developing establishment survey questionnaire design guidelines at the u.s. census bureau rebecca l....
TRANSCRIPT
Developing Establishment Survey Questionnaire Design Guidelines at the U.S. Census Bureau
Rebecca L. Morrison
2
Outline
Introduction & Background
Development of the Guidelines
Preliminary Guidelines
Application of Guidelines
Conclusion & Next Steps
Introduction & Background
4
Introduction & Background
U.S. Census Bureau:– “…leading source of quality data…nation’s
people and economy”– Tries to minimize burden of data collection
Burden = time, level of effort
Reduce cognitive burden through visual design, structure of data request
5
Introduction & Background (cont’d)
Paper does not focus on specific question wording and order issues.
Paper presents preliminary guidelines in questionnaire design – formatting, layout, navigation, instructions, and data request phrasing and style.
6
Development of the Guidelines
7
Development of the Guidelines: Census Bureau
Agency standards for various survey quality issues
No standard for design of questionnaires
Economic surveys moving toward consistent “look and feel”
8
Development of the Guidelines: ESMS
Establishment Survey Methods Staff– Group of survey methodologists– In-house consultants to economic
programs– Noticed differences across questionnaires– Survey programs work with ESMS on
questionnaire design and pretesting– Catalyst towards consistency
9
Development of the Guidelines: Methods
Questionnaire design principles from standard texts
Special attention to literature on visual design
Based on pretesting a variety of questionnaires with respondents
10
Development of the Guidelines: Considerations
List of design elements to consider
Used to assess tradeoffs within specific survey conditions
Not a cookbook
Preliminary Guidelines
12
Guideline A: Text styles
Be aware of text styles, and how they are used for emphasis within a survey instrument.
13
Guideline A: Example
2004 Annual Survey of Local Government Finances
14
Guideline A: Example
15
Guideline A: Text styles
These are favored by respondents:– Print item numbers in reverse-print
bubbles, e.g., , , – Print questions in bold black text.– Print instructions in plain text or italics.– Use an 8-point font or larger.
16
Guideline A: Text styles
Answer spaces:– Open, non-delineated vs. delineated
– Respondents do not seem to have a strong preference
– Be consistent
17
Guideline A: Text styles
Key codes / Punch codes:– De-emphasize processing codes for
respondents– Print in a darker shade of background
color– Example:
18
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.
Reduce clutter on the page. Use navigational paths and layouts that are natural and readable for respondents.
19
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.
20
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.Format in 1997 Economic Census
confusing:– Lines were “speedbumps” to navigation– Not clear how respondent was to navigate
two adjoined columns
Format changed for 2002– Single column of questions– Generally, a single column of response
options
21
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.
Two columns of questions– Occasionally done when questions:
• Are shorter• Do not involve extensive instructions• Do not ask for numerical information
– Survey of Business Owners (SBO)• Information collected is categorical or ordinal,
not interval or ratio
22
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.
Spread out the questions across more pages
Use bulleted lists
More open space = more “user-friendly”
23
Guideline C: Instructions
Place instructions close to questions, or incorporate them into questions. Where possible, convert instructions into questions.
24
Guideline C: Instructions
Instructions convey specifications, intent of question
Respondents tend not to pay attention to instructions, or only look when they think they need them
25
Guideline C: Instructions
2 Goals for instructions:– Eliminate, or reduce, amount of
instructions located separate from question
– Place instructions/information where it is most needed
26
Guideline C: Instructions
Convert instructions into questions so respondents attend to them– When content critical to correct
interpretation of later questions– When it helps clarify/correct reported data
Example (2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey):
27
Guideline D: Avoid sentence fragments and key words
Phrase data requests as questions or imperative statements, not as sentence fragments or key words.
28
Guideline D: Avoid sentence fragments and key words
Types of data requests– Question (question word, question mark)– Imperative statement (report, enter, add)– Sentence fragment (key words, no verb)
29
Guideline D: Avoid sentence fragments and key words
Example, 2002 Economic Census:– Is this establishment physically located
inside the legal boundaries of the city, town, village, etc.?
Versus:– Type of municipality where this
establishment is physically located
30
Guideline D: Avoid sentence fragments and key words
Cognitive interview study: respondents prefer questions over sentence fragments
Survey methodology grad students: questions more effective, imply respondent has to do something
31
Guideline E: Simple vs. complicated questions
Ask additional, simple questions, rather than fewer, more complicated ones.
32
Guideline E: Simple vs. complicated questions
Length and complexity of question affects how long it takes for respondent to understand it
More complicated questions might also be more likely to be double-barreled
May be easier for respondents to answer series of shorter, simpler questions
33
Guideline E: Simple vs. complicated questions
Example: 2002 Industrial Research & Development Survey
34
Guideline E: Simple vs. complicated questions
2006 R&D Survey
35
Guideline F: Use matrices judiciously
Use matrices judiciously, and consider the likely respondents’ background when deciding whether or not to use them.
36
Guideline G: Be consistent!
Items should be numbered in the same way
Bold and italicized print should always mean the same thing
Navigation path should remain constant
Data requests should be in the same form
Variation can be confusing for respondents
37
Application of Guidelines
38
Guideline A: Text Styles
Work in progress among estab surveys at Census Bureau
Economic Census automation required consistent design features– Plain text: questions– Italics: instructions, definitions,
include/exclude lists– Bold: Separating items into categories, sums
of added lines, emphasis within questions
39
Guideline A: Text Styles
Survey of Business Owners:
– Questions: plain– Instructions: bold and/or italics– Emphasis withinquestions: bold and/or italics
40
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.
Survey of Residential Alterations and Repairs (SORAR)– Two columns to one column– Removed or lightened lines– Use of bulleted lists– More open space
41
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.
Old
SORAR
42
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.New SORAR
43
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.Two columns:
Survey of
Business
Owners
44
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.BEA quarterly foreign direct investment (FDI)
Complex navigational path
Crowded text
45
BEA form
revised
Guideline B: Reduce visual clutter. Use natural navigational paths.
46
Guideline C: Instructions
Economic census continues to use separate instruction sheets and booklets
Two questionnaires moved many instructions to questionnaire:– 2007 Commodity Flow Survey– BEA quarterly FDI form
47
Guideline C: Instructions
48
Guideline D: Avoid sentence fragments and key words
Mixed success in application across surveys
49
Guideline D: Avoid sentence fragments and key words
Commodity Flow Survey uses mix of questions and imperative statements
50
Guideline E: Simple vs. complicated questions
Example:
2002 Survey
of Business
Owners
51
Guideline E: Simple vs. complicated questions
Example: 2007
Survey of Business
Owners
(still in cognitive
pretesting)
52
Guideline F: Use matrices judiciously
Example:
BEA
quarterly
FDI
53
Guideline F: Use matrices judiciously
54
Conclusion & Next Steps
55
Conclusion & Next Steps
Guidelines are preliminary, based on principles of questionnaire design
Further refinement is necessary before they can be applied to establishment surveys at Census Bureau
56
Conclusion & Next Steps
Other agencies/organizations may develop guidelines that work better for their environment
There is no cookbook for questionnaire design