What is the purpose of a questionnaire?
Think data collection.
Questionnaires are used to collect data.
Questionnaires
Questionnaires are used to collect data through carefully designed questions. Avoiding bias is important for producing reliable results.
Overview
A questionnaire is a set of questions used to collect data from people.
In statistics, it is important that the questions are clear, fair and useful.
Good questionnaire = clear questions + fair wording + useful answers
A badly designed questionnaire can produce unreliable results, even if lots of people answer it.
What you should understand after this topic
- Understand what a questionnaire is used for
- Write clear and unbiased questions
- Understand why question order and answer choices matter
- Spot poor questionnaire design
- Suggest improvements in exam questions
Key Definitions
Questionnaire
A list of questions used to collect data.
Biased Question
A question written in a way that pushes people toward a certain answer.
Closed Question
A question with fixed answer choices.
Open Question
A question that allows a free response.
Response Option
One of the possible answers given in a questionnaire.
Ambiguous
Unclear or open to more than one meaning.
Key Rules
Keep questions clear
People should understand exactly what is being asked.
Avoid bias
The wording should not push people toward one answer.
Give sensible options
Answer choices should cover all realistic possibilities.
Keep it short and relevant
Only ask questions that help collect the data you need.
Quick Good vs Bad Check
Good question
Clear, neutral, easy to answer and useful.
Bad question
Leading, confusing, vague or missing suitable options.
How to Solve
Step 1: Understand a questionnaire
A questionnaire is used to collect data from people about opinions, habits or choices.
Exam tip: Good questionnaires produce clear, useful data.
Step 2: Know what makes a good question
Clear wording
Easy to understand.
Relevant
Links to the aim of the survey.
Complete answers
Includes all possible options.
Unbiased
Does not lead the respondent.
Step 3: Closed vs open questions
Closed question
Fixed answers (e.g. Bus / Walk / Car).
Easy to analyse.
Open question
Free response.
More detail but harder to analyse.
Step 4: Avoid bias
Biased questions influence the answer.
Step 5: Structure the questionnaire
- Start with simple questions.
- Put main questions in the middle.
- Leave sensitive questions until the end.
- Keep it short and logical.
Step 6: Common exam mistakes
Leading questions
Push respondents toward an answer.
Ambiguous questions
Unclear or vague wording.
Incomplete options
Missing possible answers.
Too long
People may not finish it.
Step 7: How to answer exam questions
See sampling for how data is collected.
After collecting questionnaire results, the data can be shown using bar charts or pie charts.
- Identify the problem (bias, unclear wording, missing options).
- Explain why it is a problem.
- Suggest a clear improvement.
Example Questions
Edexcel
Exam-style questions inspired by Edexcel GCSE Mathematics, focusing on understanding questionnaires and identifying bias.
Edexcel
A questionnaire is used to collect information from people.
State one reason why questionnaires are useful.
Edexcel
A question asks, “Don’t you agree that homework club is a great idea?”
Explain why this question is biased.
Edexcel
A question in a survey is:
How do you travel to school?
Bus ☐ Car ☐
Explain why this question may not give useful results.
AQA
Exam-style questions based on the AQA GCSE Mathematics specification, focusing on improving questionnaire design.
AQA
A question in a questionnaire is:
Do you exercise a lot?
Yes ☐ No ☐
Suggest one improvement to this question.
AQA
Explain why closed questions are often easier to analyse than open questions.
AQA
Give one example of a closed question that could be used in a questionnaire about hobbies.
OCR
Exam-style questions aligned with OCR GCSE Mathematics, emphasising evaluating and designing questionnaires.
OCR
A survey is carried out to find out how students travel to school.
Explain why it is important that the answer options cover all possible responses.
OCR
A questionnaire asks only students in one class about school facilities.
Explain why this may not be representative of the whole school.
OCR
Design one suitable question for a questionnaire about screen time.
Exam Checklist
Step 1
Check whether the questions are clear and specific.
Step 2
Look for bias or leading language.
Step 3
Check whether the answer choices are complete.
Step 4
Suggest an improved version if needed.
Most common exam mistakes
Bias missed
Not noticing that the question leads people toward one answer.
Too vague
Accepting an unclear question without improvement.
Missing options ignored
Not checking whether all possible answers are included.
Weak improvement
Changing the wording but not actually making the question fairer or clearer.
Common Mistakes
These are common mistakes students make when designing questionnaires in GCSE Maths.
Using biased or leading questions
Incorrect
A student writes a question that suggests a particular answer.
Correct
Questions should be neutral. Avoid wording that influences the response, such as “Don’t you agree that…”.
Asking vague questions
Incorrect
A student writes questions that are unclear or open to interpretation.
Correct
Make questions specific and precise so all respondents understand them in the same way.
Providing incomplete answer options
Incorrect
A student gives answer choices that do not cover all possibilities.
Correct
Include all reasonable options, and where appropriate add choices such as “Other” or “Prefer not to say”.
Making the questionnaire too long
Incorrect
A student includes too many questions, leading to poor responses.
Correct
Keep questionnaires concise to encourage accurate and thoughtful answers.
Collecting hard-to-analyse data
Incorrect
A student designs questions that produce unstructured or inconsistent answers.
Correct
Use clear categories or closed questions where possible so the data can be organised and analysed easily.
Try It Yourself
Practise designing and interpreting questionnaires for data collection.
Foundation
Foundation Practice
Understand how to design clear and unbiased questionnaires.
A question that suggests an answer is called a ______ question.
Think unfair.
This is a biased question.
Which question is unbiased?
Look for neutral wording.
This question is neutral.
A questionnaire given only to friends may be ______.
Think fairness.
This is biased sampling.
Why should questions be clear?
Think understanding.
Clear questions give accurate answers.
Questions with fixed options are called ______ questions.
Think yes/no or options.
These are closed questions.
Which is a closed question?
Has fixed answers.
Closed questions have set options.
Questions that allow any answer are called ______ questions.
Think free response.
These are open questions.
Which is a good questionnaire feature?
Think clarity.
Clear questions improve accuracy.
A question with unclear meaning is called ______.
Think unclear.
Ambiguous questions cause confusion.
Higher
Higher Practice
Evaluate and improve questionnaires for reliability and fairness.
Which question is biased?
Suggests answer.
This question leads the answer.
A question that is unclear or can be interpreted in different ways is ______.
Think unclear meaning.
Ambiguous questions reduce reliability.
Why are open questions useful?
Think detail.
Open questions give more information.
A survey given only online may exclude some groups. This is called ______.
Think fairness.
Not everyone has access.
Which improves reliability?
Think accuracy.
Larger samples are more reliable.
A question like 'How often do you exercise?' should include ______.
Think structure.
Options make answers clearer.
Why avoid leading questions?
Think bias.
Leading questions bias results.
A questionnaire should represent the whole population. This is called ______.
Think fair sample.
Representative samples reflect population.
Which is the best improvement?
Think fairness.
Neutral wording improves quality.
A good questionnaire avoids bias and is easy to ______.
Think clarity.
Clear questions improve responses.
Games
Practise this topic with interactive games.
Games coming soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a good question?
Clear and unbiased wording.
What should be avoided?
Leading questions.
Why pilot surveys?
To test questions first.