What is the questionnaire method? Pros and cons and how to create good survey questions

The questionnaire method is a research method that collects data by distributing pre-prepared questionnaires to respondents, and having the respondents read them and write down their answers. It is one of the most widely used data collection methods in social welfare surveys as it can be conducted in a variety of ways, including mail, online, and group distribution.

There are many cases where you have to create your own survey for graduation thesis or research methodology assignments, but making just one question incorrectly can affect the entire result, so it is better to start by knowing the principles.

What does the questionnaire consist of?

The questionnaire usually consists of a greeting that informs the respondent of the purpose of the research and asks for their cooperation, instructions explaining how to respond, main questions that ask what they actually want to know, and sociodemographic questions such as gender and age. In the greeting, write down the research organization, purpose, confidentiality, and time required so that respondents can participate with confidence.

Because sociodemographic questions contain information such as income or educational background that respondents can easily feel burdened by, they are usually placed at the end of the questionnaire to ensure that the answers to the previous questions do not waver.

If structured like this, respondents will read the questions with first understanding why they need to answer and how to answer.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the questionnaire method?

The advantages are clear. It costs less and takes less time than an interview, and you can survey many people in a wide area at once. Anonymity is guaranteed by not writing down names, so even sensitive questions can be answered relatively honestly, and the same questions are asked to everyone, so there are no differences depending on the interviewee.

There are also disadvantages. Mail or online surveys tend to have a high non-response rate, and if a respondent misunderstands a question, an explanation cannot be provided immediately. It is difficult to check who actually responded, it is difficult to write for people who have difficulty reading, and half-hearted and roughly expressed responses may be mixed in. Therefore, when using the questionnaire method, it is necessary to send reminders or make efforts to shorten the response time to increase the return rate.

학자 이름과 이론을 짝으로 묶어 외우니까 시험에서 덜 헷갈리더라고요. 비슷한 이론과 한 번 비교해 보는 것도 좋을 것 같아요.

How to create good questions?

The principles often used when creating questions are as follows.

• In each question, only one question is asked. Avoid double questions like ‘Are you satisfied with your salary and working environment?’
• Do not use expressions that lead to a specific answer.
• Make sure the response categories do not overlap and include all possible answers.
• Place easy questions at the front and sensitive questions at the back.
• Use language that respondents can immediately understand rather than jargon or ambiguous expressions.

The format of the question is also important. Questions that ask about degree, such as satisfaction, often use a Likert scale that answers in stages from ‘very much’ to ‘not at all.’ In this case, the intervals and expressions of the stages should be unified throughout the question to avoid confusing the respondent.

In the field, the needs survey map used in the assessment stage of the Case Management process is created based on the same principles. Learning the principles will be helpful not only for assignments but also when handling survey papers at training centers.

Lastly, before the main survey, it is necessary to conduct a preliminary survey in which a small number of people answer in advance to check and correct confusing questions and response times.

In what order does the questionnaire creation process proceed?

Generally, we decide on the necessary information, decide on the research method (mail, online, group distribution), decide on the content and form of the questions, refine the expressions and order, conduct preliminary research, and complete the final version. Open-ended questions allow you to hear the respondent's thoughts broadly, but are difficult to analyze, while closed-ended questions are easy to analyze, but answers outside the options can be missed, so they are mixed to suit the purpose.

In an assignment, rather than just listing the steps, you can better demonstrate understanding by showing what mistakes are likely to occur in each step with example questions you created yourself. Even just a table that puts the incorrect and corrected questions side by side makes the explanation much more persuasive. The concept and components of the questionnaire, comparison of pros and cons, and 9-step writing process are summarized on page 5. href="https://campusdown.com/product/%EC%82%AC%ED%9A%8C%EB%B3%B5%EC%A7%80%EC%A1%B0% EC%82%AC%EC%9D%98%EC%84%A4%EB%AC%B8%EC%A7%80%EB%B2%95:%EC%84%A4%EB%AC%B8%EC%A7%80%EC %9D%98%EA%B5%AC%EC%84%B1%EC%9A%94%EC%86%8C%EC%99%80%EC%9E%A5%EB%8B%A8%EC%A0%90,9%EB% 8B%A8%EA%B3%84%EC%84%A4%EB%AC%B8%EC%A7%80%EC%9E%91%EC%84%B1%EA%B3%BC%EC%A0%95-25883" rel="noopener">Campus-style questionnaire method summary material can be a reference for those who want to learn the steps in order while preparing for a social welfare research assignment or test.