Questionnaires

Questionnaires

1. Uses

   • collect vast quantities of data from a variety of respondents
     • Examples
       • Test the professional skills of employees and candidates
       • Examine course participants at the end of the course
       • Evaluate the course, including facilities, content, and instructor.
       • Probe employee and customer satisfaction.
       • Evaluate an employee's work performance.

2. Data Analysis

   • Coding responses
     • Questionnaires require respondents to register replies to questions by:
       • ticking boxes
       • completing statements
       • providing written replies
     • Answers or responses are coded by the researcher or those responsible for developing
       • This allows the data to be:
         • gathered quickly
         • presented in a form more useable for subsequent analysis.
     • The development of appropriate codes and coding should be considered
       • Coding in this way makes data analysis much easier for the researcher
         • The process becomes much quicker if ...
           • computer software is used for entering questionnaire data into a predefined database.

3. Types

   • 1._ The mail survey:
     • It´s the most common and delivered by mail
     • This is an efficient way of collecting large amounts of data
     • It can be impersonal
     • It can suffer from low response rates.
   • 2._ The group-administered questionnaire:
     • -Collect data from a sample of respondents such as students or conference attendees
     • - It allows each member of the group to complete his or her own questionnaire and return it to the researcher on completion.
     • -The members of the group complete the cuestionnaires with the purpose of assisting with the research
   • 3._The household drop-off survey:
     • -It´s a combination of mail and the group administered survey.
     • -The researcher hands the questionnaire to a member so they can answer it freely.

4. Issues

   • Maximising response rates
     • Covering letter
       • explain the research in a clear and understandable way
     • Do a freepost’ arrangement
       • pre-paid return envelope
       • organise for responses to be returned
     • Offering something for the people
     • Design and layout
     • Order of the questions
   • Ideal questionnaire length and time to complete
     • No more than about 20 minutes
     • In case it's too long it´s important to payback for them
     • Do not rush people not to break the train of thought
   • Piloting
     • identify mistakes and ambiguities in question layout and construction of the questions
     • It works as a tool to correct the questionnaire
   • Stratified sampling
     • Get more accurate and reliable information
     • you can select the sample group or size that is representative of the population
   • Web-based questionnaires
     • Produce a higher response
     • It can be automatically coded

5. Limitations

   • Leading questions
     • Their wording can suggest that it would be wrong to answer in some particular way.
   • Complicated questions
     • A number of sub-questions
   • Ambiguos or unclear questions
     • It should be specific whenever possible
   • Too many open-ended questions
     • Force those completing the questionnaire to put more effort into their answers.
   • Irritating questions
     • Some questions can be uncomfortable

6. Definition

   • It is a tool used to collect qualitative rather than quantitative data
     • is not a precise tool and is usually used to know people's opinions about a certain company, product or government policy.
       • Due to the fact that opinions are varied and not very precise, the questionnaire is not the best tool for a generalized analysis.