Designing Questionnaires for Children and Young People

Alice Bell

Families and Children Group

National Centre for Social Research (NatCen)

Royal College of Nursing Conference

‘Consulting with Children and Young People’

Friday 9th June 2006

Session outline

• Quantitative and qualitative research• When to use questionnaires with children and young

people• Designing questions for children and young people -

the Question and Answer Model• Question testing techniques

• Interactive quiz!

Two types of research

Quantitative Qualitative

Two types of research

Quantitative

• Fixed (questionnaires)

Qualitative

• Flexible (e.g. topic guides)

Two types of research

Quantitative

• Fixed (questionnaires)• Incidence & prevalence

Qualitative

• Flexible (e.g. topic guides)• Reasons & explanation

Two types of research

Quantitative

• Fixed (questionnaires)• Incidence & prevalence• Representative sample

Qualitative

• Flexible (e.g. topic guides)• Reasons & explanation• Purposive sample

Two types of research

Quantitative

• Fixed (questionnaires)• Incidence & prevalence• Representative sample• Data ordered & numerical

Qualitative

• Flexible (e.g. topic guides)• Reasons & explanation• Purposive sample• Data disorderly & rich

Choosing an appropriate methodology (1)

• Traditional leaning towards using qualitative techniques with children and young people

• Quantitative research widely considered feasible from age 7…

• …but age only a rough proxy for various aspects of ‘development’

Choosing an appropriate methodology (2)

• Be clear about your research questions• Identify your population• Consider time and budget• Quant and qual in combination?

Range of quantitative options

• Face-to-face interviewing (paper or computer-assisted)

• Telephone interviewing (paper or computer-assisted)• Self-completion questionnaires (paper or computer-

based - including online)

Question-Answer ModelComprehend

question

Respond

Judge

Retrieveinformation

(Tourangeau 1984)

Comprehension

• Vocabulary • Question length• Ambiguity• Double-barrelled questions• Depersonalised/indirect questions• Complex constructions• Negative questions• Suggestively phrased questions

Retrieval

• Level of recall

• Complexity of retrieval process

• Reference periods

Judgement

• Filtering responses - social desirability

• Context effects

• ‘No right or wrong answers’

• Sensitive questions and topics

Response

• Number of response categories

• Ordering of response categories

• Scales and labels

• Explicit vs implicit ‘Don’t Know’s

• Showcards

Question testing

• Sometimes called ‘cognitive testing’

• Used to revise and refine questionnaire

• In-depth interviews; retrospective probing and ‘think-

aloud’ techniques

• Other options: expert appraisal, focus groups,

observation

Question testing - example (1)Do you have a personal computer (PC) at home?(Tick one box)YesNo

Question testing - example (1) revised

Do you or your family have a computer at home?(Tick one box)

YesNo

Question testing - example (2)

How often, if ever, are you punished at school e.g. detention, sent to see the head teacher, sent out of the classroom?NeverRarelySometimesOften

Question testing - example (2) revised

In the last four weeks, how many timeshave you been punished at school?

NeverOnce or twiceThree or more times