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Subject:Designing a survey - summary From:tmazz <tmazz -at- MASTER -dot- ADAMS -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 8 Oct 1998 10:27:54 -0400
Thanks to all who responded to my survey question. Besides the
replies I've
received on list, I've received the following messages off-line:
Get hold of a copy of "The Practice of Questioning" by Dillon
(Can't remember his first name) in which there is a chapter
(20-30
pages) on questionnaire/survey design. The bibliography will lead
you to
more specific works, if you want to go that far. Basically, what
he says is
that it's not as easy as it seems but you knew that already.
_________________________________
Keep the subject of the survey focused, resisting the urge to
slip in a few questions off the track just because you always
wanted to know.
Tell the subjects briefly what the information will be used for.
Sometimes you have to bribe the subjects with a free gift if they
complete the
survey. Set a time limit by which you want the survey returned.
Be careful how
you word the questions so the answer you expect or want is not
implied in
the question. Make the questions yes/no or a,b,c,d to get
quantifiable responses, essay style to fish for ideas (sort of
like a brain
storming session). Leave a space for additional comments if you
want to
give the subjects a chance to vent, or to get more information
you may not
have thought of.
________________________________________
Title: Survey Questions: Handcrafting the Standardized
Questionnaire
Series: Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences
Authors: Jean M. Converse and Stanley Presser
SAGE Publications
P.O. Box 5084
Thousand Oaks, CA 91359
Phone: (805) 499-9774
You'll probably have to order this directly from the publisher.
It is about 80 pages and has really good references in it as
well. I bought
it for about $12.00 in 1997.
____________________________________________
I am currently in the middle of a survey which is aimed at
helping us formulate short term and long term directions for our
documentation. We use Word 97 and the first part uses the Form
facility with check
boxes. The second part (which is a separate document) is for
comments.
--
Theodora Mazza
Technical Writer
Mechanical Dynamics, Inc. http://www.adams.com
