7.2.3

Questionnaires

Test yourself

Questionnaire Construction

When designing a self-report study, the wording of questions is very important, as badly worded questionnaires can lead to flawed data. One key consideration is the use of open and closed questions.

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Importance of wording

  • When designing a questionnaire survey, the wording of questions is incredibly important as the researcher will not be present to clarify things for a participant.
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Wording flaws

  • Flaws in questionnaire wording could include:
    • The use of jargon, making the question hard to understand.
    • Leading questions, biasing participant responses.
    • Vague questions, where it is unclear what is being asked.
    • Offensive questions, where particular groups might be upset by the questions.
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Closed questions

  • Questionnaires tend to make use of closed questions, where a selection of options are provided. These include:
    • Yes-no questions.
    • Multiple choice questions.
    • Likert scales, such as where a scale from 1-7 is used to indicate how strongly someone agrees or disagrees with a statement.
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Open questions

  • Another design option is to provide open questions, where the participant can write what they like.
  • These provide richer detail, but are harder to summarise and analyse because each participant can write something different.
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Combination

  • Interviews can also use both open and closed questions.
  • While wording is important, the face-to-face format makes it possible for a researcher to clarify a question.
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Follow-up questions

  • Interviews may include a series of possible follow-up questions which can be asked, dependant on what the participant says to an earlier question.

Strengths and Limitations of Questionnaires

Here are the strengths and limitations of questionnaires.

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Strengths

  • Reliable – easy to replicate.
  • Ethical.
  • Gather lots of data quickly.
  • Closed questions generate quantitative data and are easy to analyse.
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Limitations

  • Lacks validity.
  • Demand characteristics.
  • Social desirability.
  • Difficult to write questions which are not leading or unclear (need a pilot study).

Jump to other topics

1Social Influence

2Memory

3Attachment

4Psychopathology

5Approaches in Psychology

6Biopsychology

7Research Methods

8Issues & Debates in Psychology (A2 only)

9Option 1: Relationships (A2 only)

10Option 1: Gender (A2 only)

11Option 1: Cognition & Development (A2 only)

12Option 2: Schizophrenia (A2 only)

13Option 2: Eating Behaviour (A2 only)

14Option 2: Stress (A2 only)

15Option 3: Aggression (A2 only)

16Option 3: Forensic Psychology (A2 only)

17Option 3: Addiction (A2 only)

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