What is a questionnaire?
- A questionnaire is a type of self-report which involves participants answering a range of questions designed to collect their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, attributes and opinions
- Questionnaires may be used in the following ways:
- To understand how people feel about issues such as immigration, social media, the cost of living etc.
- To measure psychometric properties such as IQ, depression, empathy, decision-making etc.
- Conducting a large-scale survey to assess the extent to which people are, for example, likely to vote, consult a doctor about a specific issue, use green energy etc.
- Questionnaires can consist of either closed questions or open questions
- Open question: How could you change factors in your life to increase your happiness?
- Closed question: Are you happy?
- When designing a questionnaire, the researcher must consider the following points:
- Aim: what is the questionnaire’s purpose, and how will it aid the research process?
- Length: ensure that the questionnaire is not too short (lack of data) or too long (participants will become bored and may answer without care or attention)
- Question construction: questions should be clear, concise and unambiguous
Exam Tip
It is important not to confuse open questions with closed questions. An open question (quite literally) requires the participant to ‘open up’ and explain, elaborate, discuss etc. whereas a closed question ‘closes down’ the option for free expression in the response e.g. ‘Answer yes/no’; ‘Tick a, b or c’.