Questionnaire development and testing
Our Questionnaire Development and Testing (QDT) team comprises survey experts dedicated to crafting and refining respondent centred questionnaires and other survey materials. Their mission is to create clear, effective questions that accurately capture respondents' opinions.
We specialise in designing and testing survey questions as well as other data collection tools including information leaflets, web forms, diaries, online calendars and ballot papers. Our goal is to ensure that any data collection tool is clear, accessible, and engaging, for its intended audience. This is important as data collection tools that do not consider respondent experience collect poor quality data.
Our expertise in cognitive testing is grounded in the book "Cognitive Interviewing Practice", published in 2015 by Sage. This practical handbook provides valuable insights into cognitive interviewing methods, including techniques for probing respondents' thoughts and understanding their mental processes.
Our experts can help you create robust respondent centred questionnaires that yield reliable and valuable data. We have experience in various topics, such as supermarket loyalty schemes, time-use, children’s wellbeing, gambling, immigration, and artificial intelligence.
Before launching your survey, we can test your questions to ensure they accurately measure what you intend to investigate. We use a variety of methods, including cognitive interviews, focus groups, and expert panels, to identify potential issues and refine your questions.
If you've encountered unexpected survey results, we can review your questions to gain insights into what may have happened and whether your results can be trusted or not. Our experts can identify cognitive biases and other factors that may have influenced respondents' answers, and help you improve your instruments for next time.
Our methods can be applied to user testing of a range of materials such as participant communication documents (leaflets, letters etc), diaries (online and paper), websites and other digital materials such as online surveys, helping you tailor your content to your audience effectively. We can identify usability issues and make recommendations for improving your materials.
We offer training and consultancy on questionnaire design and cognitive testing to a wide range of individuals and organisations. Our training programmes cover a variety of topics, including survey design principles, cognitive testing techniques, and best practices for data analysis. We've also delivered training resources on Cognitive Interviewing for the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) which you can view here.
Our Methods
- Desk Review: We begin by carefully examining your questions and materials to assess their wording, order, and instructions. We use a variety of checklists and guidelines to identify potential issues.
- Cognitive Interviews: We use cognitive testing to observe how respondents interpret and process your questions, identifying any potential issues. We use a variety of probing techniques to elicit detailed information about respondents' thoughts and experiences.
- Focus Groups and Expert Panels: These methods provide valuable insights into participants' perspectives and discussions. We use a variety of discussion techniques to encourage participants to share their thoughts and experiences.
- User and Mobile Testing: We ensure your questionnaires are clear, relevant, and easy to understand for all respondents, especially on mobile devices. We use a variety of methods to observe respondents' interactions with your materials and identify potential usability issues.
Let us help you create questionnaires that deliver accurate and valuable data
For more information, contact our Business Development team at 020 7549 9584
Email our Business Development team