Formatting questionnaires with Looks
One of the most important aspects of a paper-based questionnaire is good formatting. For paper questionnaires, the quality of the presentation influences the interviewer’s ability to administer the questionnaire effectively. For self-completion studies, the quality of the presentation influences the respondent’s likelihood of completing the questionnaire.
A well-formatted questionnaire has the following properties:
▪provides a consistent presentation of the questions
▪indicates clearly which question to go to next
▪clearly distinguishes the instructions from the questions
▪provides a fluent flow to the questionnaire
▪helps achieve a full and accurate recording of the answers
▪aids in efficient and accurate data entry of the answers
▪makes the best use of the space available on the page
▪conforms to your house style.
You can achieve these goals by using Looks and templates.
Switching between the Look and HTML formats
Use the following registry key to change between the Look and HTML formats:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SPSS\mrPaper\7.0\StripHtmlOutInLabels
The key’s default value is 0, which means that the HTML format is in effect. Changing the value to 1 removes the HTML formatting and uses the Look format (this helps prevent situations where HTML formatting erroneously overrides the Look format). Before changing the value, close Microsoft Word.
Controlling the display of sub-list headers
Use the following registry key to control when to display the sub-list header when creating the draft document (by selecting Create draft document in the Load dialog):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SPSS\mrPaper\7.0\DisableSublistHeader
The default value is 0, which means the sub-list header displays in draft mode. Setting the value to 1 hides the headers. Before changing the value, close Microsoft Word.
See also