Characteristics of a Good Questionnaire
by Dr. Kenneth B. Hunt

· Questions worded simply and clearly, not ambiguous or vague, must be objective

· Attractive in appearance (questions spaced out, and neatly arranged)

· Write a descriptive title for the questionnaire

· Write an introduction to the questionnaire

· Order questions in logical sequence

· Keep questionnaire uncluttered and easy to complete

· Delicate questions last (especially demographic questions)

· Design for easy tabulation

· Design to achieve objectives

· Define terms

· Avoid double negatives (I haven't no money)

· Avoid double barreled questions (this AND that)

· Avoid loaded questions ("Have you stopped beating your wife?")

· Phrase questions for all respondents

Types of Questionnaire

· Open (This type of question has an unlimited
response)

· Closed (Can limit the scope of responses)

· Combination

Types of Questions

· Multiple choice (When you want respondents to pick the best answer or answers from among all the possible options. Allows the respondent to select only one answer from a list, i.e.

Why don't you use the school's cafeteria services? (Circle one):
a.	It's too expensive.
b.	Serving times conflict with my class schedule.
c.	The location is inconvenient.
d.	The food quality is poor.
e.	Other (please explain): _______________

· Ranking (Rank Items between 1 and 10)

· Scales (e.g. Likert-scale: "strongly agree," "agree," “neither agree nor disagree,” "disagree," or "strongly disagree")

· Open-ended (Essay Type, Single Line Input, etc.)