Monthly Archives: March 2010
Going for the Gold
Every two years athletes from all over the world gather to compete in either the summer or winter Olympic Games. They all come with the same goal in mind—to beat the competition and win a medal, preferably a gold one. As spectators watch the games in person or on television, they are seeing the end result of a process that involved years of preparation. It reminds me of the process that those of us in business experience as we use customer and employee surveys and strive to improve our businesses to achieve “best in class” standing. In this paper I … Continue Reading…
Questionnaire Context, Order, and Meaning
When designing questionnaires, the order of items on the questionnaire creates a context, or meaning, for the entire questionnaire. Items placed early on in the questionnaire effect the way in which people respond to later questions.
“Each item will be interpreted by respondents within the context of the questionnaire, previous questions and the wording of each item,” notes Gregory G. Holyk, University of Illinois at Chicago, in the Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods.
To ensure positive use of context in questionnaires, it is important that you clearly define the purpose of the questionnaire. Start writing drafts of items … Continue Reading…
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
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 … Continue Reading…
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
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 … Continue Reading…
The State of Casino Gaming
Employee Engagement: Leading by Example
Surveys: Do You Need an Expert?