Chapter 12 Multiple choice questions - Business Research Methods 5e Student Resources

. An open question is one that:

can help to generate answers for closed questions.

does not suggest or provide a limited range of responses.

allows respondents to answer in their own words

all of the above.

. In order to post-code answers to open questions, it is necessary to:

count the frequency with which each answer has been given.

categorise unstructured material and assign a code number to each category.

identify the three most commonly cited responses and give them a code.

find out where each respondent lives and make a note of their postcode.

. Which of the following is a disadvantage of using closed questions in a survey?

It makes answers easier for the researcher to process and analyse.

It minimises the risk of variability in the way answers are recorded.

They prevent respondents from giving spontaneous, unexpected answers.

Closed questions are quicker and easier for respondents to complete.

. Informant factual questions are those that:

attempt to identify the normative standards and values held by a social group.

ask people about the characteristics of a social setting or entity that they know well.

seek to find out about people's attitudes and opinions on a range of topics.

enquire about personal details such as age, income and occupation.

. Which of the following is a key premise when designing your questionnaire?

Remember your research questions

Never ask a closed question.

Use ambiguous terms to put respondents at ease.

Vignettes are easier to use than an open question.

. You should avoid using double-barrelled questions in a survey because:

a respondent should only have one surname, and not a double barrelled one.

they make the questions too long, so respondents lose interest.

they are too abstract.

they confuse respondents by asking about two different things.

. Leading questions should also be avoided as:

they suggest a certain answer and so may bias the results.

they create a mismatch between the question and its possible answers.

they involve negative terms and unnecessary jargon.

they ask about several different things at the same time.

. A vignette question is one that asks respondents to think about:

family obligations to care for sick relatives.

an intensely painful and sensitive issue in their personal life.

a scenario involving imaginary characters in a realistic situation.

their favourite kind of salad dressing.

. Piloting a questionnaire is a worthwhile exercise because it will

test out your questions on some of the people who will be in the final sample.

identify and amend any problems in the question wording, order and format.

find out what a trained pilot would think of the subject matter.

all of the above.

. A question bank is a useful resource for:

studying the way questions have been successfully used in previous surveys.

stealing other people's questions without their permission.

learning more about your topic so that you can devise leading questions.

keeping the money from your funding agency in a safe place.