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A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Questionnaires can be thought of as a kind of written interview . They can be carried out face to face, by telephone, computer, or post.
Questionnaires provide a relatively cheap, quick, and efficient way of obtaining large amounts of information from a large sample of people.
Data can be collected relatively quickly because the researcher would not need to be present when completing the questionnaires. This is useful for large populations when interviews would be impractical.
However, a problem with questionnaires is that respondents may lie due to social desirability. Most people want to present a positive image of themselves, and may lie or bend the truth to look good, e.g., pupils exaggerate revision duration.
Questionnaires can effectively measure relatively large subjects’ behavior, attitudes, preferences, opinions, and intentions more cheaply and quickly than other methods.
Often, a questionnaire uses both open and closed questions to collect data. This is beneficial as it means both quantitative and qualitative data can be obtained.
A closed-ended question requires a specific, limited response, often “yes” or “no” or a choice that fit into pre-decided categories.
Data that can be placed into a category is called nominal data. The category can be restricted to as few as two options, i.e., dichotomous (e.g., “yes” or “no,” “male” or “female”), or include quite complex lists of alternatives from which the respondent can choose (e.g., polytomous).
Closed questions can also provide ordinal data (which can be ranked). This often involves using a continuous rating scale to measure the strength of attitudes or emotions.
For example, strongly agree / agree / neutral / disagree / strongly disagree / unable to answer.
Closed questions have been used to research type A personality (e.g., Friedman & Rosenman, 1974) and also to assess life events that may cause stress (Holmes & Rahe, 1967) and attachment (Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000).
Open questions allow for expansive, varied answers without preset options or limitations.
Open questions allow people to express what they think in their own words. Open-ended questions enable the respondent to answer in as much detail as they like in their own words. For example: “can you tell me how happy you feel right now?”
Open questions will work better if you want to gather more in-depth answers from your respondents. These give no pre-set answer options and instead, allow the respondents to put down exactly what they like in their own words.
Open questions are often used for complex questions that cannot be answered in a few simple categories but require more detail and discussion.
Lawrence Kohlberg presented his participants with moral dilemmas. One of the most famous concerns a character called Heinz, who is faced with the choice between watching his wife die of cancer or stealing the only drug that could help her.
Participants were asked whether Heinz should steal the drug or not and, more importantly, for their reasons why upholding or breaking the law is right.
With some questionnaires suffering from a response rate as low as 5%, a questionnaire must be well designed.
There are several important factors in questionnaire design.
Make sure that all questions are asked to address the research aims. However, use only one feature of the construct you are investigating in per item.
The longer the questionnaire, the less likely people will complete it. Questions should be short, clear, and concise; any unnecessary questions/items should be omitted.
Run a small-scale practice study to ensure people understand the questions. People can also give detailed, honest feedback on the questionnaire design.
Questions should progress logically from the least sensitive to the most sensitive, from the factual and behavioral to the cognitive, and from the more general to the more specific.
The researcher should ensure that previous questions do not influence the answer to a question.
Make sure it looks professional and includes clear and concise instructions. If sent through the post, ensure the envelope does not signify ‘junk mail.’
At first sight, the postal questionnaire seems to offer the opportunity to get around the problem of interview bias by reducing the personal involvement of the researcher. Its other practical advantages are that it is cheaper than face-to-face interviews and can quickly contact many respondents scattered over a wide area.
However, these advantages must be weighed against the practical problems of conducting research by post. A lack of involvement by the researcher means there is little control over the information-gathering process.
The data might not be valid (i.e., truthful) as we can never be sure that the questionnaire was completed by the person to whom it was addressed.
That, of course, assumes there is a reply in the first place, and one of the most intractable problems of mailed questionnaires is a low response rate. This diminishes the reliability of the data
A pilot study is a practice / small-scale study conducted before the main study.
It allows the researcher to try out the study with a few participants so that adjustments can be made before the main study, saving time and money.
Psychological researchers analyze questionnaire data by looking for patterns and trends in people’s responses. They use numbers and charts to summarize the information.
They calculate things like averages and percentages to see what most people think or feel. They also compare different groups to see if there are any differences between them.
By doing these analyses, researchers can understand how people think, feel, and behave. This helps them make conclusions and learn more about how our minds work.
Yes, questionnaires can be effective in gathering accurate data. When designed well, with clear and understandable questions, they allow individuals to express their thoughts, opinions, and experiences.
However, the accuracy of the data depends on factors such as the honesty and accuracy of respondents’ answers, their understanding of the questions, and their willingness to provide accurate information. Researchers strive to create reliable and valid questionnaires to minimize biases and errors.
It’s important to remember that while questionnaires can provide valuable insights, they are just one tool among many used in psychological research.
Yes, questionnaires can be used with diverse populations and cultural contexts. Researchers take special care to ensure that questionnaires are culturally sensitive and appropriate for different groups.
This means adapting the language, examples, and concepts to match the cultural context. By doing so, questionnaires can capture the unique perspectives and experiences of individuals from various backgrounds.
This helps researchers gain a more comprehensive understanding of human behavior and ensures that everyone’s voice is heard and represented in psychological research.
No, questionnaires are not the only method used in psychological research. Psychologists use a variety of research methods, including interviews, observations, experiments, and psychological tests.
Each method has its strengths and limitations, and researchers choose the most appropriate method based on their research question and goals.
Questionnaires are valuable for gathering self-report data, but other methods allow researchers to directly observe behavior, study interactions, or manipulate variables to test hypotheses.
By using multiple methods, psychologists can gain a more comprehensive understanding of human behavior and mental processes.
The semantic differential scale is a questionnaire format used to gather data on individuals’ attitudes or perceptions. It’s commonly incorporated into larger surveys or questionnaires to assess subjective qualities or feelings about a specific topic, product, or concept by quantifying them on a scale between two bipolar adjectives.
It presents respondents with a pair of opposite adjectives (e.g., “happy” vs. “sad”) and asks them to mark their position on a scale between them, capturing the intensity of their feelings about a particular subject.
It quantifies subjective qualities, turning them into data that can be statistically analyzed.
Ayidiya, S. A., & McClendon, M. J. (1990). Response effects in mail surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 54(2), 229–247. https://doi.org/10.1086/269200
Fraley, R. C., Waller, N. G., & Brennan, K. A. (2000). An item-response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 350-365.
Friedman, M., & Rosenman, R. H. (1974). Type A behavior and your heart. New York: Knopf.
Gold, R. S., & Barclay, A. (2006). Order of question presentation and correlation between judgments of comparative and own risk. Psychological Reports, 99(3), 794–798. https://doi.org/10.2466/PR0.99.3.794-798
Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967). The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of psychosomatic research, 11(2), 213-218.
Schwarz, N., & Hippler, H.-J. (1995). Subsequent questions may influence answers to preceding questions in mail surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 59(1), 93–97. https://doi.org/10.1086/269460
Smith, C. P. (Ed.). (1992). Motivation and personality: Handbook of thematic content analysis. Cambridge University Press.
