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Questionnaire Hints

Questionnaires may be used to obtain quantitative research information. In developing a questionnaire, think through the following:

Who has the information you need or who has access to it? This helps you define your population of interest. By knowing your population of interest, you can determine an appropriate sample size.

Will respondents in your population of interest be willing to share the information you want with you? By thinking about before you survey, you can construct your questions accordingly. For example, if you think respondents won't want to share information with you, can you disguise the question or deduce an answer from other questions?

Do you understand the language the respondent must use to communicate? The words we use can have different meanings to different people and different cultures. Do you have a clear understanding of this?

A good questionnaire will have, at its root, a clear objective by the author, and will contain questions that can be read and understood in the same manner by respondents.

Hints: In developing your questionnaire, keep the following in mind:

• Don't plan your questionnaire until you clearly know your objectives.
• Pretest the questionnaire to ensure that it can be clearly understood
• Keep questions to 25 words or less
• Avoid using jargon or abbreviations
• Avoid compound questions, for example, "Would you say that the publication contained accurate data and will be of help to you in your decisionmaking process?"
• Construct the questionnaire so that it begins by asking broader questions and ends by asking more focused questions.
• Avoid long questionnaires (these can be intimidating).
• Ask important questions early in the questionnaire (respondents tire).
• If you use essay or open-ended questions (for example, "What did you like (dislike) most about our new map?" remember that you will need to analyze the responses. These types of questions are also more burdensome for the respondent.
• Closed-end questions (true/false; yes/no; agree/disagree) are harder to write but easier on the respondent and easier to tabulate. The results of closed-end questions are also more appropriate for statistical analysis.

Sample Questionnaire

Customer Satisfaction and Social Science Research Questionnaire from the National Park Service:

Visiting Prince William Forest Park (OMB Approval 1024-0191, Expiration Date: 10-31-97)

1. Prior to this visit, were you and your group aware that Prince William Forest Park is a National Park Service site?

2. Prior to this visit, how did you and your group get information about Prince William Forest Park? Please check all that apply.

3. a) On this visit, did you and your group visit any additional attractions in Prince William County?

b) If yes, how did you learn about these attactions? ____________________________

4. a) On this visit, how much time did you and your group spend at Prince William Forest Park?

• If less than 24 hours: NUMBER OF HOURS ____
• If 24 hours or more: NUMBER OF DAYS _____ (list partial days as 1/4, ½ etc.)

b) Do you or any memberrs of your group live in Prince William County?

c) On this visit, how much time did you and your group spend outside Prince William Forest park but within 35 miles of the Park?

• If less than 24 hours: NUMBER OF HOURS ____
• If 24 hours or more: NUMBER OF DAYS ____

5. On this visit, what were your primary reasons for visiting the northern Virginia and/or Washington, DC area? Please check all that apply.

6. Please rate the importance (from 1 to 5) of the following features or qualities to you and your group during this visit to Prince William Forest Park. How Important?
1 (not important) 2 3 4 5 (extremely important)

7. On the list below, please check all of the activities that you and your group participated in during this visit to Prince William Forest Park?

8. a) Did you have any difficulty locating Prince William Forest Park?

9. On the list below, please mark the sites you and your group visited at Prince William Forest Prark during this trip.

10. On this visit, how many people were in your group including yourself?)

11. On this visit, were you with a guided tour/school group?

12. On this visit, what kind of group were you with? Please check only one.

13. For you and each member of your group, please indicate:

14. a) Please check the visitor services which you or your group used during this visit to Prince William Forest Park.

b) Next, for only those services which you or your group used, please rate their importance from 1 to 5.

c) Finally, for only those services which you or your group used, please rate their quality from 1-5.

15. a) Please check the visitor facilities which you or your group used during this visit to Prince William Forest Park.

b) Next, for only those facilities which you or your group used, please rate their importance from 1 to 5.

c) Finally, for only those facilities which you or your group used, please rate their quality from 1 to 5.

16. a) Do all members of your group live in Prince William County?

b) If no, during this visit, how much money did you and your group spend for lodging, travel, food and other items in Prince William County? Please write "0" if you did not spend any money.

17. Overall, how would you rate the quality of the visitor services provided to you and your group at Prince William Forest Park during this visit? Please circle only one.

18. a) What did you like most about your visit to Prince William Forest Park?
___________________________________________________________________________

b) What did you like least about your visit?
___________________________________________________________________________

19. If you were a park manager planning for the future of Prince William Forest Park, what would you propose? Please be specific.
___________________________________________________________________________

20. Is there anything else you and your group would like to tell us about your visit to Prince William Forest Park?
___________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your help. Please seal the questionnaire with the sticker provided and drop it in any U.S. mailbox.