I know some people who often repeat phrases such as “What you don’t know can’t hurt you” and “Ignorance is bliss.” I understand why some people believe these statements. We read or watch the news and sometimes feel overwhelmed and/or depressed by all the things happening around the world and even in our own back yards. I actually know some people who avoid the news; stating that it is always bad and they are better off not knowing.

But are they really better off? While the news is full of bad reports, I think of all the good that often comes out of knowing. When the news reports how many people have been adversely impacted by a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a hurricane, many people respond by sending aid. Local tragedies often bring people together as well. Recently in my area people came together to help a charity that had been burglarized by replacing the items that had been stolen. On another occasion, people in our community contributed to an account to help a widow raise her children after her husband was killed in the line of duty.

Sometimes business executives, like the people who do not watch the news, feel inclined to “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” when it comes to what is going on with their employees and/or customers. They choose to bury their heads in the sand and hope for the best. But while this may feel comfortable in the short run, it can have disastrous effects. The trouble with this approach is that problems may exist that, if they are not addressed, can grow until they have the potential to ruin your business. I have a close friend who never developed the habit of going to the doctor for regular checkups. A little over a year ago he began experiencing some pain and for some time he chose to ignore it. Finally, he decided to take the time to get it checked out. Sadly, not only did he have cancer but it had already begun to spread and was in stage four, only one stage away from end stage cancer. That cancer has now spread all over his body and this man has just weeks to live.

A questionnaire is the mainstay of survey research, used most often to gather information from large numbers of individuals. The questionnaire contains questions (or items) administered online or through the mail that have been standardized to mean the same thing to everyone so that responses can be compared to one another.

It’s always best, of course, to generate a plan to direct questionnaire design and implementation. Points to include in the plan include available resources, outcomes, indicators demonstrating outcome success, sources of information, methods used to gather information, and points at which the information will be gathered. Plans to pilot test the questionnaire should also be an integral part of the plan.

Two types of information are often collected. Quantitative information is best gathered using questionnaires, yielding the summary of large amounts of data and generalizations based on statistical projections.

Qualitative information is gathered from a thorough investigation of issues, using multiple methods, including observations, interviews, focus groups, key informants and journals to ultimately tell a story.

Developing a questionnaire seems easy, right? Decide what you need to know, write a bunch of questions and get people to answer them. What you need to know, is that the responses people give are affected by the way you word each item or question. Many problems arise and much information is rendered useless because of inattention to the way items are worded during questionnaire design.

Item writing is affected by item wording (the term item is used because not all items on a questionnaire are questions). Questionnaire designers must consider the following: Does the item elicit information related to the topic of interest? Is wording clear and unambiguous? Will the item mean the same thing to everyone?

Does the item demand knowledge and information the respondent has (or not)? Does the item contain personal or potentially threatening issues the respondent might resist? Are items loaded with social (un)desirability? Often the approach to items and questions will differ depending on how the survey is administered.

Survey means ‘to look at in a comprehensive way’. There are numerous ways to look at issues in the world of survey research, including in-person and telephone interviews, mailed and online questionnaires.

In-Person Interviews

Getting information in person may be the most personal approach and most effective way of gaining trust and cooperation from the respondent. It is easier to react to puzzled facial expressions, answer questions, probe for clarification or redirect responses. Face to face contact is particularly useful to detect respondent discomfort when discussing sensitive issues or attempts to respond in a socially desirable way.

The in-person interview is usually more costly than any other method. Interviewers must be trained and flown to geographic areas or found and trained within the area of study. It may be unrealistic to send interviewers into areas of high density housing or high crime which may result in an important demographic left out of the study.

In 2008 I wrote a series on “conducting surveys”.  This series was written from the point of view of an absolute neophyte in the survey research industry.  Everything that I have learned since then has been from Organizational Psychologists and experts in related fields; experts such as Dr. Jan Stringer, Dr. Ken West, and Dr. Terrie Nolinske. 

Today I am happy to announce that we are starting a new article series, this time written by Dr. Nolinske.  We will be featuring a new article every Friday.  Dr. Nolinske’s articles will describe the benefits and pitfalls of conducting your customer or employee survey.  I am confident that you will find her postings extremely entertaining and very informative.

We welcome your comments and questions and hope you enjoy the article series.  Suggestions for future series’ are also welcome.   Dr. Nolinske’s first article is below.