Survey

Surveys are the method of data collection from respondents where direct questions are asked from respondents and the answers help study the research problem like attitude, brand development, behavioral analysis, etc. Dichotomous questions are very simple type of questions using nominal measurement where only two options in answers are given to choose from. Example of a dichotomous question can be to select gender i.e. male or female. Multiple choice questions are questions where three or more than three options in answers are given to choose from. The choices given in the question should be mutually exclusive to avoid any overlap and should be categorically exhaustive so that every respondent has an option to select from. Multiple choice types of questions can be used in nominal and interval level of measurement as the choices given in multiple choice questions are either qualitative or categorical. In some of the multiple-choice questions it is not possible to cover all the answers that any respondent could answer. Now, this would be against the defining characteristic of these questions because the options will no more be categorically exhaustive. So, it becomes necessary to have zero or none option in the questions. Checklists are questions where multiple dichotomous questions are merged into one to make the questionnaire small and simple. The defining characteristic of checklist is that the selection criteria should be clearly defined in the question, respondents is to be asked to only check the appropriate options and the options or format of question should reduce bias. These types of questions can be used in nominal level of measurement. One example of checklist could be to select the movies that you have seen from the given list below. Rank order questions are questions where the respondent is asked to rank the several options provided in the questions on the basis of some clear instructions or factors as given in the question. The defining characteristics of rank order question are that the alternatives in the question should have some common characteristics, making them relatable and the options should be given in alphabetical order to minimize bias. Rank order questions can be used in ordinal level of measurement. One example of rank order questions could be rank the ten beverages as shown in options from 1 to 10. Interval level questions are questions where the respondent is asked to rate and opt the correct option of the several options provided in the questions on the basis of some clear instructions or factors as given in the question. The defining characteristics of these questions are that the scale should be unbiased and both ends should be clearly stated, and the difference between the scale points should be equal and justified. There is no fixed number of options that could be created in a rating scale so it has to be determined about what is the appropriate number of options. The num of options depends upon the questions and the detailing of the characteristic but the basic rule commonly accepted in the research industry is that options should be between four to seven. Frame of reference is necessary in rating scale questions because the frame of reference forms the uniformity between the answers of different respondents. Without a frame of reference, even the respondent thinking of giving same rating may end of giving different one because of their difference in understanding. Semantic differential questions are questions where the respondent is asked to rank the several options provided in the questions on the bipolar chart given in the question which is basically a seven-point rating scale. The defining characteristics of semantic differential questions are that both the end of the scale should have opposite adjectives and the scale between them will be of seven points and the closer one choses to any extreme, stronger is the feeling towards that adjective, of the respondent. These types of questions can be used in ordinal level of measurement. One example of semantic differential questions could be rank the level of satisfaction of the restaurant service between the seven-points bipolar adjective extremes i.e. satisfied and unsatisfied.