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The format and position of interviewer instructions varies from questionnaire to questionnaire. Depending on where the instruction appears and in which text format, we decide whether it should be entered as an instruction or as part of the question literal. When the formatting is not text follows on the same line as the question literal, it is entered as part of the question text (i.e. in Bold) and/or literal. When there is a carriage return return (i.e. it is on a separate line) then , the instruction text may be entered as an instruction , (see Example 1). When the text is on a separate line, the formatting of the text (i.e., bold, in brackets) can provide an indication of whether the text should be entered as an instruction or a statement.
Example 1 Questionnaire: NSHD University Questionnaire 1964
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Archivist view (nshd_64_cmu):
If, however, the instruction text is in the same format as the question text before it and there is no carriage return (i.e. the text runs on) then it is entered as part of the question text; see Example 2.
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Archivist view (alspac_99_msdw):
One instruction per question
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The decision of choosing which text is entered as entered as a statement or part of the question literal and which as an instruction, is discretionary. This is because the way instructions are used within questionnaires can vary greatly and therefore it is difficult to apply a consistent protocol. Some salient features of text entered as instructions are: the text is often shorter, practically-orientated (in answering the question), and positioned closer to the response domain. Furthermore, if the text is entered as a statement then it is positioned after the question componentconstruct.
Example 3 Questionnaire: BCS Home and All That 1986
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Archivist view (bcs_86_haat):
Instructions are not repeated
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Archivist view (bcs_86_lal):
