How to prepare Questionnaire for KAP Study | M&E

Submitted by MnE Expert on Thu, 11/29/2012 - 15:52

Define KAP Study

To perform a KAP Study first of all write a concept note for the study. This will set a path for the study. Tips on how to write a concept note are discussed in detail in another article but the following headings should be used as a format for a concept note for a KAP Study:

  1. Introduction to the project (in which KAP study is carried out)
  2. Purpose/Objectives of the study
  3. Scope of the study
  4. Methodology
  5. Data Collection Tools e.g. Questionnaires
  6. Location and Sample Size
  7. Team
  8. Pre-Testing
  9. Data Collection & Management
  10. Timeline
  11. Reporting

Make Research Questions:

Coming to the main point of how to develop / prepare a questionnaire for a KAP Study. First of all develop research questions. The research questions will be based on the “Purpose / Objectives of the study”.  Like if you are preparing a KAP study to assess the level of women empowerment in an area, following can be a few research questions:

  1. What is the level of Domestic Decision-Making in women?
  2. What is the level of women decision making in Familial/Interpersonal matters?
  3. What is the level of women decision making in Socio-Cultural matters?
  4. Do they know their Legal rights?
  5. Do women engage in Political matters/What is the level of engagement and decision making?

Breakdown of the Research Questions into sub questions:

After you have developed the research question the next step will be to unpack these questions into more appropriate and formal questions.

  1. What is the level of Domestic Decision-Making in women?
    • Finances, resource allocation, spending, expenditures
    • Social and domestic matters (e.g. cooking)
    • Child related issues (e.g. well-being, schooling, health)
    • Access to or control over resources
  2. What is the level of women decision making in Familial/Interpersonal matters?
    • Freedom from violence
    • Appreciation in household
  3. What is the level of women decision making in Socio-Cultural matters?
    • Women’s freedom of movement; lack of discrimination against daughters
    • Educational Opportunities
    • Employment Opportunities
  4. Do they know their Legal rights?
    • Knowledge of legal rights; domestic support for exercising rights
  5. Do women engage in Political matters/What is the level of engagement and decision making?
    • Knowledge of political system and means of access to it; domestic support for political engagement; exercising the right to vote
    • Women’s involvement or mobilization in the local political system/campaigns; support for specific candidates or legislation; representation in local bodies of government

Relevancy & Efficiency of Questionnaire:

When the questions have been derived from the research questions, now reduce the number of questions by removing those questions that asks for information that is not needed. You must know that in regards to a questionnaire, there are two types of information:

  1. Need to know information &
  2. Nice to know information

Restrict your questionnaire to those questions only that are asking for that information which we need to know. Remove those questions that are not relevant to the objectives of the study. This will increase the relevancy and efficiency of the questionnaire in collecting information.

When the above step is also done, now keeping in view your target audience for the questionnaire, modify/remove difficult questions. The questions should be such that an average responder should be able to answer them. If difficult questions cannot be avoided, do try to make them easier to understand by rephrasing them. The interviewer must also explain each question to the responder and make him/her understand the meaning and objective of the question.

One of the most important things that will boost up the relevancy of the questions is that the questions must be Close Ended Questions. Close ended questions are those in which the possible answers to the question are listed and user has to choose from the list. Examples of this type of questions can be MCQs, True False etc.

Formatting

Format the questions and options on the questionnaire so that to make collection of information easy. This will save the time of the interviewer and will also ease the work of the data entry operator. Each choice should be numbered, instead of a), b) etc because for the questionnaire to be analyzed, SPSS is usually used. In SPSS, numbered data is handled easily and will save a lot of time.

Remove any spelling errors or logical errors. Example of logical error is that a person says that he is not registered to vote but the questionnaire keeps on asking him to whom will he cast his vote? Or when was his vote registered. Every such question should have a description, suggesting the interviewer to skip the other related questions if the answer is NO (or may be yes, whatever the case may be).

Make different versions of the Questionnaire

When you think that the questionnaire is prepared and finalized, share it with you colleagues, seniors and other experts for feedback. Make sure to tell them what the questionnaire is intended for so that they can give you relevant suggestions and related feedback.

Incorporate the suggestions which you think would fine tune the questionnaire and save the changed questionnaire as another file. Give it a name “Version 2”. Then again discuss the changes with any available experts and project related staff and finalize the questions. Print a few copies for pre-testing in the field.

Pre-Testing of Questionnaire:

The questionnaire is now ready after passing so many filters. But the feedback of the community/respondents is yet to be added to it. Go to the field and interview a few persons in the field. This will help you identify questions which need to be modified to be in accordance with the cultural norms of the area. Re-phrase the questions or some might even need to be removed or asked indirectly. Pre-testing will help you finalize the questionnaire. After changes have been made, print the questionnaire and make copies of it in the required number. Ensure a few extra copies.

Coding of the Questionnaire:

Every questionnaire must have a unique ID so that it can be sorted out easily from the folder. This unique ID can be a number or can have a combination of alphabets and numbers. The alphabets from the interviewer name can be used with it. This will narrow down your search when you are looking for a certain questionnaire.

Tags: 

Category: