Question Stem

A question stem is the part of the survey question that presents the issue about which the question is asking. With closed-ended questions, the stem can perhaps best be defined as the first half of a survey question that consists of two parts: (1) the wording or text that presents the issue the respondent is being asked to consider (along with any instructions, definitions, etc.) and (2) the answer options (response alternatives) from which a respondent may choose.

Survey researchers must strive to craft question stems that meet a number of important criteria. First and foremost, question stems must be written so that, to the degree that this can be controlled, all respondents understand the question being posed to them as meaning the same thing. If a given question is perceived differently by different types of respondents, it essentially becomes multiple questions capturing different things, depending on respondent perception. Because of this, survey researchers must make every attempt to word question stems simply and write to the population of interest. Question designers should consider providing definitions of terms and any guidance they can in a given question stem to ensure uniform understanding of concepts and terms.

Although questions including definitions, examples, and so forth, are created with the best of intentions, they may be too cumbersome for respondents. Survey researchers should avoid question stems that are too long and wordy; question stems should be as succinct as possible. Survey researchers are encouraged to break up complex issues into separate questions in order to aid respondent understanding. In doing so, the creation of double-barreled questions is also avoided.

In addition to being worded to ensure respondents' understanding, question stems must also be carefully worded to avoid affecting the results of a given item. Question stems should be written without the use of inflammatory phrases and should not purposely contain emotional or slanted language that could influence respondents and bias results. As the survey research industry continues to move toward the use of mixed-mode data collection and the full conversion of surveys from one mode to another, question stems must be checked carefully for mode appropriateness as well. Different modes rely on different words, instructions, and phrasing to communicate ideas, and [Page 666]question stems must be constructed in ways that do not confuse respondents. For example, closed-ended question stems offered in mail surveys, where respondents are able to see answer choices below question text, often must be altered for telephone surveys, where the categories must become part of the question stem that is read to respondents.

Although it is simple to define a question stem in theory, survey researchers may find it difficult in practice to develop a question stem that is appropriate, adequate, and understood by respondents. Many attempt to develop high-quality question stems in an effort to capture information on a respondent's attitude or beliefs toward a given issue but fall short due to a number of pitfalls. For this reason, experts have encouraged researchers for decades to design question stems based on quality items already developed and tested.

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