Questionnaire design

Pallant (2010) and Weiman et al. (2012) recommend that, when designing a questionnaire, a researcher keep in mind the kind of data generated by the questions, and the statistical techniques used to analyse the data. Thus it is vital that a questionnaire be carefully designed. Once the questionnaire has been administered to the respondents, it is not easy to retrieve for corrections, caution De Vos et al. (2011). The questionnaire used to collect data in this study (Appendix B) was designed on the basis of the research question, the research sub-questions and the objectives of the study. The length of the questionnaire was five pages including the introductory letter.

The first page of the questionnaire contained an introductory letter to the respondents. This is the prior information scrutinised by the respondent upon receipt of the questionnaire. Its purpose is to encourage the respondent to expeditiously complete and return the questionnaire. The letter contained the researcher’s name, cell-phone number, and e-mail address. The research topic was stated in this letter, along with the purpose of the study. The letter also clarified to the respondents that all information supplied would be kept confidential, that the respondents would remain anonymous, and that respondents were free to withdraw from the study at any time if they so wished.

The questionnaire used closed questions. Closed questions provide for a set of responses from which a respondent has to select one or more than one response Williams (2007). The researcher preferred to use closed questions because these are simple to answer, coding and statistical analysis is easily performed and sensitive questions are more easily answered (Saunders et al., 2012; Cooper & Schindler, 2014). In the first category were dichotomous questions which were used to divide the sample into two subclasses. Follow- up questions were used to obtain further information from one of these sub classes (Maree, 2008). Another category of questions used the five-category Likert-scales. McMillan & Schumacher (2014) define a scale as a series of progressions, levels, degrees, or values that describe various degrees of a construct. Likert-scales are extensively used in survey questionnaires because of their ability to give accurate measurements of perceptions, opinions, and beliefs. In addition, Likert-scales allow for greater flexibility, since the

60 descriptors on the scale may be changed to suit the nature of the questions (Welman et al., 2012; McMillan & Schumacher, 2014). Creswell, (2013) agrees that Likert-scales are advantageous because the levels can be expressed as numerical scores, thereby facilitating data analysis. The last category of questions had more than two possible responses from which the respondents were required to choose.

There were four sections in the questionnaire which was administered. Section A had two questions, Question 1 and Question 2 which dealt with utilization of budgets.

Question 1: Does your business use budgets? This question was meant to determine whether the respondent’s business used budgets or not. It required a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer. The respondents who indicated to the affirmative were filtered to proceed to question two. The respondents who responded negatively were filtered to proceed to Section D.

Question 2: How often does your business prepare the following types of budgets? The aim of this question was to collect information on how often the respondent’s business prepared the budgets in question. This information would contribute to answering the first research sub-question. The respondents were required to indicate on a scale of 1 to 5 [1 = Never, 2 = Rarely, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Frequently, 5 = Very frequently].

The section that followed, Section B, used Question 3 to find out the purposes for which SMEs used budgets.

Question 3: How often does your business use budgets for the following purposes? In the form of a five-point Likert-scale [1 = Never, 2 = Rarely, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Frequently, 5 = Very frequently], the question sought to ascertain the purposes for which the respondent’s business used budgets.

The response would contribute to answering the second research sub- question.

Section C sought information about challenges experienced by SMEs in the manufacturing industry when using budgets. The section comprised two questions, namely Question 4 and 5.

61 Question 4: Does your business face any challenges when using budgets?

This question required a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer, with the aim of filtering the respondents who experienced challenges when using budgets.

Question 5: To what extent do you agree with the following statements about challenges faced by your business when using budgets? This question was asked to identify from a provided list, the challenges experienced by SMEs in the manufacturing industry when using budgets.

Section D was the last section of the questionnaire. This section focused on capturing the profile of the respondent and of the business using Questions 6 to 10.

Question 6: How long has your business been in operation? The reason for this question was to determine whether the utilization of budgets by the business had led to the success of the SMEs with longer years of operation.

Question 7: What is the number of employees in your business? The question required the respondent to indicate an answer from the four categories used to classify SMEs in the National Small Business Amendment Act 102 of 1996 (South Africa, 1996).

Question 8: What position do you hold in the company? This was a multiple choice question. The question was deemed necessary to ensure that the questionnaire was completed by suitable candidates. Questionnaires which were completed by respondents who were not owners or managers were not included in the analysis.

Question 9: What is your highest level of education? The respondents were given a list of alternative answers to choose from. The aim of this question was to determine the level of education among owners/managers of SMEs in the manufacturing industry of the Cape metropolis.

Question 10: Is the education above accounting related? The question required a ‘Yes’ or ‘No” answer. The objective was to probe into the answer given in question nine above about the qualification held by the respondent.

Responses to question 9 and 10 would be used to assess possible future research needs in this area to investigate the relationship between utilization

62 of budgets and the level and type of qualification possessed by the owners/managers of SMEs in the manufacturing industry.