N4 Entrepreneurship & Business Management


Step 5: Collect your data from these sources – use questionnaire Step 6: Analyse, interpret and evaluate your information – is there a clear indication of what students/employees prefer (“junk food”, health food, etc.)?


Step 7: Report your findings – what are your conclusions?


Based on your findings, what advice can you give to the owner of the cafeteria regarding the food that should be provided for students/employees?


3 Research techniques (Questionnaire) We listed the different research techniques in the section above. Now we will discuss the use of questionnaires in more detail.


A questionnaire is the tool through which data is gathered in a survey. In other words, you will have a list of prepared questions when you do your survey. Although it may seem a very simple process to put a few questions together before you set out on your survey, you will find that collecting information is not so easy and it can be expensive. It is important to plan your questionnaire in detail to ensure that you obtain all the information you may need for your research project. You can’t go back and ask more questions later.


4 Format of a questionnaire A questionnaire is usually divided into two sections.


Section A requires personal information of the person you interview. You need this information to determine the profile of the person (in your target market) who will buy your product or use your service.


Section B deals with all the questions related to the product or service.


When designing your questionnaire, following these steps will help you to obtain the specific information you need for your research project. • Determine the type of information needed. • Determine the method of obtaining the information (telephone, post, personal interview). • Determine the content and phrasing of the individual questions. • Decide on the types of questions to use. • Decide on the sequence of the questions. • Decide on the outlay and reproduction of the questionnaire. • Pre-test the questionnaire.


5 Types of questions to ask •


Opening question – this question must be interesting enough to grab the attention of the person whom you are interviewing.


• Closed questions – These questions aim to get a very specific answer, generally “yes” or “no”. The questionnaire can sometimes provide a few alternative answers from which the person can select. Example: Which one of the following cold drinks do you like most?


• Open-ended questions – these questions require the person to give an opinion, view, description etc. Example: What is your opinion of the service of the current cafeteria?


IMPORTANT


Any well designed questionnaire should consist of a “Section A” and a “Section B” and different “types of questions” should be asked.


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