Asking Questions: The Definitive Guide to Questionnaire Design -- For Market Research, Political Polls, and Social and Health Questionnaires [Paperback]

Norman M. Bradburn (Author), Seymour Sudman (Author), Brian Wansink (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0787970883 | ISBN-13: 978-0787970888 | Edition: Revised Edition

Since it was first published more than twenty-five years ago, Asking Questions has become a classic guide for designing questionnaires?the most widely used method for collecting information about people?s attitudes and behavior. An essential tool for market researchers advertisers, pollsters, and social scientists, this thoroughly updated and definitive work combines time-proven techniques with the most current research, findings, and methods. The book presents a cognitive approach to questionnaire design and includes timely information on the Internet and electronic resources. Comprehensive and concise, Asking Questions can be used to design questionnaires for any subject area, whether administered by telephone, online, mail, in groups, or face-to-face. The book describes the design process from start to finish and is filled with illustrative examples from actual surveys.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"The best single source about the present state of knowledge of questionnaire construction."
–Choice

Since it was first published more than twenty-five years ago, Asking Questions has become a classic guide for designing questionnaires–the most widely used method for collecting information about people’s attitudes and behavior. An essential tool for market researchers advertisers, pollsters, and social scientists, this thoroughly updated and definitive work combines time-proven techniques with the most current research, findings, and methods. The book presents a cognitive approach to questionnaire design and includes timely information on the Internet and electronic resources. Comprehensive and concise, Asking Questions can be used to design questionnaires for any subject area, whether administered by telephone, online, mail, in groups, or face-to-face. The book describes the design process from start to finish and is filled with illustrative examples from actual surveys. Asking Questions guides you through how to

• Determine what information is needed
• Phrase questions to minimize bias and distortion
• Obtain successful questions from existing questionnaires
• Control the level of threat
• Order questions to encourage response
• Select the best administration method
• Adapt questions and format to specific situations
• Test and validate the completed survey
• Evaluate and revise the questionnaire for improved results

About the Author

Norman M. Bradburn is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor emeritus psychology, at the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy and the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago. He was a senior vice president at the National Opinion Research Center.
Seymour Sudman was a Walter H. Stellner Distinguished Professor of Marketing and deputy director and research professor at the Survey Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Professor Sudman died in 2000.
Brian Wansink is Professor of Marketing, Nutritional Science, Advertising and Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is also Research Professor at Cornell University and at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; Revised Edition edition (April 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787970883
• ISBN-13: 978-0787970888
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Cognitive
  • #65 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Sexuality
  • #65 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Research

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive questionnaire design book August 15, 2006

By Collin R. Payne

Format:Paperback

This book is a tremendous resource for any social science research methodology course. It should be used as a stand-alone text for a questionnaire design course or as core reading material for a general research methodology class (undergraduate or graduate). As a social scientist, I have used it to successfully create web-based questionnaires that have received great response rates, which I believe are a direct result of the depth and breadth of the knowledge conveyed in the book. In addition, the text itself is easy to understand, interesting, and intellectually stimulating (qualities that are lacking in many other questionnaire design books).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and Workable November 13, 2007

By Weldyn Houger

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is very practical and has many workable ideas that will work in the academic disciplines. It is important to form questions that will give workable answers. This book helps in this area.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great perspective on questionnaire fundamentals November 14, 2006

By EJT

Format:Paperback

This edition offers insight about the building blocks of questionnaire development, and more importantly, getting to the right answers. A good focus on the fundamentals and a valuable resource.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read February 8, 2010

By LiteraryAspirations

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Its a textbook for my class on survey questionnaire design. It is a very good textbook. It is easy to read and concepts are presented in an accessible manner. It works better if you read it with other research on question wording and cognitive interviewing etc...
I received the product on time, and in good condition.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting text January 25, 2013

By Mike Carlson

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

A good reference for the field professional. I use this and other tools as triggers to stimulate my creativity when designing data collection instruments. An excellent how-to & how-not-to for novices.

4 of 18 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Dry and Outdated March 1, 2006

By Michael Raia

Format:Paperback

I found this book to be a bit dry and behind the times, especially in terms of using the Web for surveys. There's also not much about polling. Unfortunately, that was my main reason for buying it. It is one of the few books out there about surveys and polls and there is some helpful information, but I will have to look elsewhere for my needs.