TY - JOUR
T1 - A practical guide to surveys and questionnaires
AU - Slattery, Eric L.
AU - Voelker, Courtney C.J.
AU - Nussenbaum, Brian
AU - Rich, Jason T.
AU - Paniello, Randal C.
AU - Neely, J. Gail
PY - 2011/6
Y1 - 2011/6
N2 - Surveys with questionnaires play a vital role in decision and policy making in society. Within medicine, including otolaryngology, surveys with questionnaires may be the only method for gathering data on rare or unusual events. In addition, questionnaires can be developed and validated to be used as outcome measures in clinical trials and other clinical research architecture. Consequently, it is fundamentally important that such tools be properly developed and validated. Just asking questions that have not gone through rigorous design and development may be misleading and unfair at best; at worst, they can result in under- or overtreatment and unnecessary expense. Furthermore, it is important that consumers of the data produced by these instruments understand the principles of questionnaire design to interpret results in an optimal and meaningful way. This article presents a practical guide for understanding the methodologies of survey and questionnaire design, including the concepts of validity and reliability, how surveys are administered and implemented, and, finally, biases and pitfalls of surveys.
AB - Surveys with questionnaires play a vital role in decision and policy making in society. Within medicine, including otolaryngology, surveys with questionnaires may be the only method for gathering data on rare or unusual events. In addition, questionnaires can be developed and validated to be used as outcome measures in clinical trials and other clinical research architecture. Consequently, it is fundamentally important that such tools be properly developed and validated. Just asking questions that have not gone through rigorous design and development may be misleading and unfair at best; at worst, they can result in under- or overtreatment and unnecessary expense. Furthermore, it is important that consumers of the data produced by these instruments understand the principles of questionnaire design to interpret results in an optimal and meaningful way. This article presents a practical guide for understanding the methodologies of survey and questionnaire design, including the concepts of validity and reliability, how surveys are administered and implemented, and, finally, biases and pitfalls of surveys.
KW - Instrument
KW - Psychometrics
KW - Questionnaires
KW - Survey design
KW - Surveys
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79961178539&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0194599811399724
DO - 10.1177/0194599811399724
M3 - Review article
C2 - 21493322
AN - SCOPUS:79961178539
VL - 144
SP - 831
EP - 837
JO - Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
JF - Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
SN - 0194-5998
IS - 6
ER -