Step 1: Generate a list of purposes for your questions that address your evaluation goals (P, R).

(P) = plan example (R) = report example

Each question on a questionnaire should have a purpose, and each purpose should be directed at gathering information that addresses the broad goals and questions that underlie the evaluation (see Strategy: Step 1 of the Determining if Questionnaires Should be Used module for more on this.) Before you develop specific questions for the questionnaire, be clear about their purposes and their relationship to the underlying goals and questions. Below are examples of purposes that proceed from the overall goal of the evaluation.

Example:

Evaluation goal:

To see if classroom use of new computer-based data analysis tools is helping students learn statistics better.

Evaluation question:

Are the new computer-based data analysis tools helping students learn statistics better?

Purposes behind various types of questions that can be asked of the students' teachers on a questionnaire:

• To understand whether any logistical problems related to the operation of the computers may have gotten in the way of use of the tools.
• To gauge how capable the teachers were in implementing the use of the tools.
• To gauge how quickly the students were able to master the tools' interfaces in order to apply them effectively to specific problem-solving exercises.