English 202D

Instructor: Jim Manis

Writing Effective Questionnaire Reports

 

    After tabulating the responses [to your questionnaires], you will have to write a report on your findings. The report should accomplish three functions: (1) summarize the range of responses, (2) draw conclusions, and (3) make recommendations. The report may be brief; a one-page memo or a two page letter will suffice. At first you may wonder if such a memo or letter is long enough, considering the time and effort you have devoted to the project. But the chief function of the report is to consolidate responses and comment on them. The report does not duplicate every response you have obtained or identify every individual who made a response. If you repeated every scrap of information you obtained, it would be like giving readers the complete set of questionnaires without any necessary summary or commentary.

    Writing a report means being selective. Selectivity is not a problem with responses to closed questions. Unless a respondent provides two choices for a dichotomous or multiple-choice question, you will simply tabulate his or her response with all the others you receive. Open-ended questions are more challenging to summarize. Some respondents will include more information than you can use; while part of an answer may be extremely interesting, it may also be irrelevant. Remember, the report is not a catchall for every comment written in response to an open-ended question. It should reflect only those answers that will help readers reach a decision.
 

Rules for Writing Numbers

 

Your report will rely heavily on numbers, especially percentages. Spell out the word percent in a report; do not use the symbol (%). When listing responses in terms of percentages, express the specific percentage in numbers, not words.

Incorrect: Because of inflation, fifty-eight percent of the workers will not buy a new car this year.
Correct: Because of inlation, 58 percent of the workers will not buy a new car this year.
Remember one exception to listing percentages as figures. If a percentage begins a sentence, write the percentage as a word:
Incorrect: 55 percent of the sales force thought that the new lights were easy on their eyes.
Correct: Fifty-five percent of the sales force thought that the new lights were easy on their eyes.
You can also list a percentage parenthetically.
Correct: A majority of students (75 percent) prefer the quarter to the semester system.
The word percentage should not be used for percent. Percentage is used without numbers to indicate a range or a size.
Incorrect: A large percent of the residents favored the new health care policies.
Incorrect: A thirty-five percentage of the residents favored the new health care policies.
Correct: A large percentage of the residents favored the new health care policies.
Correct: Thirty-five percent of the residents favored the new health care policies.
 

Explaining What the Numbers Mean

 
    Numbers in your report will make it effective and impressive. However, beware of letting figures speak for themselves. Your report is not a statistical table. Organize and assess the numbers you include by telling readers what those numbers mean, why they are significant, and how they characterize various opinions. Numbers are most meaningful when they are placed in a context readers will understand and welcome. Avoid writing a wooden opening that provides no background information.
Poor: A fifteen-question questionnaire was distributed to forty students at Coe Community College between February 14 and February 28, 1998.
Provide a brief explanation of the reasons why you constructed and distributed the questionnaire. Supply information that will help readers connect your topic to the need you saw to question people about it. The lifeless opening just cited could be transformed for the reader's benefit into this kind of introduction.
Effective: For the last two semesters, students at Coe Community College have complained about the textbook rental service. In order to determine what types of changes students wanted, we constructed a questionnaire and sent it to forty students from seven different majors.
In discussing responses to specific questions, use numbers selectively. Prepare readers for the numbers you cite. Do not overwhelm readers with a series of unorganized and uninterpreted figures. If you simply list every response to every question, you will confuse readers. It is your job to impose some order by briefly and simply summarizing the responses.
Poor: Question 2 asked respondents: "How long have you lived in the Hillcrest subdivision?" Twenty-seven percent said they lived in Hillcrest for more than five years; 17 percent indicated they were residents there for at least three years; 34 percent said they lived in Hillcrest for more than one year; and 22 percent said they lived in Hillcrest for less than one year.
Revised: A clear majority of the respondents (78 percent) have lived in the Hillcrest subdivision for more than one year.
 Here is another example in which unorganized responses are thrown at the reader.
 Poor: For question 3 ("How would you evaluate the service you received after the sale?"), respondents answered as follows: 35 percent said it was all right but a little slow; 25 percent thought it was not adequate; and 40 percent said they had no complaints.
 To eliminate confusion, divide the responses into two manageable groups. Readers will profit from a conclusion such as the following.
 Revised: Customers were generally satisfied with the service after the sale; only 25 percent answered that it was inadequate.
The revision above shows the writer's desire to present only essential facts. For example, in reporting responses to yes/no questions, there is no need to give percentages for both the yes answers and the no answers: "75 percent liked the new office hours; 24 percent did not." When you write that 75 percent liked the new office hours, you do not have to tell the reader that 25 percent did not. Of course, if a number of respondents left the question blank, you will have to state that fact.
 

Using Direct Quotations

    In addition to recording percentages, you may want to include a few direct quotations for emphasis. A direct quotation, if it is carefully worded, can serve three useful functions: (1) it can precisely capture the views of an entire group; (2) it might contain a colorful expression that can enliven your report; and (3) it can lend support to your recommendation, especially if it comes from a recognized authority. Because of their summary power, direct quotations will make your report more compact, relevant, and credible.
    Choose direct quotations carefully and use them sparingly. To avoid bias, try not to use the same person for each quotation you include; your report will appear prejudiced if you do not give equal time to both sides. For example, if you are distributing a questionnaire on grading procedures, you might ask whether students prefer one comprehensive final examination to a number of tests. By recording only the following quotation, you would present an unfair picture of students as lazy.
    Students in favor of a single comprehensive final examination liked the freedom from daily preparation and weekly quizzes. As a sophomore majoring in environmental resources noted, "You're playing Russian roulette, but it's worth it for the extra time you have during the semester."
     By adding the following observation, you will be giving a more balanced view.
     Those opposed to a single comprehensive examination, however, worried that they could have a bad day or not know what the instructor was looking for. A junior plant science major summarized much of this group's thinking when she wrote, "I want to have more than one chance to make a good grade."
    Before using a direct quotation, always obtain permission. If permission is given, put the exact words of the person you are quoting in quotation marks. And, whenever possible, identify the respondent by name, status, position, or major.
 

Writing a Recommendation

 
    A recommendation should show readers how to transform respondents' answers into action. You can recommend that readers perform certain actions (often by a set time), refrain from performing actions, or choose between alternatives.
    Make your recommendations specific and clear-cut. Readers will not benefit from general or indecisive comments. Since profits, customer satisfaction, and improved service may depend on your recommendations, be precise. If you hedge, you betray both respondents and readers. To say that you are not sure what should be done reveals shortcomings in your work. The following recommendations leave no doubt concerning a definite course of action.  
    Keep your recommendation section short. A single concluding paragraph should be enough. You might want to list recommendations as separate items, each preceded by a raised bullet, as the example above shows, or by numbers. Do not repeat unnecessary percentages and comments you have already listed in your report. Focus instead on the way readers can accomplish what respondents do or do not want. Usually your recommendation will be easy to formulate. It will entail implementing what the majority of respondents want done. Your hardest job will be finding a practical solution to the problem as the respondents define it. It would be foolish to express the opposite of what resp9ondents want without hard facts to back up your opposition. By so doing, you invalidate your questionnaire and discredit yourself. Your recommendation should help readers who are looking for facts to support the right decision.
    In some instances, however, you will find that opinions on a crucial issue are almost equally divided. With no majority opinion to guide you (and your readers), your recommendation will take on added significance. Make a recommendation, but admit that opinion is divided. There may be times, too, when a majority opinion still calls for qualification.
    At the end of your report, tell readers exactly what you would like them to do next - approve your recommendations, meet with you (specify a date) to discuss the recommendations, and the like.
 
 

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