inFocus on writing survey questions for human beings, not robots

Episode 6 March 05, 2021 00:40:08
inFocus on writing survey questions for human beings, not robots
inFocus with David Coletto
inFocus on writing survey questions for human beings, not robots

Mar 05 2021 | 00:40:08

/

Show Notes

The questions you ask are more important than the answers you get. I think that should be the mantra of every public opinion researcher and consumer of polls.

More important, good researchers must be inquisitive, open-minded, and prepared to understand and appreciate the true nature of the human being who is about to be tasked with completing your questionnaire.

My guest this week on inFocus knows a thing or two about writing survey questionnaires. She wrote a book about it.

Dr. Annie Pettit is a public opinion and market researcher with more than 20 years experience working with some of the leading research agencies in Canada. Dr. Pettit has a PhD in psychology from York University where she specialized in online survey data quality. She currently consults for a range of traditional and technology research suppliers, is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council Standards Committee, and is chair of the Canadian ISO standards committee.

She’s also the author of the book “People Aren’t Robots: A practical guide to the psychology and technique of questionnaire design” published in 2016.

She joined me this week to talk about asking questions, writing questionnaires, and why this step in the research process is so important.

Other Episodes

Episode 1

July 11, 2022 00:32:46
Episode Cover

inFocus on Genomics and the future of health, agriculture, and climate action

What if I told you that scientists have figured out how to reduce the amount of methane cattle produce by changing their genetic code?...

Listen

Episode 16

April 16, 2025 00:05:51
Episode Cover

The Liberal lead drops again...it's now down to 2

With less than two weeks to go until Election Day, the latest Abacus Data poll finds the federal race tightening. In this episode of...

Listen

Episode 13

September 23, 2021 00:23:41
Episode Cover

Election '21 Briefing - And that's a wrap on the Canadian election. What happened?

In this episode of inFocus, pollster David Coletto shares his perspective on the 2021 Canadian election results asking - what was it about? Tune...

Listen