This review of functions is designed to familiarise the
reader with the parts of the programme we used when
designing our data collection instruments. The core
features used are found in either the “Forms Toolbar” or
“Control Tool Box” (figure 1 ). These features allow for
the design of a wide range of response formats such as
check and option boxes or answer lists, which, when
combined with question text and other features, produce
the survey. When designing the questionnaire the
worksheet is treated as the blank canvas upon which the
questions and answers are written. The text of the survey
(questions, responses and instructions) is written into
individual cells on a worksheet in the same way that text
is entered into any Excel spreadsheet. The response
options designed using the “Forms Toolbar” or “Control
Tool Box” are then placed near the cells containing the
text (see Appendix 1). Either method can be used and as
with many Microsoft functions, the choice is down to
personal preference. Commonly used functions such as
“cut and paste”, “paste link”, “cell protection”, “font
options” and “formulas” are combined within the
worksheet to link the respondents choices to the
datasheet and to improve the presentation, sequencing
and respondent friendliness of the questionnaire.