Using questionnaires in Research Dr Graham Connelly

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Using questionnaires in ResearchDr Graham
Connelly

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Session Overview

• Use of questionnaires
• Format of questionnaires
• Design principles
• Administering questionnaires
• Further reading

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Family Quantitative Fieldwork
Approach Survey
Methods questionnaire, interviews focus groups
statistical analysis
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Use of questionnaires

• Used to investigate
• Attitudes
• Beliefs
• Perceptions
• Feelings
• Opinions
• Knowledge
• Some aspects of behaviour
• Used to quantify / measure these characteristics

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Reasons for using Questionnaires

• Low cost in time and money
• Easy to get info from many people quickly
• Respondents can complete when it suits them
• Analysis of answers to closed questions is
  straightforward (i.e. pre-coded)
• Less pressure for immediate response
• Respondents anonymity
• Lack of interviewer bias
• Standardisation of questions

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Reasons against using Questionnaires

• Problems of motivating respondents
• Typically low response rate
• Need for simple questions
• Problems of data quality
• Misunderstanding cannot be corrected
• Respondent literacy problems
• Impossible to check honesty of answers
• Questionnaire development often poor
• Descriptive rather than analytical

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Format of questionnaires

• Closed format
• One response only (yes / no agree / disagree)
• Multiple responses
• Response scales
• Other
• Open format

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Design principles

• Design
• Focus
• Target audience
• Content / layout
• Pilot
• www.surveymonkey.com

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Administering questionnaires

• Postal
• Drop-off
• Face to Face
• individual / group
• Paper and pencil / computer
• Computer mediated
• Email
• Web-based
• Ethical considerations

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Obtaining consent
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Further reading
Gillham, B. (2007). Developing a questionnaire.
London Continuum. Munn, P. Drever, E. (1990).
Using questionnaires in small-scale research.
Edinburgh SCRE. Research Methods Knowledge
Base http//www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/surv
writ.php