Page 85 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

66 Chapter Four

When you construct this kind of question, you must be careful to make sure
the list of answers that you offer to your respondents is exhaustive and
mutually exclusive.

In the example question, if someone works in the personnel department, he or
she will not be able to find an appropriate answer. In such a case, this question
has an inadequate number of answers. It is also recommended that the total
number of answers in a multiple-choice question be no more than 10 to 12.

Checklist or Inventory Questions
A checklist or inventory question asks respondents what subset of items on
a list would apply to them. Here is an example of a checklist question:
Please indicate from what sources you obtain information about new
music and movies? Check all that apply.

______ Radio ______ Television ______ Internet
______ Newspaper ______ Friend ______ Magazine
______ Other (please specify)

Clearly in this question, more than one answer may apply.

Rating Questions
A rating question asks the respondent to use a given scale to judge
something. Here is an example of a rating question:
Please rate your instructor’s teaching ability in the following categories
on a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is very poor, 3 is average, and 5 is excellent.

Rating Category
______ Course contents
______ Instruction
______ Office hours

The Pros and Cons of Closed-Ended Questions
The advantages of closed-ended questions include
1. The set of answers in a closed-ended question is uniform, so it is easy
to compare the differences among respondents.
2. The uniformity in the set of answers for each question will make
computer data entry easier.
3. The fixed list of answers tends to make the question clearer to the
respondent.