Questionnaire

Purposes and goals of questionnaires:

  • The role of a questionnaire is to draw accurate information from the respondent. Accurate information is obtained by asking the right questions from the right person.
  • The questionnaire must have clear structure.
  • It is important in any survey that all respondents are asked the same questions in exactly the same way. The questionnaires set out precisely the wording of the questions and the order in which they will be asked.
  • Another purpose of the questionnaire is to provide a standard format where facts, comments and attitudes can be recorded (paper/ laptop/PC or even a tape recorder).
  • Questionnaires facilitate data processing.

QUESTIONNAIRE - DEFINITIONS:

= standardized data collection tool in sociological surveys (sometimes it can also be used in other methods).

= a document containing questions or other items with the purpose of soliciting information needed for analysis.

= a series of questions (with/without answer choices) logically ordered on a well-defined issue/topic by the researcher.

Some important remarks:

  • The construction of any questionnaire must begin with a very clear and detailed specification of the problem to be investigated.
  • The questions in the questionnaire should be clearly and well-worded; the researcher must avoid ambiguous, vague wording, e.g.: What do you think about the director? (Which director?)
  • Avoid asking questions with double meanings, e.g.: Should Romania increase wages and VAT?
  • Formulate the questions in such a way that respondents are able to answer in an informed way (respondents need to understand the question)!
  • Avoid negative questions (containing negatives verbs), e.g.: Do you agree not to exploit natural resources at Roșia Montană?
  • Avoid biased or judgmental questions, e.g.: Shouldn't smoking around minors be punished? 1. Yes 2. No

Watch a video about the use of questionnaires in sociological research:

 

Table 1. Three different types of questions depending on the type of information collected

BEHAVIOURAL Factual information on who the respondent is, what s/he does or owns; the frequency with which certain actions are carried out; where s/he lives

Do you have a car?

  • yes
  • no
ATTITUDINAL What people think of something; why they do things; their image and rating of things

What do you think of….?

  • very likely
  • quite likely
  • neither likely nor unlikely
  • quite unlikely
  • very unlikely
KNOWLEDGE Through these questions we are interested in finding out the knowledge that respondents have about a particular topic/theme addressed in the research. Most often, these are considered in relation to other factual or opinion-based questions.

Where the sun rises?

  • West
  • East
  • South
  • North

 

 

Table 2. Types of questions, depending on the form of answer recording

Closed questions is a question that could be answered with a one-word answer or a simple "yes" or "no." In research, a closed-ended question refers to any question in which participants are provided with options to choose a response from

Which of these cities are situated in the United States? (multiple choices)

  • Paris
  • Los Angeles
  • New York
  • Tokyo
  • Cairo
Open-ended questions is a question that allows the respondent to express himself or herself freely on a given subject. This type of question is, as opposed to closed-ended questions, non-directive and allows respondents to use their own terms and direct their response at their convenience.

Name your favorite writer............

 

We will also pay attention to the following issues:

  • Graphical form of the questionnaire
  • The order of the questions in the questionnaire
  • Knowledge of the questionnaire (if there is an operator)
  • Impact the questionnaire may have on respondents

 

Small-scale vs large-scale surveys
(we refer strictly to the size of the sample selected to participate in the survey)

A survey targets a specific subject or a specific population (Babbie, 2010; King et al, 2000; Rotariu & Ilut, 1999). Most researchers choose to survey a small part of the population, or a sample. The sample represents a manageable number of subjects from a larger population (Rotariu & Ilut, 1999). The success of a study depends on how well a population is represented by the sample. After selecting subjects, the researcher develops a specific plan to ask questions and record responses. It is important to inform subjects of the purpose of the study up front. If they agree to participate, researchers will start the survey (CourseHero).

The size of the sample depends on the topic chosen and the target population. For example, if in a survey we are interested in finding out the opinion of students from a certain university about a methodology course, the number of questionnaires we administer can be limited to a few dozen. Students usually have the resources to investigate small populations so that their results are generalizable to the entire study group. Unlike these surveys with a relatively small number of questionnaires, if we are interested in understanding the position of EU citizens on the monetary policy, then we will have to select samples from each country, and at the end we will have tens of thousands of questionnaires to analyze.