Questionnaires

Are used for researching:

1.       Large number of people, where forms can be handed out.

2.       Widely dispersed group of people, where forms can be posted.

Essence of a good questionnaire:

·       Asks right questions to get exactly the information wanted.

·       Questions asked in a clear and simple manner so that is can be understood by people.

·       It is short as possible. Completing a long questionnaire is time consuming.

Disadvantages:

v Low response rate- makes the survey useless and a small number of replies may not be representative.

v In depth- difficult to go into because questions need to be clear and simple.

v Right person- never sure that the person in the right person who is answering the questionnaire.

v Interpretation- never sure that the person who replies to the questionnaire interprets questionnaire in the way that researcher intended- replies might means something different from what the researcher believes they mean.

v Lying- not telling the truth when answering the questionnaire, ethical reasons.