A biased survey item is a question whose wording, options or layout pushes respondents toward a particular answer, or leaves them unable to answer accurately. IGCSE Business questions may show you a draft questionnaire.
You may need to say what is wrong with it or improve it. So the skill is to spot the flaw, name it and rewrite the item neutrally.
It follows choosing between primary and secondary data, because a business that designs its own survey becomes responsible for wording it fairly. It is part of the market research module.
What kinds of flaw should you look for?
- Leading: hints at the “right” answer (“Don’t you agree…”).
- Loaded: uses emotional or flattering words (“our delicious, freshly made…”).
- Double-barrelled: asks two things in one (“price and speed”).
- Overlapping or missing options: a person fits two boxes, or none.
- Unbalanced scale: more positive choices than negative ones.
- Vague: “often”, “recently” or “good” mean different things to different people.
Several flaws can sit in one item, so check each one in turn.
How to check an item, step by step
- Read the wording as a sceptical respondent. Does anything hint at the preferred answer?
- Count the ideas. If there are two, it is double-barrelled.
- Check the options. Do they cover everyone, without overlap, and are they balanced?
- Check the key words. Replace vague words with something countable.
- Rewrite the item so that every answer feels equally easy to give.
Worked example
Kedai Makan Siti in Alor Setar plans a questionnaire for her nasi lemak stall. Here are two draft items:
Item 1: “Don’t you agree our delicious, freshly made nasi lemak is great value at RM6?”
Item 2: “How old are you? Under 20 / 20 to 30 / 30 to 40 / over 40”
Item 1. It is leading (“Don’t you agree”), loaded (“delicious, freshly made”) and it mixes quality and value in one question. A neutral rewrite separates the ideas:
“How would you rate the value for money of a RM6 portion of nasi lemak?” with the options Very poor / Poor / Fair / Good / Very good.
The five choices are balanced, with two negative, one middle and two positive.
Item 2. The options overlap: a 30-year-old fits both “20 to 30” and “30 to 40”, and a 40-year-old fits “30 to 40” but is missed by “over 40”. A fix with no overlap or gap:
Under 20 / 20 to 29 / 30 to 39 / 40 and over.
Every age belongs to exactly one box.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to fix only the most obvious flaw.
Mistaken rewrite: “Is our nasi lemak good value at RM6 and served quickly?”
The student removed “Don’t you agree” and “delicious”, but the question still asks about two things, value and speed.
The correction is to split it into two items, each with its own balanced scale. A neutral tone is not enough if two ideas are still joined.
Check yourself
Try these, then open each answer.
1. Name the flaw: “How friendly and clean was our salon?”
Show answer
It is double-barrelled: it asks about friendliness and cleanliness together. Split it into two questions.
2. Rewrite neutrally: “Wouldn’t you say our new cendol is far better than the competition?”
Show answer
For example: “How would you rate our new cendol compared with other cendol you have bought?” with a balanced scale from Much worse to Much better. The original is leading and compares only in one direction.
3. Spot the problem with these income options: RM1,000 to RM2,000 / RM2,000 to RM3,000 / RM3,000 to RM4,000. Suggest a repair.
Show answer
The ranges overlap at RM2,000 and RM3,000, and nothing covers incomes under RM1,000 or over RM4,000. Repair: Under RM1,000 / RM1,000 to RM1,999 / RM2,000 to RM2,999 / RM3,000 to RM3,999 / RM4,000 and over.
Where this leads next
A well-written question still has to reach the right people. Continue with sample limitations, and bring this checklist to the practice set.
If you find it easy to criticise a draft survey but hard to write a fair one from nothing, our teachers can work through that with you in online one-to-one Business tuition.