The questionnaire approach .1 Types of questionnaire

Various types of questionnaire are available to the researcher. Differences between questionnaires are based on two main areas, the overall form or layout and the individual question type. Essentially questionnaire layout is described by the degree to which it is structured.

A highly structured questionnaire will typically have controlling factors such as numbered questions to be answered in order, a time limit and / or it will be mandatory for respondents to answer all questions. Any number of instructions are possible, depending on the development of the questionnaire and the audience it will be presented to. A high level of structuring is often required or preferred when the respondent will be answering in isolation from the distributor of the questionnaire, such as in mailed out surveys. The structure aims to increase consistency between responses and reduce individual interpretation of what is required.

Alternative to this is the unstructured questionnaire. This may allow respondents to answer any number of questions, in any order and in any time. The questions may be selected by the deliverer depending on circumstances, previous answers or relevance to the respondent. The unstructured questionnaire is often used when delivery by a knowledgeable person is

possible. The questionnaire structure can be altered by this person during delivery, tailoring it to gain the most information in each situation. This type of questionnaire is often delivered in an interview scenario, where the interviewer has significant knowledge of the subject.

Questionnaires can be structured to varying degrees and the amount of structuring cannot simply be described by assigning a category. This is because of the great individuality of any

given questionnaire, stemming from the designers choices; size, focus, aims, sample size, delivery options etc. It is important to recognise this individuality when attempting to describe the structural type of a questionnaire, almost any degree of structuring is possible and potentially suitable (Coolican, 1994)

Conversely, question type can generally be divided into two distinct types, forced-choice or open-ended. Forced choice questions give a number of predetermined options for the respondent to choose from and are easier to score and analyse than open ended questions.

However, the only information that can be gained from forced-choice questions is contained within the choices given by the questionnaire designer. The designer must therefore know the ranges of answers that can be expected, or that are relevant, from the question in focus. With open-ended questions the respondent is given the opportunity to state a position in their own words. These answers can provide useful information that the questionnaire designer may not have previously considered. The downside to open-ended questions is that responses are harder to analyse as they cannot be scored as easily as forced-choice questions, which may have simple yes/no or numerical responses.

A questionnaire may use either type of question and any combination of the two to gain the information required, as decided by the designer of the questionnaire

5.2.2 Questionnaire delivery

How a questionnaire is to be delivered is a strong determining factor in the choice of structuring and types of questions employed. What information is required and how it is deemed best to gain that information should determine the delivery method, although available resources may affect the decision.

Broadly there are two types of delivery techniques, self-administered and interview. Self-administered questionnaires are those given to people for completion and, usually, very little assistance is available in case a respondent does not understand a question or has a query.

A self-administered questionnaire must be carefully prepared and monitored to yield a good response rate, editing and tryouts are almost essential. The questions must be constructed carefully, to be understandable, unbiased and necessary.

Interview delivery involves some degree of human contact, either face to face or by

telephone, whereas a self-administered questionnaire may be a mailed out type of survey.

Interviews can be conducted by trained interviewers, following rules given by the

questionnaire designer(s), or by the questionnaire designer themselves, depending on conditions. An interviewer may deliver only the questions exactly as they are written or may be allowed to prompt and help if this is deemed useful and appropriate. Generally, the more input the interviewer gives, the greater the potential for bias. However, in a situation where a complex subject is the topic of the questionnaire, some explanation and prompting may yield far greater information from the interviewee than a cold-face reading questions.

Interview technique is important for engaging the help of interviewees and gaining the

information required to complete the survey. The importance of the interview and the value of the answers should be impressed upon the interviewee, the subject matter should engage the co-operation of the interviewee. Interviews benefit from the personal interaction that is

intrinsic to them in this respect, it is more effective to explain and engage a respondent face to face or even over the telephone than with a self-administered questionnaire.

5.2.3 Quantitative vs. Qualitative data

Quantitative data consists of number scores, often the results of forced-choice questions in the context of questionnaires. These numbers can be more easily analysed than qualitative data because they can be used directly in statistical tests, or transformed using the same formula for all – reducing the possibility of bias. Qualitative data is non-number results, often text answers and often from open-ended questions. The analysis of qualitative data often involves the manipulation of text, requiring input from the analyser and introducing an extra stage where bias can influence results. The techniques that exist for data analysis are discussed in more detail in Chapter 6.

5.3 Questionnaire development