Question

Make sure the respondent has enough information

Remember your survey’s purpose

Keep your questions simple

Include only one topic per question

If in doubt, throw it out

Avoid leading questions

Write more effective survey questions

Naturally, no question is “good” in all situations, but there are some general rules to follow. Using these rules and examples will help you write useful questions.

1._______________

All other rules and guidelines are based on this one. There was a reason you decided to spend your time and money to do your survey, and you should ensure that every question you ask supports that reason. If you start to get lost while writing your questions, refer back to this rule.

2._______________

This is another way of stating the first rule, but it is important enough to repeat. A question should never be included in a survey because you can’t think of a good reason to discard it. If you cannot come up with a concrete benefit that will result from the question, don’t use it.

3.________________

Compound sentences force respondents to keep a lot of information in their heads, and are likely to produce unpredictable results. Example: “Imagine a situation where the production supervisor is away from the line, a series of defective parts is being manufactured, and you just heard that a new client requires ten thousand of these parts in order to make their production schedule. How empowered do you feel by your organization to stop the line and make the repairs to the manufacturing equipment?” This question is too complex for a clear, usable answer. Try breaking it down into components parts.

4._______________

How would you interpret the responses to “Please rate your satisfaction with the amount and kind of care you received while in the hospital.” or, a question asking about speed and accuracy? If you want to be able to come up with specific recommended actions, you need specific questions.

5.________________

Asking respondents “How effective has this company’s new distribution program been?” may not be as effective as “Recently, we used a new distribution system. Did you know this?” Followed by “Have you seen any positive benefits resulting from this change?” It can be beneficial to break down questions that require background information into two parts: a screening item describing the situation which asks if the respondent knows about it, and a follow-up question addressing attitudes the respondent has about the topic.

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.E

3.C

4.D

5.A

【解析】

试题分析:本篇阅读是关于如何设计更有效的调查问题。在提出问题时应注意调查中的问题应该围绕着目的来编制，力求简单，明了，汉语准确。其次，问题不要超过被调查者的知识和了解范围，要首先确信对方对调查的问题是否清楚等等。

1.B考查理解和归纳概括的能力。根据首段内容可知本文中心是如何编写出有效的调查问题，从本段的首句All other rules and guidelines are based on this one.可以判断段落标题内容应该是其他规则和建议的根本，纵观选项可知B选项内容“记住调查的目的”应该是进行调查时首先要考虑的问题，故答案选B.

2.E考查理解和归纳概括的能力。本段建议是要使用有用的问题，如果不实用就要果断舍弃，由此判断E选项内容“如果有疑虑，就舍弃”可以作为本段标题。

3.C考查理解和归纳概括的能力。在本段中作者通过一个例子说明长句或者复合句不适合作为调查所使用的问题，而且作者在最后提出Try breaking it down into components parts.，由此可知本条建议是要使用简单的问题，故答案选C选项。

4.D考查理解和归纳概括的能力。根据本段中If you want to be able to come up with specific recommended actions, you need specific questions.可知作者建议人们要使用明确的问题，以得到明确具体的答复，换句话说也就是一个问题只包括一个内容，故答案选D。

5.A考查理解和归纳概括的能力。根据本段作者举的例子可知作者认为在询问别人对某件事的态度时，先问对方是否知道某件事，然后再继续问对方对这个问题的态度，以确信对方有足够的信息来回答此问题，故答案选A。

考点：考查信息匹配。