Developing a questionnaire in occupational epidemiological research: Some common sense guidelines

Background: The most common method of collecting data in any area of human health research is to apply a questionnaire. However, if extreme cautiousness is not taking into account while designing a questionnaire, the gathered data might be ineffective. Therefore, the aim of the present article is to discuss some of the most important set of guidelines in designing a questionnaire. Materials and methods: To fulfil the aim of the study, it has been tried to search the relevant literature by looking at different search engines and also carry out hand searching. It has also been tried to elaborate any selected guidelines by examples relevant to occupational epidemiology. Results: The literature highlights that there are at the very least ten common-sense guidelines that one should take into account for designing a valid and reliable questionnaire. Conclusions: By following the proposed guidelines it is hoped that a deigned questionnaire is able to elicit the responses that one might need.