Types of Questions asked during Market Research

Closed ended questions

Name	Description	Example
Dichotomous	A question with 2 possible answers	In arranging this trip, did you personally phone Air India (Yes-1 / No-2)
Multiple choice	A question with 3 or more answers	With whom are you travelling tonight (No one-1 / Spouse-2 / Children-3 / Spouse and children-4 / Friends & relatives-5 / Business tour group-6)
Likert Scale	A statement with which one shows amount of agreement or disagreement	Small airlines generally give better services than large ones (Strongly disagree-1 / Disagree-2 / Agree – 3 / Strongly Agree – 4)
Semantic differential scale	A scale connecting 2 bipolar words. The respondent selects the point that represents his / her opinion	Air India is Large……………………….Small Experienced……………………..Inexperienced Modern……………………….….Old-fashioned
Rating scale	A scale that rates some attributes from “poor” to “excellent”	Food services of Air India is (Excellent – 1 / Very Good – 2 / Good – 3 / Fair – 4 / Poor – 5)
Importance scale	A€ scale that rates the importance of some attributes	Airline food service to me is (Extremely important – 1/ Very important -2 / Somewhat important-3 / Not very important – 4/ Not at all important – 5)
Intention to Buy scale	A scale that describes respondent’s intention to buy	If an in-flight telephone were available on a long flight, I would (Definitely buy-1 / Probably buy-2 / Probably not buy-3 / Definitely not buy-4)

Open Ended Questions

Name	Description	Example
Completely unstructured	A question that respondents can answer in an almost unlimited number of ways	What is your opinion about Air India
Sentence completion	Words are presented, one at a time, and respondents mention the 1st word that comes to their mind	What is the first word that comes to your mind when you hear: Sweet (Chocolate, sugar, sweet, colas)
Story completion	An incomplete story is presented and respondents are asked to complete it	When I choose an airline, the most important consideration in my decision is _______________
Picture	A picture of 2 characters is presented, with one making a statement. Respondents are asked to identify with the other and fill in the empty position
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)	A picture is presented and respondents are asked to make a story about what they think is happening or may happen in the picture

Questionnaire DOs and DON’Ts

1. Ensure that questions are asked without bias. Don’t lead the respondent into an answer.

2. Make the questions as simple as possible. Questions that include multiple ideas or two questions in one will confuse respondents.

3. Make the questions specific. Sometimes it’s advisable to add memory cues. For example, be specific with time periods.

4. Avoid jargon or shortlisted. Avoid trade jargons, acronyms, and initials not in everyday use.

5. Steer clear of sophisticated or uncommon words. Only use of words in common speech.

6. Avoid ambiguous words. Words such as “usually” or “frequently” have no specific meaning.

7. Avoid questions with a negative in them. It is better to say, ”Do you ever……..?” than “Do you never…..?”

8. Avoid hypothetical questions. It’s difficult to answer questions about imaginary situations. Answers aren’t necessarily reliable.

9. Do not use words that could be misheard. This is especially important when administering the interview over the telephone. “What is your opinion of sects?” could yield interesting but not necessarily relevant answers.

10. Desensitize questions by using response bands. To ask people their age or ask companies about employee turnover rates, offer a range of response bands instead of precise numbers.

11. Ensure that fixed responses do not overlap. Categories used in fixed-response questions should be distinct and not overlap.

12. Allow for “other” in fixed-response questions. Prescribed answers should always allow for a response other than those listed.

Surveys

Characteristic	Telephone Surveys	Door-to-door Personal Interview	Mall intercept Personal Interview	Mail Surveys
Speed of data collection	Very fast	Moderate to fast	Fast	Slow (Researcher has no control over return of questionnaire)
Geographical flexibility	High	Limited to moderate	Confined, urban bias	High
Respondent Cooperation	Good	Excellent	Moderate to low	Moderate (Poorly design questionnaire will have low response rate)
Versatility of questioning	Moderate	Quite versatile	Extremely versatile	High standardized format
Questionnaire length	Moderate	Long	Moderate to long	Varies depending on incentive
Item non-response		Low	Medium	High
Possibility of respondent misunderstanding	Average	Lowest	Lowest	Highest – no interviewer present for clarification
Degree of interviewer influence answer	Moderate	High	Highest	None – interviewer absent
Supervision of Interviews	High, especially with central locations	Moderate	Moderate to high	Not applicable
Anonymity of the respondent	Moderate	Low	Low	High
Ease of call back or follow-up	Easy	Difficult	Difficult	Easy, but takes time
Cost	Low to moderate	Highest	Moderate to High	Lowest
Special features	Fieldwork and supervision of data collection are simplified; quite adaptable to computer technology	Visual materials may be shown or demonstrated; extended probing possible	Taste test, viewing of TV commercials possible	NA

Characteristic	E-mail questionnaire	Internet Surveys
Speed of data collection	Instantaneous	Instantaneous
Geographical flexibility	Worldwide	Worldwide
Respondent Cooperation	Varies depending if e-mail is seen as “spam”	Depends on speed of internet, respondents computer skills
Possibility of respondent misunderstanding		High
Degree of interviewer influence answer		None
Supervision of Interviews		Not required
Anonymity of the respondent		Respondent can be anonymous or unknown
Ease of call back or follow-up		Difficult unless e-mail address is known
Cost	Cheap distribution and processing cost	Cost effective
Special features	Flexible, extensive differences in capabilities of respondents computers and e-mail software limit the types of questions and the layout	Allow graphics and streamlining media