Stages in the development of a needs assessment questionnaire

This article describes the stages in the development of a questionnaire for use in a large-scale needs assessment study as the basis for a staff development program. While a considerable literature exists on questionnaire design in general, we emphasize the need for a conceptual framework behind the questionnaire, proceeding from analysis of the objectives of the needs assessment and guiding both the construction of variables and the reduction and analysis of the questionnaire's data.