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Techniques
Survey or Questionnaire
10.45.2 Description
A survey or questionnaire presents a set of questions to stakeholders and subject
matter experts (SMEs), whose responses are then collected and analyzed in order
to formulate knowledge about the subject matter of interest. The questions can
be submitted in written form or can be administered in person, over the
telephone, or using technology that can record responses.
There are two types of questions used in a survey or questionnaire:
10.45.3 Elements
• Close-ended: the respondent is asked to select from a list of predefined
responses, such as a Yes/No response, a multiple-choice selection, a rank/
order decision, or a statement requiring a level of agreement. This is useful
when the anticipated range of user responses is fairly well defined and
understood. The responses to close-ended questions are easier to analyze
than those gained from open-ended questions because they can be tied to
numerical coefficients.
• Open-ended: the respondent is asked to answer questions in a free form
without having to select an answer from a list of predefined responses.
Open-ended questions are useful when the issues are known and the range
of user responses is not. Open-ended questions may result in more detail
and a wider range of responses than closed-ended questions. The
responses to open-ended questions are more difficult and time-consuming
to categorize, quantify, and summarize as they are unstructured and often
include subjective language with incomplete or superfluous content.
Questions should be asked in a way that does not influence the response data.
They should be expressed in neutral language and should not be structured or
sequenced to condition the respondent to provide perceived desirable answers.
.1 Prepare
An effective survey or questionnaire requires detailed planning in order to ensure
that the needed information is obtained in an efficient manner.
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When preparing for a survey or questionnaire, business analysts do the following:
• Define the objective: a clear and specific objective establishes a defined
purpose of the survey or questionnaire. Questions are formulated with the
intent of meeting the objective.
• Define the target survey group: identifying the group to be surveyed in
terms of population size and any perceived variations (for example, culture,
language, or location) helps identify factors that can impact survey design.
• Choose the appropriate survey or questionnaire type: the objective of
the survey or questionnaire determines the appropriate combination of
close-ended questions and open-ended questions to elicit the information
required.
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