Consulting Journal: Techniques

Techniques: Fixed questions

by David Blakey

Exploring one of the rules for questionnaires and surveys.

[Monday 10 March 2008]

Many assignments involve gathering information from people. On some assignments, these people may be asked to complete questionnaires; on other assignments, they may be interviewed. Questionnaires and interviews generally follow certain rules. This article questions one of those rules.

Fixed questions

Most questionnaires and some interviews ask people to answer questions by selecting one or more of a choice of answers. Occasionally, people may be asked an additional question, if they cannot make a choice.

Which of these do you use to get to work? Own car
Pool car
Bus
Train
Walk
Other
If Other, describe it.

You could imagine that the answer to the second question was less important than the answer to the first. You could imagine that the answers in the Other box would be more difficult to handle than the standard checkboxes. You could be correct.

The questioner could get the same answer by asking the following.

How do you get to work? eg, car, bus

The questioner may have to spend more time extracting the answers, but the respondent will not not feel that certain answers are expected.

For an interview, the interviewer would ask How do you get to work?, and then check the standard boxes and write in any other answers. The system that handles the answers could add the new answers to the standard list.

For an online survey, the system could provide boxes for additional options.

Which of these do you use to get to work? Own car
Pool car
Bus
Train
Walk
Cycle

After a check, the new answers could be included in future versions of the survey.

Which of these do you use to get to work? Own car
Pool car
Bus
Train
Walk
Cycle

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Which of these do you use to get to work?		Own car
		Pool car
		Bus
		Train
		Walk
		Other
If Other, describe it.