When your doing a survey, it is better to avoid the vague terms in your questionnaire. Everyone, had the occasion to read surveys with questions like: "do you often use service XYZ?" But, what is the meaning of : often ? For some, this "often", will mean: 2 times per week. For others it will be: 2 times per month! However the two individuals who answered, will honestly claim to use "often" the service. As a consequence, all answers will not be usable.
The solution is then to use words that refers directly to the "frequency of use" of the service. Then, our question can be : "do you use this service more than 2 times per week? " But, there is still another point to consider for evaluating our question: "is the service used on a regular basis or on an occasional basis? "
If the customers use the service on an occasional basis, that means the intensity of the use will not be constant. Then, it is useful to include a reference to a period of time that can be use by those who will answer to our survey. Is this during the last month? The last year? Then, our question can become : "During the last month, did you use service XYZ at least 2 times? "
Furthermore, it is possible that this discontinuity of use is related to some particular condition. If it is the case, it will be necessary to use preliminary questions to "measure" any detail that can be useful to understand the circumstances related to the use of the service. The kind of the service will help to decide what will be preliminary questions to ask. Now, it will be time to write our questions. Then, it might look like this :
- When you use our services, how much time per month do you come ?
- Or : Which variation separates your visits at our offices?
- Or : How much time per week do you have to visit us when you need our services?
The reader can see significant differences between each question. It is logical, since the wording of each question is related to the context resulting from the preliminary questions. But, in all cases, the goal is the same. It is the identification of a frequency of visit by referring to some particular circumstances, which were introduced by preceding questions. Thus, the researcher should not need to modify the objectives of each questions according to the sequence of questions in the questionnaire. The goal of each question should be set before writing the questions. It is what enable us to carry out these 2 steps by different persons, if necessary. Then, a consultant can be employed to create the framework of the questionnaire, whereas someone else can be in charge of the creation of the questionnaire itself according to that actual circumstances prevailing at the moment of the survey.