# Questions to ask of each item

Before a question stays on the questionnaire, check what it adds, whether one item is enough, who can answer it, and how far back it asks people to remember.

These are the checks we use when a questionnaire is being built.

## What does the question add?

Each question should bring information the study needs. Read the draft and take out anything that does not serve the purpose.

## Is one question enough?

Once a question is necessary, ask whether it is enough. If one item cannot show what you need, add a follow-up. A skip does this cleanly. If the answer to question 1 is yes, go to question 3, and let question 3 follow from question 1. On paper, print the skip. On a tablet or a phone script, put the skip in the program so the interviewer does not land on the wrong item.

## Can these people answer it?

The right question, asked of the wrong people, still fails. A pilot is the practical check. Use it to see whether the target group knows the issue well enough to answer.

## How far back does it reach?

Do not ask for detail people cannot recall. If the event is old, or the reference period is vague, error gets into the answers and the conclusions follow it. Ask about a period people can place, and name that period in the question.

## Updated October 2026

- The June 2011 wording was proofread. "The date on the information" is written as the reference period people are asked to recall.
- The skip example is unchanged. It is now stated for a paper questionnaire and for a computer-assisted script.
- No new statistic, and no named external study, was added.


Source: https://balcostics.com/blog/questions-for-a-questionnaire/