A hypothetical questionnaire was handed out to elderly residents. The questionnaire was designed to assess the elderly's perceptions of and experiences with neighborhood crime. One of the questions was the following:
How unsafe do you feel when you are not in your neighborhood?
a. a great deal
b. some
c. not too much
d. none of these
-Which guideline identifies the main problem in the preceding question?
A) Avoid confusing phrasing and vagueness.
B) Avoid negatives and double negatives.
C) Avoid double-barreled questions.
D) Make response choices mutually exclusive.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The main problem with the question is the use of a negative ("not") in "How unsafe do you feel when you are not in your neighborhood?" which can confuse respondents. Avoiding negatives and double negatives helps to make questions clearer and easier to understand.

A Hypothetical Questionnaire Was Handed Out to Elderly Residents