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The wording of a question is extremely important.
Researchers strive for objectivity in surveys and,
therefore, must be careful not to lead the respondent
into giving a desired answer. Unfortunately, the effects
of question wording are one of the least understood areas
of questionnaire research.
Many investigators have confirmed that slight changes
in the way questions are worded can have a significant
impact on how people respond. Several authors have
reported that minor changes in question wording can
produce more than a 25 percent difference in people's
opinions.
Several investigators have looked at the effects of
modifying adjectives and adverbs. Words like usually,
often, sometimes, occasionally, seldom,
and rarely are "commonly" used in
questionnaires, although it is clear that they do not
mean the same thing to all people. Some adjectives have
high variability and others have low variability. The
following adjectives have highly variable meanings and
should be avoided in surveys: a clear mandate, most,
numerous, a substantial majority, a minority of, a large
proportion of, a significant number of, many, a
considerable number of, and several. Other
adjectives produce less variability and generally have
more shared meaning. These are: lots, almost all,
virtually all, nearly all, a majority of, a consensus of,
a small number of, not very many of, almost none, hardly
any, a couple, and a few.
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