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Questionnaires let researchers ask hundreds of people the same questions quickly
Suppose you want to know how teenagers in your town spend their evenings. You could watch a few of them, or chat to a handful. But if you want answers from hundreds of people quickly, you need a different tool. Sociologists often use surveys and questionnaires. Both are primary research methods, because the researcher collects the data first-hand.
Key terms:
The two words are closely linked. The survey is the whole piece of research. The questionnaire is the tool it often uses. A survey can also be done by asking the questions out loud in a short structured interview, which you will meet in the lesson on Interviews.
Surveys mostly produce quantitative data, which is numbers and statistics, because everyone is asked the same questions and the answers can be counted. Many questionnaires also include a few questions that gather qualitative data, which is the respondents' own words.
Many people can be reached cheaply and quickly. The same questions go to everyone, so the research is easy to repeat and check. Answers are easy to count and turn into charts. A large sample makes it easier to generalise. Respondents can stay anonymous, so they may be more honest about private topics.
The researcher cannot ask follow-up questions or find out why someone answered as they did, so the data may lack depth. Questions can be misunderstood. People may not tell the truth, or may give the answer they think looks good.
A postal questionnaire is sent to people by post, with a pre-paid envelope to send it back.
It can reach people in a wide area, including those without internet access. Respondents can answer in their own time and in private.
It is slow, because it takes time to send and return. Printing and postage cost money. The researcher cannot check who actually filled it in.
Online questionnaires are cheap and fast, and answers are stored automatically - no typing up
An online questionnaire is completed on a website, an app or through an email link.
It is cheap and very fast, and it can reach people in many countries at once. The answers are stored automatically, so there is no typing up. It can be set to skip questions that do not apply.
It leaves out people without internet access, so the sample may be biased towards younger or wealthier people. Anyone with the link can fill it in, so the researcher cannot be sure who the respondents are. People may fill it in carelessly or more than once.
A self-completion questionnaire is any questionnaire that respondents fill in by themselves, without the researcher asking the questions. Postal and online questionnaires are both self-completion. The term also covers paper questionnaires handed out in a classroom, a workplace or a clinic and collected again afterwards.
The researcher is not there, so there is no interviewer effect. A handed-out questionnaire can be collected on the spot.
Nobody is there to explain a confusing question. Respondents may skip questions or leave it unfinished. Poor reading skills can be a problem, so it is a poor choice for young children or for people who find reading difficult.
The questions are the heart of a questionnaire. There are four main types.
Key terms:
Example: "What do you most enjoy about living in your town?"
They give rich, detailed qualitative data. Respondents can say things the researcher did not expect.
They take longer to answer, so some people skip them. The answers are harder and slower to analyse and compare.
When to use: when you want people's own views and explanations, or when you do not yet know what the likely answers are.
Example: "Do you have a part-time job? Yes / No"
They are quick to answer and easy to count and compare. They give quantitative data.
They cannot show why someone answered as they did. Respondents may find that none of the answers fit them. The researcher decides the possible answers, which can limit what people say.
When to use: for simple facts, such as age, yes or no answers, or when you need numbers from a large sample.
Example: "How do you usually travel to school? Walk / Bus / Car / Bicycle / Other"
They are quick to answer and easy to analyse. They give more detail than a simple yes or no.
The researcher chooses the list, so it may leave out the answer a respondent wants to give. Adding an "Other" box helps, but then those answers are harder to analyse.
When to use: when there is a small number of likely answers that you already know about.
Example: "Students should be allowed to use phones in lessons." Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree.
They measure how strongly people feel, not just whether they agree. The answers are easy to count and compare.
People may always pick the middle answer, or the same answer every time. Two people who tick "Agree" may mean different things by it.
When to use: for attitudes and opinions, where you want to know how strongly people feel.
Saying a questionnaire is "quick and easy" with no more detail. Always say why: many people, low cost, easy to count. Another mistake is thinking open questions give numbers. They give words, which are qualitative.
A researcher carried out a survey of 400 students in four schools in different countries. She sent every student an online questionnaire. It included the closed question "Do you use social media every day? Yes / No" and the open question "How does social media affect your friendships?"
(a) Identify two types of question the researcher used. [2]
(b) Explain one strength and one limitation of using an online questionnaire in this research. [4]
(a) Closed question (1). Open question (1).
(b) Strength: the students are in four schools in different countries, and an online questionnaire is cheap and fast to send to all of them (1), so the researcher can reach a large sample without travelling (1). Limitation: students without internet access at home cannot take part (1), so the sample may leave out poorer students and may not be representative (1).
In part (b), link each point to the study in the question. "Four schools in different countries" is what makes the online method a good choice here, so use it.