Questionnaires

Questionnaires

1. Is the favoured tool of many of those engaged in research, and it can often provide a cheap and effective way of collecting data in a structured and manageable form. It can be designed and used to collect vast quantities of data from a variety of respondents.

   • Definition:

2. Types of questionnaires:

   • The mail survey:
     • The most common questionnaire type, is addressed to respondents and delivered by mail, impersonal and can suffer from low response rates.
   • Group-administered:
     • For collecting data from a sample of respondents who can naturally be brought together for the purpose, allows each member of the group to complete his or her own questionnaire.
   • Household drop-off survey:
     • Hybrid of the mail and the groupadministered survey, drop-off and subsequent collection affords the opportunity for those completing the instrument to clarify questions posed with the researcher.

3. Issues:

   • Closed questions:
     • Questions to which all possible answers are provided. Dichotomous question requiring a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.
   • Multiple-choice questions:
     • Include questions which provide a number of predefined responses. multiple-choice questions.
   • Open-ended questions:
     • Impose none of the restrictions of closed and multiplechoice questions. Are in no way predetermined

4. Data analysis:

   • Require respondents to register replies to questions by ticking boxes, completing statements, or by providing written replies according to the question type.
     • Answers or responses are coded
       • Makes data analysis much easier for the researcher.
     • Average score in scaled or Likert-type questions in order to compare across questions.

5. Uses:

   • Showing relationships with data that are easily quantifiable, they are reliable datagathering tools, facilitate the collection of vast amounts of data

6. Limitations:

   • Leading questions, complicated questions, Irritating questions, ambiguous or unclear questions and too many open-ended questions.