Selecting, designing, and developing your questionnaire
BMJ 2004; 328 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.328.7451.1312 (Published 27 May 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;328:1312
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Boynton & Greenhalph present an informative discussion of how
questionnaires can be misinterpreted and misunderstood, and may even cause
offence for some disadvantaged groups. They argue that such problems can
be avoided through carefully designing, piloting and administrating the
questionnaire. Following this, there is one further issue that requires
consideration; that is, how do researchers use the results to inform
instrument development. If the instrument has been shown to be reliable,
valid and has normative data, it is problematic to make changes. This is
because many authors do not permit their questionnaire to be altered in
any way, and even if they do, any changes could influence its psychometric
properties. The use of the results needs to be considered prior to
piloting a questionnaire. The researchers need to decide whether they
would use a psychometrically sound scale even if there is some concerns,
or if they would alter the scale to suit the sample and be less confident
about its psychometric properties. The answer is not simple, and indeed
may depend on the scale however it is an important issue to consider.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Dear Editor,
The article on questionnaire research is an eyeopener to most of
us, especially the senior house officers (SHO's) who rotate between jobs
very six months. For most of the SHO's it is difficult to find time to
combine work, studies and research. Questionnaire research is one that you
could do quickly and many of them give valuable results which could of use
for future research.
The most important difficulty is to find the right topic. It is best to
select a topic which is of relevance in the current context. You could also
choose a topic which will be of use for service development. You have to
have an understanding of your own limitations in terms of time as well as
the results you expect. Discuss the topic with various people who have
already done some work in the same area looking into the feasiblity and
usefulness of the study.
Once you have chosen the topic of interest, do a literature search to see
whether a standarised questionnaire is already available. Do not be
disheartened if there is none. You could design one to suit your study with
some effort. Divide the topic into two or three headings, each heading in a
seperate page. Write the various questions you would like to address under
each heading. It will be better to have a seperate page for each heading.It
will be easier for the responders if they have to just tick the
answers (think in their shoes). Also ask yourself whether you need just
quantitative data or both quantitative as well as qualitative data. Likert
scales are a useful as they give the responder a range of choices to
select. You could provide some extra space to make comments about each item
or you could provide extra space at the end for the questionnaire for
responders to make their comments.
Once the design is over it will be good to discuss it with your supervisor
and the practice governance group in the trust. You might receive valuable
feedback from the non clinical staff who will see it in a different
perspective.
Another important point here is with regard to the covering letter you
send with the questionnaire. It should be pleasing and very carefully
worded. We have to ensure confidentiality of the information provided. Also
make sure you send the questionnaires at their correct address(double
check them!). Give sufficent time for response. Though the response rate is
variable,any information you receive will be valuable for your study.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Scientific disciplines using questionnaires
Dear Editor,
The article on questionnaire research is praiseworthy and valuable to
most of us, working in the field of psychological research.
This journal could serve as a central repository for the
questionnaires from articles published in other journals and could feature
methodological research and commentary papers such as this one.
Many times researchers may be reluctant to share a questionnaire
because of fear that their work will be duplicated without credit. This
point need to be highlighted.
It may also be wise to think about devoting an online journal to
questionnaire development, and it could be justified if forces are
combined for all scientific disciplines using questionnaires, such as
sociology, demography, medicine, and psychology.
Thanks for your great service !
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests