Questionnaires

researched this topic at http://www.studentbmj.com/back_issues/0601/education/187.html and compared some of their theory to the assignment example by Naomi Hama in webct 'hall of fame' usability section.
The website recommends the following:

for wording questions:
-sentences be short and simple and ask for only one piece of information at a time
-avoid negatives and ask precise questions
-Ensure those you ask have the necessary knowledge
-ask for the exact level of detail required
-Minimise bias and be careful of sensitive issues

Format of responses can be either open or closed or a combination of both depending on the with 'ranking' being the less used as reponses are hard to analyse.

Length of questionnaire short ones tend to have a better response rate.

The order of questions is also important:
Go from general to particular.
Go from easy to difficult.
Go from factual to abstract.
Start with closed format questions.
Start with questions relevant to the main subject.
Do not start with demographic and personal questions

Also recommended to mix negatives and positives, use a variety of question formats, filter questions may be used and questionnaire should have cover letter or at least an introduction and a thankyou at end.

Naomi Hama's questionnaire begins with and ends with simple general questions
1. What is your occupation?
2. How old are you?
3. How often do you use the Internet?
here I think it would be easy to receive responses like, "not much", "all the time", "when mum lets me" and so on it seems a question open to ambiguous answers.

4. What web sites do you use the most? (Please include the URL if you can.)
here it appears Naomi is looking for specific websites, but many people may just answer with; "the bank", "shopping", "the weather" and so on. A sensitive issue here may be porno sites I wonder how many would own up to vising them?

5. What is your level of Internet know how? (How much do you think you know about the Internet?)
(Minimum) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (Maximum)
I can think of someone I know giving themselves an 8 here when all of the internet they explore is yahoo

6. What do you like the most about the Internet?
7. What do you dislike the most about the Internet?
8. Do you have a computer at home?
9. What operation system do you use? (e.g. Mac OS/Windows)
10. Do you have stereo with your computer?
this question seems strange, should it say "do you have sound or speakers" and "do you ever turn them on while on the internet"?
11. What screen pixel do you use? (e.g. 640 x 480, 800 x 600)
many people I know wouldn't know what screen resolution is Naomi found the same thing with only 3 of the 11 questioned able to answer, perhaps this is a filtering question?
12. Which browser do you use? (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape.)

I don't mean to pick on her questionnaire it just gave me an opportunity to compare Naomi's questions with the websites recommendations. A questionnaire for internet students could contain more technical questions than one for people with little internet experience, or you could pose a questionnaire testing just how much user do know etc..

next job is to create my own questionnaire