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Business Research Methods
Topic 5
Questionnaire design
& sampling
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2
Questionnaire
A set of questions used to obtain
required information from
participants
Enables data collection
Provides a structure to interview
Provides a standard means for recording answers
Facilitates the data analyzing task
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Questionnaire design
Information need
Research objectives Target participants
Clear objectives guide which Information is obtained
questions to be included or differently due to different
excluded target participants
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Questionnaire design
Format, type of questions
Interviewing method and questions phrasing will
be different
Self-administered Interviewer-administered
Cheap & easy Clarification of ambiguities
Confidential Quick answers
Convenient Well control
Low response rate More resource consumed
Misunderstood Interviewer bias
No control Short questionnaire
Time delay Unfeasible for sensitive issue
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Questionnaire design
Question content
• Necessity of the question
• Scope and coverage
• Several questions or one question
• Effects of external events
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Questionnaire design
Participants’ ability & willingness
Inability to answer Unwillingness to answer
Using filter questions / Introducing the purpose
screening questions Minimizing the effort required
Informing topics Placing sensitive questions at
Providing picture, descriptions, the end
... Stating commonality of the
issue
Using projective technique
Providing range of answers
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Questionnaire design
The degree of freedom the
Question structure participants have in answering
a question
Research objectives
Level of information participants have about the topic
Degree to which participants has thought through the topic
Extent to which communicating to the participants is easy
Participants' level of motivation to share information
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Questionnaire design
The degree of freedom the
Question structure participants have in answering
a question
Greater freedom of expression
No bias due to limited response ranges
Discover uncommon opinions that could remain unaware
Challenging tasks: editing, coding, analyzing
Time-consuming reduces the number of questions
Interviewer bias
Obtained information may be misinterpreted
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Questionnaire design
The degree of freedom the
Question structure participants have in answering
a question
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Questionnaire design
Translation of the desired question
Question wording
content and structure into words
• Use shared vocabulary - ordinary words
• Avoid making implicit assumptions
• Take participants' view
• Should have single meaning No certain
• Should not suggest or imply answer way is the
• Should be as specific as possible best
• Use positive and negative statements
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Questionnaire design
Order of questions
Opening questions
Basic information
Classification
Identification
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Questionnaire design
Order of questions
• Have you ever purchased online?
Opening questions • In the last 3 months, which e-tailer have
you purchased most frequently? …. (X)
Basic information • The quality of product provided by X is…..
• Making online purchase is …..
• Gender: …..
Classification
• Income: …..
• Name: …..
Identification
• Phone number:…..
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Questionnaire design
Questionnaire layout and appearance
Especially important for self-administered method
• Good quality paper
• Good appearance
• Each question & its’ answers should in single page
• Avoid overcrowded questions
• Not more than 2 pages
• Well-designed
• Clear structure
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Questionnaire design
Questionnaire pre-test
• Small sample of participants
• Testing all aspects of questionnaire:
content, sequence, wording,...
• Should be personal interview
Main survey
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15
Sampling
Select some elements of
the population
Investigate
the sample
Draw conclusion about
the population
Why do we • Low cost
• Greater speed
need a sample • More accurate
• Availability of elements
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Sampling
Census
Population
• Feasible: Small population
• Necessary: Elements are
different from each others
Total collection
of elements
All elements
Sampling frame
Sample
List of
elements Some elements
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Sampling
Define the target population
The collection of elements that
possess the required information
and about which inferences are to
be made
Element – object possessing the information
Sampling unit - An element, or a unit containing the
element (individual, household, team,…)
Extent: Geographical boundaries
Time period under consideration
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Sampling techniques
Elements in the sample are selected based on
the subjective judgment of the researcher
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Sampling techniques
Convenience Sampling
Select any elements of the population who
are conveniently and readily available
Cost effectiveness
Suitable for focus groups, pretesting
questionnaires or pilot studies
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Sampling techniques
Judgmental Sampling
Select elements of the population
based on subjective judgment of
the researcher
Low cost, convenient and quick
May be more representative than
convenient sampling
Researcher should be knowledgeable
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Sampling techniques
Quota Sampling
Select elements of the population so that the
resulting sample is a miniature approximation of the
population with respect to the selected
characteristics
Proportionate
Two-stage restricted judgmental sampling
Developing control categories, or quotas, of population elements
Sample elements are selected based on convenience or judgment
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Sampling techniques
Quota Sampling
Low cost and convenient
Depends on the proportions in the population
Under certain conditions, quota sampling obtains results
close to the results of probability sampling
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Sampling techniques
Snowball Sampling
Collect data from an initial element of the
population who, then, helps to identify other
elements of the population
Low cost
Low variability
Used for rare population that is difficult to access
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Sampling techniques
Elements in the sample are selected based on
random selection
Information about the entire population is available
Possible to determine the probability of selecting
any particular element
Possible to make inferences about the target
population
Time-consuming but less prone to bias and
sampling error
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Sampling techniques
Simple Random Sampling
A sampling frame is compiled and, then, elements
are randomly selected
Simple - Representative
Each element has a known and equal probability
for being selected
Impractical if sampling frame is large
Cannot be representative if sample size is small
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Sampling techniques
Systematic Sampling
A sampling frame is compiled, select a starting
element randomly and, then pick other elements
based on a sample interval
N = 1000
2, 7, 12,
Interval: 5
17, 22, …
Less costly and easier than SRS
n = 200
Representative power is dependent
on the way elements are ordered
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Sampling techniques
Stratified Sampling
The population is partitioned into strata and, then,
elements are selected from each stratum by a
random procedure
• Proportionate
• Non proportionate
Elements within each strata are homogeneous
Elements across strata are heterogeneous
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Sampling techniques
Cluster Sampling
The population is divided into mutually exclusive
and collectively exhaustive subpopulations
(clusters), then, select a cluster randomly
• One-stage cluster sampling
• Two-stage cluster sampling
• Multistage cluster sampling
Elements within a cluster should be as heterogeneous as possible
Clusters themselves should be as homogeneous as possible
Each cluster should be a small-scale representation of the population
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Sampling: probability vs nonprobability
Conclusive research Exploratory research
More heterogeneous More homogeneous
population population
Estimating market Concept tests, package tests,
share or sales volume … where generalization is
for the entire market usually not required
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Sampling
Determine the sample size
Number of elements to
be included in the study
• The importance of the decision
• The nature of the research
• The number of variables
• The nature of the analysis
• Sample sizes used in similar studies
• Incidence rates
• Completion rates
• Resource constraints
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