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Learning and Evaluation/Archive/Learning modules/3Choosing response options

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Part 1: Introduction

Welcome!
Why Survey?
Why Surveys Are Useful
Constructs
Operationalize
Survey instruments
Types of information
Attributes - a special case
Survey Objective and Planning

Part 2: Reliability & Validity

Reliability & Validity
Reliability
Validity
Face Validity
Content Validity
Criterion Validity
Construct Validity

Part 3: Question Construction

Writing Good Questions
Questions from Existing Surveys
Constructing your own Questions
Be Specific
Be Concise
Avoid Double Negatives
Minimize Social Desirability Bias
Avoid Double-barreled questions
Avoid abbreviations, jargon, technical terms, or slang
Avoid leading questions
Avoid loaded questions
Use appropriate wording
Ask useful questions
Rely on second-hand data sparsely
Use caution when asking personal questions

Part 4: Response Options

Question types
Fill-in-the-blank
Dichotomous pairs
Multiple choice
Check all that apply
Ranking
Scales
Choosing response options

Part 5: Questionnaire structure

Important considerations
Questions order
Additional Resources
Feedback

  Wikimedia Training Designing Effective Questions Menu

Choosing Response Options


When choosing response options, make sure that they are:


Exhaustive
All possible alternatives are included in the response options, including: other (specify), don’t know, not applicable, non of the above as appropriate for the question.


Mutually exclusive
Each answer is unique and does not overlap. When writing the selection of responses for a structured question, you should make certain that the list covers all possible alternatives that the respondent might select AND that each of the answers is unique (i.e. they do not overlap). Adding "Don't know" to a response list for a question that some of the respondents may not be capable of answering will help ensure you are collecting valid data. However, you want to use the "Don't know" option sparingly. You should try to make sure that your respondents are capable of answering the majority of the questions on your survey questionnaire.


Relevant to the question
Irrelevant responses may distract the respondent and may add unnecessary length to your survey questionnaire.


Consistent
All of the responses should be similar so that no single response stands out to the individual except the answer that is true for them. Consistency simply helps to ensure that you are not leading respondents to a particular answer by making that answer different from the others. It also makes it much easier for respondents to find the answer that is relevant to them.