Types of questionnaire

1. Structured questionnaire 
a) Have definite and concrete questions.
b) Is prepared well in advance.
c) Initiates a formal inquiry.
d) Supplements and checks the data, previously accumulated.
e) Used in studies of the economics and the social problems, studies of the administrative
policies and changes etc.
2. Unstructured questionnaire 
a) Used at the time of the interview.
b) Acts as the guide for the interviewer.
c) Is very flexible in working.
d) Used in studies related to the group of families or those relating to the personal experiences,
beliefs etc.

A questionnaire can also be divided as the follows depending on the nature of the questions
therein
1. Open ended questionnaire 
a) Respondent is free to express his views and the ideas.
b) Used in making intensive studies of the limited number of the cases.
c) Merely an issue is raised by such a questionnaire.
d) Do not provide any structure for the respondent’s reply.
e) The questions and their orders are pre – determined in the nature.
2. Close ended questionnaire 
a) Responses are limited to the stated alternatives.
b) One of the alternatives is simply YES or NO.
c) Respondent cannot express his own judgment.
a. Leading questions:
These type of questions force a definite type of answer from the audience. In such a question, all
kind of answers are equally likely. The answers can vary from bad, very bad to good and very
good. These are usually used to collect information from the users in very limited words.
b. Importance questions:
The respondents are asked to take a rating for a certain type of issue on a scale of 1 to 5. This
shows how much of an importance does the questionnaire topics really hold within the company
or within the minds of the user.
c. Likert questions:
These questions show how much the customer agrees to a certain topic and how much it impacts
the respondent.
d. Dichotomous questions:
These questions ask the respondents only a yes or no answer. Hence, it makes it difficult to
analyze beyond the yes and no answer.
 e. Bipolar questions:
Such questions have answers that are in the extreme case. The respondents are required to ask to
rate the question between these two extremities.
f. Rating scale questions:
In such questions, the respondents are asked to rate a particular issue between the ratings of good
and bad. Such questions have even number of choices, so as to prevent selecting the middle
option all the time.
g. Buying propensity questions:
These questions are used to rate whether the respondent will again use the service or the product
in the future

3. Mixed questionnaire
a) Questions are both close and open ended.
b) Used in field of social research.

Qualities of a Good Questionnaire

To draft a questionnaire or schedule is an art. The success of statistical investigation depends on

1. Brief and Limited Questionnaire:

The number of questions in a schedule should be brief and limited as possible. Only relevant
questions to the problem under investigation should be added.

2. Simple and Clear:

The questions should be simple, clear and precise. Its language should be very simple so that
informants may easily understand.

3. Unambiguous Questions":

All unambiguous questions should be avoided at all, complicated and long-worded questions
irritate the respondents which results in careless; replies.

4. No Personal Questions:

No personal question should be asked from, respondents. Such questions should be avoided.

5. Use of Proper Words:

Questions should be framed with right words. This ensures the validity.

6. Avoidance of Calculations:
Questions should not be based on calculations. Only those questions should be asked which the
respondents may reply immediately. Moreover, questions should avoid memories.

7. Only Objective Questions:

The questions should be objective. It should be based on opinions of the individuals.

8. Sequence of the Questions:

The arrangement of the questions should be such so that no question may slip back. It must
involve a logical flow of questions.

9. Pre-testing:

Before sending the questionnaire to the respondents, it must be properly tested.

10. Instructions:

Precise and simple instructions of filling the questionnaire should be added in the foot note.

11. Cross Examination:

The questionnaire should be set in such a way that there may be cross examination of the
information supplied by the informants. In fact, it is a check on false or inaccurate answers.

12. Secret Information:

Every respondent should be ensured that information given by them shall be kept secret.

13. Attractive Questionnaire:

Proper care should be taken to make the questionnaire attractive. A well set questionnaire will
certainly impress the recipient.

Advantages of Questionnaires:
1. Questionnaires are really inexpensive when they are handled properly. They can be cheaper
than taking surveys which requires a lot of time and money.
2. Questionnaires can be of different types, written, postal, telephone and many other methods.
3. A single question or a topic can be asked to many at the same time without any kind of delay.
Unlike surveys they don’t have to go to each and everyone to get an opinion.
4. It is an effective method to get an opinion from a large number of people.
5. Large number of respondents can be possible varying in age, sex, occupation etc.
6. Question responses can be highly defined and specific, depending upon the type of questions
asked in the questionnaire.
7. These results can also be included as statistical survey, the deciding factor is the nature of the
questionnaire and on what topic was the questionnaire based on.
8. Unlike face to face surveys where the respondent has to answer within that moment itself,
questionnaires gives time to the respondents to think carefully, before giving the answers.
9. Questionnaires are easily replicable and can be repeated, and if well-constructed and properly
piloted, they can be used as comparative materials for future studies and projects.
10. Standardized questionnaires can already be validated and can be used to compare between
works and studies.
11. They are easy to administer and manage.
12. These type of data collection are common among all kinds of professions including teaching
and book keeping. Questionnaires have become a part of our daily lives.
13. The format for most type of questionnaires are common to the common people irrespective
of the status.
14. The most important part in a preliminary survey. Usually taken as a step to collect important
data such as feedback, suggestions and constructive criticisms.
15. Questionnaires are usually straightforward in their approach which makes them easier to
analyze and compare with the ideal answers.
16. Questionnaires provide a lot for data analysis and data manipulation. The more the data that
is received, the more accurate will be the analysis.
17. Questionnaires allows people to answer questions when they feel it is convenient. Thus, it is
more applicable than face to face surveys where people are expected to immediately reply to the
question.
18. If anonymous, more honest answers can be expected from the people being surveyed.
19. Questionnaires can reduce a lot of bias. Since, all the respondents are answering the same
number and the same type of questions.
20. Used for getting answers from a large group of people from a short space of time.
Disadvantages of Questionnaires:
1. The results for questionnaires are based only on the type of question being asked. If the
questions are poorly worded or is biased in nature, then the result analysed will also be of the
same nature.
2. Questionnaires can pose difficulties to the analyst if he/she is not familiar with the system
based on which the questions are being asked. That is, the analyst may not be able to produce the
required questions, and hence the required results cannot be achieved.
3. Questionnaires tend to give an alien feeling to many respondents and hence they are very
impersonal irrespective of the situation. Thus, many people do prefer face to face conversations
than answering questionnaires.
4. The response rate maybe poor in questionnaires, if people do not have time or they don’t feel
any importance in answering them. This is one of the main disadvantages of questionnaires.
5. Questionnaires do make it impossible for people to answer questions according to their own
opinion. This makes them very constricted in terms of answering such questions. This feels true
particularly when the questionnaires have closed end questions. They limit the opinions of the
respondent by a huge factor. Hence, less honest and detailed answers can be received.
6. Some participants may forget about the whole issue and tend to forget why such questionnaire
was present in the first place.
7. Open ended questions may take a long time and will produce a large amount of data that will
take time to analyze.
8. Respondents may answer the questionnaire superficially, if it takes time to answer such
questions. This might lead to inadequate and maybe unwanted data to analyze the final result.