Questionnaires

Today we were looking into what makes a good questionnaire and made a list of advantages and disadvantages. The Different forms we looked at were Factual or opinion based, tick boxes to free text responses. To get useful responses it is important to be clear about the aim of the questionnaire, and how the responses will help you. Also It can be sobering to consider the amount of data you will generate and the time it will take to analyse.

Advantages:

1. Standardised results can be easy to analyse and create graphs/charts from.
2. Large numbers of participants can be reached quickly and simply.
3. Relatively cheap and easy to set up.
4. Should be quick and simple to fill out.
5. They can be anonymous - so are useful for tackling sensitive issues.
6. Less intrusive - participants have time to think about their answers.
7. Should help reduce bias - there are no verbal or visual clues from the researcher to influence answers.
8. The format is familiar to most people so shouldn't make participants feel apprehensive.

Disadvantages:

1. Due to standardised questions it is not possible to explain any question a participant might not understand.
2. Open questions can generate large amount of data that can take a long time to analyse.
3. Participants may answer superficially just to get it out of the way.
4. Only those interested may reply, distorting your results.
5. Participants may not be willing to answer the questions - may not wish to reveal certain information about you.
6. Not really suitable for long, complex issues.
7. Forgotten questions cannot be added.
8. Occurring after the event, participants may forget important issues.