RESEARCH METHOD COHEN ok

15 Questionnaires
Introduction
The field of questionnaire design is vast. This
chapter provides a straightforward introduction
to its key elements, indicating the main issues
to be addressed, some important problematical
considerations and how they can be resolved.
The chapter follows a sequence in designing a
questionnaire that, it is hoped, will be useful for
researchers. The serial order is:
ethical issues
approaching the planning of a questionnaire
operationalizing the questionnaire
structured, semi-structured and unstructured
questionnaires
types of questionnaire items
closed and open questions compared
scales of data
the dangers of assuming knowledge or
viewpoints
dichotomous questions
multiple choice questions
rank ordering
rating scales
constant sum questions
ratio data questions
open-ended questions
matrix questions
contingency questions, filters and branches
asking sensitive questions
avoiding pitfalls in question writing
sequencing the questions
questionnaires containing few verbal items
the layout of the questionnaire
covering letters or sheets and follow-up letters
piloting the questionnaire
practical considerations in questionnaire
design
administering questionnaires
self-administered questionnaires
postal questionnaires
processing questionnaire data.
It is suggested that researchers may find it useful
to work through these issues in sequence, though,
clearly, a degree of recursion is desirable.
The questionnaire is a widely used and useful
instrument for collecting survey information,
providing structured, often numerical data,
being able to be administered without the
presence of the researcher, and often being
comparatively straightforward to analyse (Wilson
and McLean 1994). These attractions have to be
counterbalanced by the time taken to develop,
pilot and refine the questionnaire, by the possible
unsophistication and limited scope of the data
that are collected, and from the likely limited
flexibility of response (though, as Wilson and
McLean (1994: 3) observe, this can frequently
be an attraction). The researcher will have to
judge the appropriateness of using a questionnaire
for data collection, and, if so, what kind of
questionnaire it should be.
Ethical issues
The questionnaire will always be an intrusion into
the life of the respondent, be it in terms of time
taken to complete the instrument, the level of
threat or sensitivity of the questions, or the possible
invasion of privacy. Questionnaire respondents are
not passive data providers for researchers; they are
subjects not objects of research. There are several
sequiturs that flow from this.
Respondents cannot be coerced into completing
aquestionnaire.Theymightbestronglyencouraged,
but the decision whether to become involved