Comment critically on the following questions. in each case, rewrite the
question to show the improvements you have made.
(a) are you young, middle-aged or old?
(b) select your favourite breakfast cereal from this list:
cornflakes
rice crispies o
frosties o
bran flakes
(c) how old are you?
05
7 10
12 +
(d)
do you have any brothers?
do you have one brother?
do you have more than one brother?
do you have at least two brothers?

The main objective of a questionnaire is it should gather data that is pertinent to the study or research. However, the tool must be designed in a way that the respondents will be able to understand it, answer it fairly quickly, and it should be descriptive and specific. It should be unbiased and should not lead the answers of the respondents in the direction favorable only to the researcher.

A. Are you young, middle-aged or old?

This question is not descriptive enough because it is not well-defined in terms of the research. It is not clear or to the point because how will the respondent know based on their age what is young, middle-aged, or old?

An age range would be more appropriate, as it will prevent biases and is more definitive.

For example:    20>    20 - 29    30-39    40-49     50<

The age ranges should be dependent on the definition in the study.

B. Please select your favorite breakfast cereal from this list:

The problem with this question is that it limits the choices of the respondent, when it is asking what their favorite breakfast cereal is. The words "your favorite" indicates that the question seeks to find the preference of the respondent but it leads them to choosing only those provided by the researcher. It would be better if they added the option Others:

If the study was limited to just those cereals, then it would have been better if it was phrased as:

Among the breakfast cereals listed below, which do you prefer?

C. How old are you?

Now notice the age ranges provided. For one, it is not spaced evenly and another there is a gap between 5 and 7, 10 and 12. If the respondent were 6 or 11 years of age, which box would they tick?

The ranges should be set like this:

0 - 5      6 - 11        12<

Another issue is the range starts out so young. A questionnaire would not be the best type of data gathering tool considering they most likely are not capable of reading or even writing.

D. Do you have any brothers?

In this case, the questions are redundant and repetitive when it is not necessary. If the respondent had 4 brothers, then they would have to say yes to all.  It would have been better if they just structured it like this:

How many brothers do you have?

0   1    2    3   4  Others:

All questions would have been answered in just a single question.

NOTE:

It is best to construct a detailed questionnaire but it should be to the point. A lengthy questionnaire is not also advisable as it may be too cumbersome for the respondent.