10 Data Collection: Questionnaire

10 Data Collection: Questionnaire


Questionnaires questionnaire is a data collecting technique in which a respondent provides answers to a series of questions. It comprises a set of questions for gathering information from individuals. A well-designed questionnaire is an efficient data collection mechanism when the researcher knows exactly what is required and how to measure the variables of interest. A questionnaire translates the research objective into specific questions. The answers to these questions provide the relevant data for the hypotheses testing. Three key components of a questionnaire are: (a) variables (b) indicators (c) questions
Questionnaires (Contd.) Variables: The research variables of any scientific inquiry or research process are factors that can take on different values that can be manipulated and measured. For an education research survey, Postlethwaite (2005) lists the following types of variables you should include in your survey questionnaire: Discrete variables: Discrete variables are also known as ‘qualitative’ or ‘categorical variables’. Discrete variables are those that take numbers or specific values. Discrete variables are further classified as being ‘nominal’, ‘dichotomous’ or ‘ordinal’ variables:  Nominal variables: Where more than two categories are used for a variable, the variable becomes a nominal variable. We use nominal scales for labelling variables without any quantitative value.  Dichotomous variables: Dichotomous variables are nominal variables that have just two categories.  Ordinal variables: Like nominal variables, ordinal variables have two or more categories; however, unlike nominal variables, ordinal variables can also be ordered or ranked (i.e., they have levels).
Questionnaires (Contd.) Continuous or quantitative variables: Continuous variables, which are also known as quantitative variables, can be further classified as being either interval or ratio variables. Both interval and ratio variables have numerical properties. Interval variables have a numerical value and can be measured along a continuum. Ratio variables are interval variables that meet an additional condition: they have value ‘0’ (zero) as a measurement value. Dependent and independent variables: Dependent variables are those variables that the researcher tries to explain. As the name suggests, a dependent variable depends on independent variable(s). Independent variables are variables that cause, or explain, a change in the dependent variable. An independent variable is a variable that is manipulated in an experiment so as to observe the effect this has on a dependent variable.
Questionnaires (Contd.) Control variables: Control variables are used to test for a spurious (fake) relationship between dependent and independent variables. In other words, control variables test whether an observed relationship between dependent and independent variables may be explained by the presence of another variable. Indicators in an education system: Educational indicators are used to monitor the education system. They provide insight on current issues and challenges, trends and forecast impending changes. Education indicators are statistics that tell us the important aspects of the education system, but not all statistics about education are indicators.
Question Structure Before constructing questions, it is important that you must be knowledgeable about each type of question used in your survey research. These basically include the following three structures: Closed-ended or multiple-choice questions: In closed questions, the researcher asks the respondent to choose, among a possible set of answers, the response that most closely represents his or her viewpoint. These are easier and quicker for respondents to answer, less articulate and replication is easier. However, closed-ended questions are confusing if many response choices are offered and they might be misinterpreted. Open-ended questions: Open-ended questions do not have predefined options or categories. The study participants supply their own answers. Open-ended questions enable participants to respond to the questions exactly as how they would like to answer them. However, they can be time-consuming as responses are difficult to code and interpret.
Scaled or matrix questions: Scaled questionnaires are basically used to measure attitudes and beliefs. The scaled questionnaires use a Likert scale in which respondents are given choices showing varying degrees of intensity. To develop a scaled questionnaire, you should ask a large sample of participants to respond to a large number of items you have judged to have content validity with regard to a particular concept. Contingency or filter questions: A filter question is a question you ask in order to determine if the person you are speaking to is a candidate for another question, that is, you ask the respondent one question to determine if he or she is qualified or experienced enough to answer a subsequent question.
Developing a Questionnaire for Research Developing your research questionnaire is a step-by-step systematic process to collect accurate facts and opinions, and will be an enjoyable event for the respondent. The entire process involves three parts, which are: Designing the questionnaire: While designing a questionnaire for your study, you should consider the client, the researcher, the interviewer, the respondent and the data processor. Your questionnaire must comprise the respondent’s identification data, an introduction, instructions, information and classification data. Writing the questionnaire: While writing your questionnaire, you should introduce yourself, explain the purpose of the questionnaire, reveal what will happen with the data you collect, estimate how long the questionnaire will take, describe any incentives that may be involved and make sure your questionnaire looks professional.
Developing a Questionnaire for Research. Distributing the questionnaire: For distributing the questionnaire, you should do a pilot study, disseminate your questionnaire and include a deadline. Questionnaire Formatting: If your questionnaire is poorly formatted, it can lead respondents to miss questions, confuse respondents or even cause them to throw the questionnaire away. Your questionnaire should be spread out and uncluttered, and you should never abbreviate words in an attempt to save space. Question wording: If you are asking a question with the slightest difference in wording, it could result in a different answer or could cause the respondent to misinterpret the question.
Questionnaire instructions: You should make sure that every questionnaire, no matter how it is administered, should contain very clear instructions as well as introductory comments when appropriate.
When to Use Questionnaires? Questionnaire is a well-established tool within educational and social science research for acquiring information on participant’s social characteristics, present and past behaviour, standards of behaviour and reasons for action with regard to the topic under investigation. A questionnaire is the link between the interviewer and the respondent. The success of your interview will depend on the combination of a good interviewer and a good questionnaire.
Surveys Surveys provide a comprehensive, representative summary of specific characteristics, beliefs, attitudes, opinions or behaviour patterns of a population. Surveys are always conducted in response to particular research questions, generally qualitative in nature. The aim of survey is to collect only information that might be relevant to the study at hand. It focuses primarily on factual information about individuals, or it aims to collect the opinions of the survey takers. Surveys in quantitative research: Experts highly recommend survey approach for gathering descriptive information. Surveys can be both ‘structured’ and ‘unstructured’. Structured surveys use formal lists of questions asked of all respondents in the same way. Unstructured surveys let the interviewer probe respondents and guide the interview according to their answers. Surveys are generally standardised to ensure that they have reliability and validity.
Surveys . Designing a survey: The key to a good survey is its design. It is necessary to choose the survey items carefully to produce the data needed to answer your research questions. Survey items should be clear and precise, and should not bias a respondent towards particular answers. Scaling techniques: Scaling is the intricate, nuanced technique of developing qualitative statements that gauge respondents’ beliefs about a particular issue; thus, scaling research always begins with the clear identification of a research question or aim. There are several formalised conceptual and experimental frameworks commonly used in scaling research; the most relevant to educational researchers are the Likert scale, Bogardus social distance scale, Thurstone scale, semantic differential scale and Guttman scaling.
1. Questionnaires are inexpensive
First of all, questionnaires are one of the most affordable ways to gather quantitative data.
Especially self-administered questionnaires, where you don’t have to hire surveyors to perform face-to-face interviews, are a cost-efficient way to quickly collect massive amounts of information from a large number of people in a relatively short period of time.
A questionnaire can be placed on your website or emailed to your customers. These methods have little to no cost, though strong targeting is necessary if you want to have the highest possible response rate and receive the most accurate results.
Still, no matter what type of questionnaires you pick, it will be more affordable than outsourcing to a market research company.
2. Questionnaires are practical
Apart from being inexpensive, questionnaires are also a practical way to gather data. They can be targeted to groups of your choosing and managed in various ways. You can pick and choose the questions asked and the format (open-ended or multiple-choice). They offer a way to gather vast amounts of data on any subject. They can be used in various ways, like customer feedback.
3. Questionnaires offer a quick way to get results
It’s quick and easy to collect results with online and mobile tools. This means that you can gain insights in as little as 24 hours , depending on the scale and reach of your questionnaire.
You don’t need to wait for another company to deliver the answers you need.
4. Scalability
Questionnaires and surveys allow you to gather information from a large audience.
Online, you can literally distribute your questions to anyone, anywhere in the world (provided they have an internet connection). All you have to do is send them a link to your survey page. And you don’t even need to do this manually. This could be done through an automated email in customer onboarding or lead nurturing campaigns. Before starting an automated email campaign, find the right email addresses of your leads. You can do that by using an email finder tool. When you face the problem of finding prospects on LinkedIn, you can take benefits from the sales navigator that will be your assistant in getting more leads.
This means that you can target a city or a country for a relatively low cost.
You can use multiple data collection points, for example, via multiple tablets in kiosk mode.
Thanks to the internet, geography no longer stands in the way of market research either. But be aware of cultural differences between people and countries when conducting worldwide research. Thanks to Pointerpro’s multiple languages feature, you can easily create a single questionnaire available in multiple languages.
5. Comparability
When data has been quantified, it can be used to compare and contrast other research and may be used to measure change. This makes monthly or yearly questionnaires more and more valuable over time.
Improving comparability implies that errors due to translation have to be minimized. In terms of questionnaire translation for multi-national, multi-cultural and multi-regional surveys the aim is to achieve a level of comparability across all local versions.
6. Easy analysis and visualization
Most survey and questionnaire providers are quantitative and allow easy analysis of results. With built-in tools, it’s easy to analyze your results without a background in statistics or scientific research. For example, photographers often use a wedding photography questionnaire to understand clients’ needs as accurately as possible and ensure they are on the same page.
You might think questionnaires are not fun and that getting respondents to complete them can be tricky. However, you can use interactive forms that will give you visual data insights to draw experienced user stories organized in dynamic timelines.
7. Questionnaires offer actionable data
Look at research as a blank canvas.
The more data you gather, the clearer the painting becomes. All this information gives marketers the capability to create new strategies and to follow trends in your audience. Analyzing data and building reports can be used to generate predictions and even create benchmarks for follow-up questions or questionnaires.
The best part?
You don’t need any additional statistical software.
8. Respondent anonymity
Online and email surveys allow respondents to maintain their anonymity.
Mail-in questionnaires also allow for complete invisibility, which maximizes comfort for those answering. Even phone interviews are not face-to-face, thereby