Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a research instrument that

consists of a set of questions or other types of
prompts that aim to collect information from a
respondent.
A research questionnaire is typically a mix
of close-ended questions and open-ended
questions.
Features of questionnaire
•Uniformity: One of the most significant
attributes is its uniform design and
standardization. Every respondent sees the
same questions.
•Question Sequence: It typically follows a
structured flow of questions to increase the
number of responses.
•Exploratory and Explanatory: It should
also be exploratory to collect qualitative data.
Types of questionnaire
Questionnaires can be either structured or free-
flowing.
•Structured Questionnaires: planned and
designed to gather precise (quantitative)
information. Suitable for test of hypothesis.
•Unstructured Questionnaires: Unstructured
questionnaires collect qualitative data. The
questions are more open-ended to collect
specific data from participants.
Types of questions in a questionnaire
You can use multiple question types in a
questionnaire. Using various question types can help
increase responses to your research questionnaire as
they tend to keep participants more engaged.
•Open-Ended Questions: Open-ended
questions help collect qualitative data in a
questionnaire where the respondent can answer in a
free form with little to no restrictions.
•Dichotomous Questions: The dichotomous
question is generally a “yes/no” close-ended question.
This question is usually used in case of the need for
necessary validation.
Types of questions in a questionnaire Cont’d
•Multiple-Choice Questions: Multiple-choice
questions are a close-ended question type in which
a respondent has to select one (single-select
multiple-choice question) or many (multi-select
multiple-choice question) responses from a given list
of options.
•Scaling Questions: These questions are based on
the principles of the four measurement scales
– nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. A few of the
question types that utilize these scales’ fundamental
properties are rank order questions, Likert scale
questions, semantic differential scale questions,
and Stapel scale questions.
• Types of questions in a questionnaire Cont’d

• Pictorial Questions: This question type is easy

to use and encourages respondents to answer. It
works similarly to a multiple-choice question.
Respondents are asked a question, and the
answer choices are images. This helps
respondents choose an answer quickly without
over-thinking their answers, giving you more
accurate data.
Types of Questionnaires based on distribution
•Online Questionnaire: In this type, respondents are
sent the questionnaire via email or other online mediums.
•Telephone Questionnaire: A researcher makes a
phone call to a respondent to collect responses directly.
Responses are quick once you have a respondent on the
phone.
• In-house or On-street Questionnaire: This type is
used by a researcher who visits the respondent’s home or
workplace, or on the street.
•Mail Questionnaire: These are starting to be obsolete
but are still being used in some market research studies.
This method involves a researcher sending a physical
data collection questionnaire request to a respondent
that can be filled in and sent back.
Tips for designing a questionnaire
•Think about what your questionnaire is going to include
before you start designing the look of it.
•The words or phrases you use while writing the
questionnaire must be easy to understand.
•Ask only one question at a time. If any of your questions
contain the word “and,” take another look. It can confuse
your respondents or lead to inaccurate data.
•Be flexible with your options: While designing, be
flexible in terms of providing “option choice” for the
respondents. It helps keep respondents engaged in the
survey.
Research Interviews
Interviewers generally seek to elicit stories and
descriptions of personal experiences from their
interviewees.
Interviews are both a method of generating data and a
methodology in themselves. Researchers may conduct
“interview studies.” You may also see these studies
referred to as basic qualitative studies or descriptive
qualitative studies.
These interviews are considered semi-
structured because the researcher has a particular topic
for the respondent, but questions are open-ended and
may not be asked in the exact same way or order to each
respondent. The primary goal of an in-depth
interview is to hear what respondents think is important
about the topic at hand and to hear it in their own words.
Interviews are also often used in conjunction with other
data collection methods such as questionnaires or
observations.
For example,
Qualitative case studies most often use observations,
interviews, and documents as their data sources.
Ethnographies primarily rely on observations, but often
researchers will conduct interviews to understand the
culture under study better.
The Phenomenology qualitative research method is used to
study an event or activity as it happens, from various
angles using interviews, videos, and on-site visits.
Code sheet for Content Analysis
Before you design a code sheet, do the following:
1. Select the content you will analyze:
•The medium (e.g. newspapers, speeches or websites)
and genre (e.g. opinion pieces, political campaign
speeches, or marketing copy)
•The inclusion and exclusion criteria (e.g. newspaper
articles that mention a particular event, speeches by a
certain politician, or websites selling a specific type of
product)
•The parameters in terms of date range, location, etc.
2. Define the units and categories of analysis
Politicians: age, marital status, educational qualification
News: placement, frequency, depth, direction
Gender: roles, actions, dressing, etc,
3. Develop a set of rules for coding
4. Design code sheet code book, test reliability of the code
sheet