4 No double questions

Duplicate questions are a very common cause of misunderstandings and ineffective research results. The most common example from the questionnaire:

Where is the staff friendly and helpful?

What feature do you want to know about?

Friendliness and helpfulness are not the same thing, are they?

If this item scores low, indicating customer dissatisfaction, how does the organization know what needs to be changed to get things back on track? If you want to explore both of these aspects of staff behavior, then you must ask two questions.

6.3.5 No bias questions

Perhaps the most important problem in formulating questions in a questionnaire is the risk that the questionnaire itself will cause a trend in responses. There are two reasons why this might happen. Firstly, this is the question itself, and, secondly, the rating scale. Typical questions in a customer satisfaction survey might include:

How satisfied are you with the variety of dishes on the menu?

How satisfied are you with the speed of technical assistance on site?

How satisfied are you with the reliability of the products?

Each of these questions introduces an element of a trend that can skew the results, and this issue is related to the first part of the question:

How satisfied are you...?

The question itself assumes that the customer is satisfied. The only question is how much. To counter this trend and ensure that the study provides an accurate measure of customer satisfaction, these questions should be formulated as follows:

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the variety of dishes on the menu?

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the speed of on-site technical assistance?

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the reliability of the products?

6.3.6 No biased grading scale

The other part of the question that may cause a trend is the rating scale. Tendency rating scales are commonly found in many customer satisfaction surveys, as shown in Figure 6.6.

The scale shown in Figure 6.6 is not balanced and may cause a trend towards satisfaction. Most rating scales with a positive bias appear in questionnaires because their compilers forget about this problem.

Please comment on the quality of service by ticking one of the boxes on each line.

Rice. 6.6 Grading scale with a positive trend

However, some companies with extensive experience in conducting IFM deliberately use positively biased questionnaires on the grounds that only highest satisfaction is of value, so it makes sense to measure only satisfaction. It seems to us that such a philosophy has two weaknesses. First, even if the majority of consumers are very satisfied, it is nevertheless important to understand the degree of dissatisfaction of the least satisfied part of consumers and to what extent their personal qualities cause this problem. In many ways, it is more valuable for an organization to identify and fix problem areas in detail than to get detailed information about how satisfied the most satisfied customers are. The second argument against using rating scales with a positive trend is that it is simply not necessary. If you have enough points on the scale, you can distribute the degrees of satisfaction and dissatisfaction in equal proportions, as shown in figure 6.7.

Rice. 6.7 Balanced grading scale

Figure 6.7 shows a balanced scale because it has an equal number of points above and below the midpoint, and, importantly, the wording corresponding to opposite points has exactly the opposite meaning. The presence or absence of a midpoint does not affect the balance of the scale. Strictly speaking, the scale should have a middle point on the grounds that it is wrong in conducting research to force anyone to express an opinion that he does not have. For example, an interviewer might walk up to people on the street and ask them:

Some will answer: I don't know.

If the interviewer forces the respondent to give a certain answer, and the respondent names some political party to end the interview, then such research will be unacceptable. "I don't know" is a perfectly adequate answer.

So, strictly speaking, you should have a middle point, but you don't have to worry that everyone will mark it. It's a myth that everyone tries to make the middle choice, as if it's the easiest choice, not the one that makes you think. They will try to mark exactly what they think, and you will get a number of different answers. It is true that respondents try to avoid extreme estimates. So if the answers cluster around the middle, it may not be because the respondents tend to average in their answers, but because they try to avoid extremes. Of course, a problem can arise when using a five-point scale, because if some respondents avoid extreme ratings, then they have only three items to choose from. However, there are many factors to consider when choosing an appropriate rating scale, and these factors are discussed in the next section.

6.4 Grading scales

The third key aspect of the design of the questionnaire is the rating scale, and since the IEP is related to the measurement of satisfaction, and the rating scale is the tool used for this measurement, it is a very critical element. The three most commonly used scales in consumer satisfaction research are the Likert scale, the verbal scale, and the digital scale. The Likert scale and the verbal scale are similar in that they both use words to describe the items on the scale. The digital scale, as the name implies, uses numbers. Figures 6.8 to 6.10 give examples of each of the scales.

6.4.1 Likert scale

Rice. 6.8 Likert scale

Often used in various opinion surveys, the Likert scale is easy to complete, but has a significant drawback in that the suggested phrases can cause a trend in respondents' responses. Likert scales in questionnaires always have a positive trend. You will very rarely see a negative trend in the scale using negative examples ("The restaurant was dirty... agree - disagree"). The trend is even more pronounced in questions about importance, when the respondent is actively instilled: “It is important that ... *

6.4.2 Word scale

Questionnaires using verbal scales are easy to complete and have the advantage of containing the measured parameters (importance and satisfaction) within the scale, reducing the risk of confusion. Because the verbal scale is the simplest and clearest, it tends to be filled in neatly and with the fewest errors. Reporting on verbal scales that calculate "percent satisfaction" (i.e., the percentage of questionnaires with the first two boxes ticked) can mask changes in customer satisfaction caused by combining ratings from two different categories - "satisfied" and "not satisfied". In fact, if the results are processed in this way, then it makes no sense to have more than two points on the scale - "satisfied" and "not satisfied".

It is not statistically acceptable to convert verbal scale items to numbers and get the averages of those numbers. This is because verbal scales are ordinal in their function. They give an order from good to bad, or from satisfaction to dissatisfaction, without defining a quantitative measure. In other words, we know that "strongly agree" is better than "agree," but we don't know how much better. Nor do we know if the distance between "strongly agree" and "agree" is equal to the distance between "agree" and "neither yes nor no." Therefore, word scales should be analyzed using a frequency distribution, which simply counts how many respondents checked each box. It is not statistically acceptable to use means and standard deviations or apply multivariate statistical methods to establish relationships between variables in a data set. This makes direct comparisons of importance and satisfaction impossible, unless category items are grouped, for example, as follows: the percentage of respondents who ticked the boxes "very satisfied" and "satisfied" compared to the percentage who ticked the boxes "very important" and " important". As stated earlier, due to the potentially large variation in the distribution of scores within each category, these results may not provide a reliable picture.

Rice. 6.9 Word scale

Rice. 6.10 Digital scale

6.4.3 Numerical scale

Numeric scales are easy to complete - just as easy as verbal scales. Unlike many other scales, digital scales can be used regardless of the data collection method. Word scales are very inconvenient in telephone interviews.

A very strong argument in favor of numerical scales is their convenience for analysis and, very importantly, for communicating the results to colleagues in your organization. Simple calculation of the averages of the scores given on a ten-point numerical scale makes it easier to understand the results and their consequences. Direct comparison with mean importance scores provides a clearer picture of the areas requiring attention than the much less clear frequency distributions that must be used for appropriate statistical analysis of word-type scales. This is an extremely important factor in favor of the use of numerical scales in the IEP questionnaires, because where the IEP procedure has failed, the reason for this for many organizations was precisely poor internal feedback. It's just that there wasn't a good enough company-wide understanding of the areas where efforts to improve service should be focused. Having clear and simple research results that all staff immediately understand is a good starting point in the fight for the hearts and souls of consumers.

Digital scales can be expanded. They usually contain 5, 7 or 10 items. It is impractical to have many items on a verbal scale, and this is a significant disadvantage, since differences in the results of studies conducted at different time periods can be very small. A broader scale allows the respondent to be more selective, especially at the top of the satisfaction scale, which is important because if service becomes competitive, it is very satisfied respondents who are most likely to recommend and remain loyal.

More items also give more variety, which is better for the analysis process for two main reasons. First, scales with more points allow for a better distinction between good and bad performers, which is more useful for managers in making decisions and monitoring their results. Second, it is easier to determine the "covariance" between two variables with greater variance (i.e. spread around their mean). Covariance is a critical quantity in developing robust models, such as models that determine consumer satisfaction mechanisms (see Chapter 7).

Sample questionnaires using a 10-point numerical scale are given at the end of the book. Appendix B gives an example of a completed questionnaire, and Appendix A shows an example of a questionnaire for a telephone interview.

6.5 Conclusions

(a) ISO 9001:2000 states that an organization shall measure “the perception of whether the organization is meeting customer needs”. This means that the questions should be based on the main customer needs identified through exploratory research and: that the organization should monitor customer opinions about its activities. While this perception may not be true, it will form the basis of a consumer's decision when choosing a supplier.

(b) The Aaksta must contain no more than 50 questions and, in the case of a completed questionnaire, must be placed on four pages, and not squeezed into two.

(c) Satisfaction and importance should be assessed in two different sections, with satisfaction assessed first.

(d) If the satisfaction rating is low, the reasons for such rating should be investigated in more detail.

(e) Classification questions should be placed at the end of the questionnaire.

(e) To maximize the reliability of consumer responses, they should be offered the option to respond inappropriately to areas in which they do not have sufficient experience or knowledge. If necessary, assess respondents for inclusion in the study prior to the interview.

(g) To avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding, the wording of the questionnaire should be very precise and free of jargon.

(h) Double questions should be avoided.

(i) Researchers should be aware of the risk of a trend caused by unbalanced questions and the use of unbalanced rating scales.

(k) Numerical rating scales are most preferred in measuring customer satisfaction because they have greater analytical potential and make it easier to communicate research results to employees.

(k) Scales with more items are better than those with fewer items because they are more distinctive and changes in customer satisfaction are usually small. A 10-point rating scale is recommended.

The first thing to do when writing a questionnaire is to determine its purpose.. Without this step, all subsequent work loses its meaning. The content of the questionnaire directly depends on the goals of the questionnaire: questions, answer options, introduction, conclusion.

Most often, the main purpose of the survey is to identify the needs of customers. The information obtained will allow the company to adjust the assortment policy of the company, update the model range, improve the quality of customer service, and introduce new forms of cooperation.

Questionnaires can also be used for the following purposes:

informing about something (for example, about the launch of a new project, about the introduction of new working conditions, about structural changes);

promotion of new products;

demonstrating the success of the company.

After all, by filling out the questionnaire, the participant not only expresses his opinion, but also receives information himself from the questions and answers.

How the question is formulated determines whether the respondents will understand it and, accordingly, whether they will answer exactly the question that they are asked. If the question is formulated ambiguously, then the reliability of the obtained data decreases. It is precisely in order to make sure that all questions are perceived correctly, that they are understood by the respondents, questionnaire testing (or pilot study). For testing, the questionnaire is asked to fill out several people. It is desirable that the developer be present when filling out, then he will see which questions cause difficulties for the respondent. You can also test the survey over the phone. For the questionnaire, both open and closed questions can be used.

Closed questions are questions that offer certain answers, from which the respondent must choose the option that suits him (or several options, depending on the purpose of the question).

Closed questions are best used when the set of possible answers is known and the main task is to understand how many respondents would prefer one or another answer.

Open-ended questions do not provide answer options and allow the respondent to formulate the answer himself. Open-ended questions are used if the developer does not know in advance the possible answers, and his task is to reveal the whole range of opinions on the question.

The questionnaire should consist of 3 parts:

Introductory part

Main block of questions

Final part

The introductory part includes:

	Example
Name	Questionnaire for the participant of the 2007 dealer conference of ABC company
Greetings	Dear colleagues!
Description of who conducts the survey and why	The marketing department of ABC company conducts a study of the opinion of the participants of the conference on improving the quality of customer service
Rules for filling out the questionnaire	You will be asked several questions, choose the answer that best suits your opinion. If there is no answer suitable for you in the list, write your answer in the space provided for this. All questions must be answered
Emphasizing the importance of the respondent's opinion and	Your feedback is very important to us
Time required to complete the questionnaire	Filling out the questionnaire will take you 5-10 minutes
Gratitude	Thank you for participating in the survey

The introductory part should clarify to the respondents the objectives of the survey, show that that is what the company intends to do with the information received. It is important to show that the purpose of the questionnaire is not just empty curiosity, or a tradition that has long lost its meaning, but obtaining the necessary information that will be used by the company in the interests of the clients themselves. In addition, the introductory part not only provides the respondent with the necessary explanations and instructions. It is also a tribute to the participants. Questionnaire that starts immediately with questions, without any additional explanations and comments on an unconscious level, it is associated with interrogation and causes a desire to refuse questioning. Also, to get involved in any activity, a person needs a certain time, such is the psychology of information perception. And the introductory part allows you to set up the participant for the survey process, to help him get involved in a new type of activity. Therefore, the introductory part cannot be ignored.

The final part of the questionnaire usually includes:

An open question about wishes and suggestions, so that participants have the opportunity to express any opinion, even if it does not fit into the format of the questionnaire. ( For example, your wishes and suggestions of ABC)

Information about the respondent (in the jargon of sociologists, this part is called a “passport”, i.e. personal data about the respondent himself or, as in our case, about his company)

Thanks for participating in the survey. Usually this block of the final part of the questionnaire consists of only one word "Thank you!". And do not be embarrassed that in the introductory part we have already expressed gratitude to the participants. You really have a lot to thank for the members who took the time to get you the information you need. In addition, in the introductory part, we thank you for agreeing to participate in the survey, and at the end of the questionnaire, we thank you for filling out the questionnaire and the person who did some work for us.

It is very important to pay special attention to the passport. This section should contain the data about the client that we need in order to qualitatively analyze the results.

The general principle of the sequence of questions is that at first the simpler questions are placed in the questionnaire, the answer to which does not require much thought from the respondent. This is done in order to gradually involve the respondent in the process, to arouse his interest in filling out. If you immediately pose difficult questions, then this can lead to a complete rejection of the survey. Difficult questions are usually placed in the middle of the questionnaire, when the person has already worked out, felt interest in the process, but has not yet had time to get tired.

Also, if possible, it is better to place questions in semantic blocks. In a sequence of questions the respondent must feel a certain logic that works to fulfill the goals stated in the introductory part.

Filling out a questionnaire is an opportunity to show clients your professionalism and style. We list the most important application form rules:

1) In the questionnaire it is necessary use corporate identity. If the company's font is Arial , then Garamond should not be used, just because it saves space and "crams" more questions into the questionnaire.

2) Font Questionnaires must be large enough (at least 12 pt.).

3) Questions should be separated from each other other spaces. The questions themselves are best highlighted in bold, and the answer options are not highlighted. This allows respondents to better understand the question and not skip questions simply because they are invisible.

4) If question open, must be left enough space, so that you can enter the answer by hand. We saw questionnaires where it was almost impossible to enter something.

5) If the question is difficult, then it makes sense to give after it additional instructions. This instruction is best separated from the text of the question itself (for example, using italics).

6) Not worth printing a questionnaire on both sides of the sheet. This can lead to a large number of incompletely completed questionnaires. An exception is the case if the questionnaire is designed as a booklet (for example, an A4 sheet folded in half).

In conclusion, I would like to note once again that compiling questionnaires is not as simple as it seems at first glance. Therefore, its compilation must be taken with all seriousness, not forgetting after its compilation at least to check compliance with each of the principles we have listed in this article.