Welcome to Level 3

In this level, questionnaires are essential data collection tools for your research projects. Here you are some questionnaire design guidelines (adapted from Research basis and provided by Prof. G. Garcia).

After reading these guidelines, think of two valid questions for your survey and post them.

1.    There are several types of questionnaires:

Focus on the questions:

•    Open. Example: Which hotel would you like to work for?
•    Closed:
•     Dichotomous. Example: Have you ever been to Greece?  1. Yes 2. No
•    Multiple. Example: Which accommodation did you use in your last stay abroad?

1.    Hotel

2.    Apartment

3.    Campsite

4.    Other

•  :Mixed: A combination of multiple and open questions

Focus on the responses:

•    Spontaneous. Example: Which is your favourite restaurant in Barcelona?
•    Suggested options. Example: To which degree do you consider online hotel booking is reliable?

1.    Not reliable at all

2.    Little reliable

3.    Quite reliable

4.    Totally reliable

2. When formulating questions remember they should:

§   Not involve calculations
§   Not be sensitive/emotional
§   Not imply a specific response
§   Not be double, but single
§   Not be ambiguous
§   Not be a negative sentence
§   Be expressed in a simple way
§   Incorporate instructions on how to answer them

3. When  it comes to measuring the results, two key concepts are:

§   Validity: A valid measuring scale measures what is really supposed to be measured

§   Reliability: A reliable scale is precise

4. There is a wide range of measure scales: 

•    Metric. Example: What is your degree of satisfaction with the hotel from 0 to 10?    
•      Interval. Example: Which temperature do you consider ideal for a holiday destination?

1.    Less than 20 degrees Celsius

2.    Between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius

3.    Between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius

4.    More than 30 degrees Celsius

•    Ordinal. Example: What was the category of the last hotel you stayed at?

1.    5* 

2.    4*

3.    3*

4.    2*

5.    1*

•    Nominal. Example: What type of transport did you use to travel to your last holiday destination?

1.    Plane

2.    Boat

3.    Coach

4.    Train

5.    Own car

•    Comparative

§  COMPARING PAIRS. Example: Which of these two destinations ( X/Y ) do you prefer for your summer holidays?

§  CLASSIFYING. Example: Order the following destinations according to your preferences for your next summer holidays

§  ADDING. Example: Which importance do you give to the following aspects when choosing a holiday destination?

Price       __ __ %

Climate   __ __ %

Safety    __ __ %

Total           100%

§  SIMILARITY. Example: Indicate if the following ingredients are sweet, salty, sour or bitter

•    Not comparative

§  GRADING. Example: In your opinion tourism is

Very negative 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 Very positive

§  LIKERT. Example: Tourists in Barcelona are respectful with the local culture

1.    I totally disagree

2.    I disagree

3.    I neither agree nor disagree

4.    I agree

5.    I fully agree

§  SEMANTIC. Example: In your opinion Barcelona is
                

Modern - - - - Traditional

Cheap - - - - Expensive

Sustainable  - - - - Unsustainable