You may be able to adapt an existing questionnaire for a nursing dissertation, but the decision needs a clear rationale and the relevant permissions. A change to wording, items or response options can affect what a score represents.
Identify why adaptation is necessary
Compare the instrument’s intended population, setting and construct with your research question. Specify the mismatch you want to address. A desire for fewer questions is different from a need to make an item relevant to a different role.
Consider whether another established instrument fits better before changing the original. Adaptation should solve a defined measurement problem rather than make data collection convenient at the expense of meaning.
Check access and usage conditions
Locate the official instrument documentation and the owner’s current conditions. Check whether reproduction, modification, translation and electronic administration are permitted. Free access to an article does not automatically grant permission to alter its questionnaire.
Keep the relevant permission record with your research files. This guide cannot grant rights or interpret a licence for your institution; raise uncertainty through the appropriate supervisor or instrument-owner route.
Document every proposed change
Record original and proposed wording, response options, scoring, removed items and added items. Explain the reason for each change and the construct it is intended to measure.
Changing “hospital nurse” to “community nurse” may look minor, but the task or service context could differ substantially. Evaluate the meaning rather than assume that the replacement is purely cosmetic.
Plan an appropriate evaluation
Read the evidence supporting the original instrument and ask whether it remains relevant to the modified version. Identify comprehension and feasibility checks, then any further measurement evidence the project requires.
CDC guidance on cognitive interviewing offers an approach to understanding how people interpret and answer questions (CDC, n.d.). Such evaluation can investigate meaning, but it does not automatically establish every property of a new or adapted scale.
Keep scoring claims within the evidence
Do not apply the original score thresholds unquestioningly after changing items or response categories. Review what the scoring instructions actually permit and what evidence supports your planned interpretation.
Where evidence is limited, describe the adapted questionnaire accurately and acknowledge the limitation. Avoid presenting a researcher-modified instrument as the identical validated original.
Explain adaptation in the dissertation
State the original source, intended use, changes, permissions position, evaluation process and scoring decisions. Include permitted instrument material in appendices only when your brief and licence allow it.
Use an item-to-objective map to assess relevance, and a pilot change log to report legitimate revisions. Keep the final questionnaire consistent with what was administered.
Adapt an existing questionnaire: compare proposed changes
Illustrative planning example: First, list the mismatch between the original instrument and your population. For example, a hospital-based item may describe a task that community nurses do differently. Next, check the owner’s conditions before proposing changes. Then record the original wording beside the revision. Finally, plan how you will examine comprehension and explain which original scoring claims cannot safely transfer.
| Element | Example | Meaning or limit |
|---|---|---|
| Wording | Replace a hospital role with a community role | May alter the task respondents imagine |
| Response options | Reduce seven categories to five | Changes scoring and comparability |
| Item removal | Delete questions to shorten completion | May narrow construct coverage |
Practical checklist
- Locate instrument documentation.
- Check modification permissions.
- Record every change.
- Review scoring and interpretation.
Check rights and language adaptation separately
Before reproducing or changing an instrument, review questionnaire permissions for a nursing dissertation. For another language version, read the distinct guide to questionnaire translation and interpretation evidence. Permission, language adaptation and measurement claims should remain separate parts of your rationale.
Frequently asked questions
Is citation alone sufficient permission?
Not necessarily. Attribution and permission are different questions; check the owner’s conditions.
Can I translate a scale myself?
Check the authorised translation and evaluation requirements before doing so.
Can I say the adapted version is validated?
Only where appropriate evidence supports that claim for the version, population and use being reported.
Does a successful pilot validate the adapted scale?
No. A pilot may examine comprehension and feasibility. Broader measurement claims need evidence appropriate to the modified instrument.
Conclusion
Adapt an existing questionnaire only with a defined rationale, permissions and an evaluation plan. Small-looking changes can alter score meaning, so keep interpretation within the available evidence.
Get feedback on your project
For a review of your own question, plan or draft, use questionnaire selection and adaptation support. Send your university brief and supervisor comments through our contact page. Follow your university’s rules on external support and share only material you are authorised to disclose.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.) Cognitive interviewing. Available at: CDC question evaluation guidance (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
