questionnaire design
4 detailed 50-minute lessons with teaching scripts, worked examples, parent guides, and assessment criteria.
Lesson Overview
Total Lessons: 4
Tier: Foundation and Higher
Duration: 50 minutes per lesson (200 minutes total)
Exam Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA
Tier: Foundation and Higher
Duration: 50 minutes per lesson (200 minutes total)
Exam Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA
Learning Objectives
- Explain the key ideas of questionnaire design
- Apply questionnaire design to exam-style questions
- Develop independent study skills
- Build cross-topic connections
Prerequisites
- Read the revision notes for questionnaire design first (GCSE Revise summary)
- Key vocab to pre-teach: key terms from questionnaire design
- Basic skills: reading the summary notes and answering the practice questions there
Materials & Equipment
- Exercise book, pencil, ruler
- Scientific calculator
- Graph paper and squared paper
- Printed data tables (link below)
Lesson 1: Introduction: questionnaire design
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Quick Recall
Write down everything you already know about questionnaire design. Then check against the key terms: key terms from questionnaire design. Use a mini-whiteboard or paper.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Parent/Teacher Guide:
Before lesson: Read the script below. Pre-teach key vocab: key terms from questionnaire design.
If stuck: Re-read the revision notes (link above), then break the content into smaller steps.
Extension: See the Stretch & Challenge ideas in Lesson 4.
Before lesson: Read the script below. Pre-teach key vocab: key terms from questionnaire design.
If stuck: Re-read the revision notes (link above), then break the content into smaller steps.
Extension: See the Stretch & Challenge ideas in Lesson 4.
Teaching Script (35 mins):
Mins 0-5 - Hook: "Today: questionnaire design. By the end you will be able to answer exam questions on it unaided. It connects to the rest of Statistics because the ideas here recur across the spec."
Mins 5-20 - Direct Instruction: Work through the core ideas below one at a time; after each, ask your student to explain it back in their own words.
Mins 20-30 - Guided Practice: Model the worked example together, then let your student attempt the first practice question with guidance.
Mins 30-35 - Independent Practice: 2-3 practice questions from Lesson 3 below, with immediate feedback.
Mins 0-5 - Hook: "Today: questionnaire design. By the end you will be able to answer exam questions on it unaided. It connects to the rest of Statistics because the ideas here recur across the spec."
Mins 5-20 - Direct Instruction: Work through the core ideas below one at a time; after each, ask your student to explain it back in their own words.
Mins 20-30 - Guided Practice: Model the worked example together, then let your student attempt the first practice question with guidance.
Mins 30-35 - Independent Practice: 2-3 practice questions from Lesson 3 below, with immediate feedback.
First Look
Start with the revision notes summary, then attempt: explain the key ideas of questionnaire design
Plenary (5 minutes)
Check Out
Your student states one thing they learned and one question they still have about questionnaire design.
Lesson 2: Core Concepts: questionnaire design
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Review Previous Lesson
Quick recap: write 3 key points from Lesson 1 on questionnaire design. Check them against the notes below.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Key Fact: A questionnaire is a set of written questions used to collect data from respondents.
Key Fact: Open questions allow free-text answers (e.g. 'What do you think about…?'); they give detailed responses but are hard to analyse.
Key Fact: Closed questions give a fixed set of response options (e.g. tick boxes, Likert scales); they are easy to analyse but limit answers.
Key Fact: Leading questions influence the respondent to answer in a particular way — they must be avoided.
Key Fact: Questions should be clear, unbiased, relevant and not ask two things at once (double-barrelled).
Key Fact: Response options should be exhaustive (cover all possibilities) and mutually exclusive (no overlap).
Practice (10 minutes)
Q: explain the key ideas of questionnaire design
Answer:
Plenary (5 minutes)
Explain Back
Your student teaches the key points back to you without looking. Fill any gaps immediately.
Lesson 3: Application: questionnaire design
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Quick Recall
Recall the key terms: key terms from questionnaire design. Define each in one sentence.
Main Content (35 minutes)
Parent/Teacher Guide: Let your student attempt each question alone first, then compare with the model answer. Award method marks for correct working even if the final answer is wrong.
Work through the practice questions on the revision notes page for this topic.
Plenary (5 minutes)
Error Review
Review any questions answered incorrectly. Identify whether the error was knowledge, method, or reading the question.
Lesson 4: Exam Practice: questionnaire design
Duration: 50 minutes
Starter Activity (5 minutes)
Command Words
Review what these command words require: state (one point), describe (say what happens), explain (say why), compare (both sides), evaluate (judgement).
Main Content (35 minutes)
Extended Answer
Extended question: Full-Mark Response A student writes this question on a questionnaire: 'How many hours of TV do you watch each week? (a) 0–5, (b) 5–10, (c) 10–15, (d) 15+'. Identify two problems and rewrite the question with improved options. <div class="
Problem 1: The response options overlap — someone who watches exactly 5 hours could choose (a) or (b), and 10 hours could be (b) or (c). Problem 2: The upper limit of option (d) is open-ended ('15+'), which makes analysis of the upper range difficult. Improved version: 'How many hours of TV do you watch each week?' (a) 0–4, (b) 5–9, (c) 10–14, (d) 15–19, (e) 20 or more. The intervals are now non-overlapping and exhaustive, covering all possible values.
Exam Tips: When criticising a question, use the correct term: 'leading', 'double-barrelled', 'overlapping options', 'ambiguous'. | Always suggest an improved version of a flawed question, not just what is wrong. | Closed question response boxes must be non-overlapping and cover all likely answers — add 'Other' if needed. | Pilot study questions are very common — remember to say it is a small-scale trial run. | If asked about response rate, mention both how to maximise it and the problem of non-response bias.
Common Errors: ✗ Writing response options that overlap, e.g. '0–5, 5–10, 10–15' ✓ Use non-overlapping intervals, e.g. '0–4, 5–9, 10–14' or '0 ≤ x ≤ 5, 5 < x ≤ 10'. ✗ Using a leading question such as 'Don't you agree that homework is important?' ✓ Using a neutral question such as 'What is your opinion on the importance of homework?' ✗ Forgetting 'Other' or 'Prefer not to say' on closed questions ✓ Include an 'Other' option or allow respondents to opt out of sensitive questions to ensure options are exhaustive. ✗ Asking sensitive questions at the start of a questionnaire ✓ Place sensitive questions later, after rapport is built, and ensure anonymity to encourage honest responses.
Stretch & Challenge (Grade 8-9):
- Synoptic links: explain how questionnaire design connects to another Statistics topic you have studied
- Real-world: research one real-world use or example of questionnaire design
- Critical: "What are the limitations of the models used in questionnaire design?"
Plenary (5 minutes)
Assessment Criteria
- Got it: Confident explanation + correct worked examples
- Getting there: Main points OK, needs support with detail
- Not yet: Confused on key concepts - re-run Lesson 2
Homework & Consolidation
- Consolidation: Re-answer any Lesson 3 practice questions answered incorrectly (20 mins)
- Retrieval: Write flashcards for the key terms: key terms from questionnaire design (10 mins)
- Exam practice: One past-paper question on questionnaire design from the board websites (15 mins)
- Extension: Explain questionnaire design to someone else in your own words (10 mins)