How to Ask Questions: Guidelines for Product or Consumer Research and Testing Work

LEARNING SESSION DESCRIPTION
Surveying and Questionnaire Design is an important aspect of consumer research work for the marketing as well as product/packaging design, development and testing divisions of a company. These questionnaires are important instruments and channels for data collection from its target consumer base seeking to understand the customers so that the right type of products can be rightly offered and made available at the right venue and moment. Being able to do so will eventually redound to the organization’s performance and profitability.

 

Part of the challenge in Surveying and Questionnaire Design is that there is rarely one correct way to ask questions or to develop the survey form and instruments. Questions and surveys can be crafted and designed in a number of ways. So this training-workshop overall does not seek out to be prescriptive but intends to provide instead to the participants the guidelines on how to think about the questions and the associated questionnaire and survey. It will provide participants with an overview of the role of the questionnaire in a survey/interview process and along with it the information on options, alternatives, dilemma associated with writing the questionnaire that will collect accurate data from the consumers or test subjects as to their preferences, behaviors and/or disposition.

 

The training will start with laying down the importance and necessity of a questionnaire and tackle the important conceptual framework of what makes a questionnaire work through its underlying principles. Questionnaire in this training is flexible enough to either refer to the set of questions for utilization in an interview or a survey.  From there participants will be made to see that questions can be categorized to various classes each with its own advantages and disadvantages. A significant amount of time will also be spent on the major issue of how to formulate questions under various conditions. Also part of the training are sections on question wording, bias, question order, layout and translations, rating scale design and use which are all things that market researchers and/or product/package developers or testers deal with frequently. It ends with outlining practical steps and important notes on how to start and go about developing and deploying a questionnaire with emphasis on the importance of pre-testing and piloting.

LEARNING SESSION FEES AND INCLUSIONS

This two-day learning session is worth Php 10,640.00 (VAT included). This includes (1) Workbook Materials and Training Manual, (2) Morning and Afternoon Snacks and Lunch, Unlimited Espresso Coffee/Tea and (3) Certificate of Completion.

COURSE RELATED RESERVATION AND QUESTIONS

To reserve for this learning session or should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us via email through [email protected] with your name and contact details.

Day/Time

Day 1

AM Session

1.0  Introductory Principles on Questionnaires

-       Questionnaire Defined, Its Importance and Necessity

-       General Principles of a Questionnaire

• Respondent Orientation
• Questionnaire Layers
• Questionnaire Objective

-       Specific Principles of a Questionnaire

• Questions
• Words
• Layers/Format

2.0 Types of Questions

-          Open vs Close

-          Spontaneous vs Prompted

-          Open-Ended vs Pre-Coded

PM Session

3.0 Guidelines on Questioning Under Various Conditions

-          Asking Questions About Behavior

-          Asking Questions About Behavioral Intentions and Attitudes

-          Asking and Recording Close and Open-Ended Questions

-          Asking Questions That Measure Knowledge

-          Asking Questions on Evaluating Performance

-          Asking About Demographic Information

-          Asking Psychographic Questions

Day 2

AM Session

4.0 Organizing and Designing a Questionnaire

-          General Formatting Guidelines

-          Computer Assisted vs Paper Based Questioning

-          Use of Language and Avoiding Ambiguity

-          Determining Pre-Codes

-          Using Prompts

-          Question Order and Biases

-          Laying out the Questionnaire:

• Interview Administered
• Self-Completed
• Electronic

PM Session

5.0 Rating Scales and Attitude Measurement

-          Itemized Rating Scales

-          Attitude Measurement and Attitudinal Rating Scales

-          Satisfaction Rating Scales

-          Brand Image Measurement

-          Comparative Scaling Techniques

6.0 Steps in Preparing a Questionnaire

-     Establishing Objective of Questionnaire

-     Drafting the Questionnaire

-     Pre-Testing and Piloting

-     Finalizing the Questionnaire

-     Preparing for Deployment

Bryan Gobaco

Bryan has trained companies on a number of product research, development and testing topics and tools. These companies are in the field of consumer goods and personal care, agri-business, specialty chemicals, plastics and packaging, food ingredients to name some. He has also done work on market research and new product survey for personal care and finance company. He is a resident trainer of the Philippine Trade Training Center and a lecturer of the Department of Industrial Engineering at the Gokongwei College of Engineering of De La Salle University Manila where he also earned his bachelor in science and masters in science degree in Industrial Engineering.