title: How to avoid the pitfalls of questionnaire design.
abstract: This article discusses how questionnaires are constructed and used. Question choice and construction plus the allocation of codes to analyse answers are discussed. A second article on this subject, due to appear in Nursing Times on June 4, will examine questionnaire layout, issues of reliability and validity and questionnaire piloting.
authors.affiliation: Ear, Nose, Throat and Oral Facial Surgery Department, Monklands and Bellshill Hospitals NHS Trust, Airdrie.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: McGibbon
mesh_terms: D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000145:classification / Q000592:standards*