(2) According to the home questionnaire filled by you, do you feel the need for
making changes in yourself or in the home or school environment? Write the
necessary changes below as per the democratic lifestyle.
Ans.
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Answers
Questionnaires provide quantitative and qualitative methods of data gathering - the evidence, data or information you find can be expressed in numerical or descriptive terms.
An alternative to a self-completion questionnaire is a structured interview, where the questionnaire is administered in person or over the telephone. The advantage of using a questionnaire rather than an interview is that you can reach large numbers of people more easily, as you can leave them to fill in the questionnaire and send it back to you.
Questionnaires are more rigid than interviews. Unless you leave a space for the interviewee to write their own answer (e.g. 'If you have any more comments please write in the space provided'), the respondent can only choose from the range of answers you have given. You therefore have to make sure that you have designed your questionnaire well.
When preparing a questionnaire you also need to keep in mind the following points.
Make sure you introduce yourself and explain what the aim of the questionnaire is. Also, make sure the respondent is aware of the ethical implications of the research
Devise your questions so they help to answer your research question, that way, all the questions will be relevant
Try and have a sequence to your questions or topics - group them in themes and make sure they follow on logically from each other
Make sure your questions are clear and easy to understand - only use technical or academic language if you are sure the respondent will understand what you mean
Do not ask leading questions. Make sure people are free to give their own, honest answer
Always run a pilot of your questionnaire. You can ask colleagues, fellow students or family members to fill it in. This helps you to test the technical aspect of the questionnaire, such as whether you have given the correct answer options or whether you have left anything out.
Sampling
When you design your research you need to take into account how many people you need to include to make the research valid.
If you are investigating a narrow but deep subject you may not need to question that many people; you may be interested in the opinions and experiences of experts or people with direct experience, rather than a random sample. If you gather responses from a small number of people you must make sure that the sample is as appropriate as possible to your research.
Larger samples are often employed in quantitative research. A basic rule of thumb is that increasing the sample size increases its reliability, although after a sample size of about 1000 the gains are less pronounced. Of course, you will need to take into account how much time you have as well as how much money is available (a bigger sample may mean more stamps!). You should also consider non-responses; if you expect 100 people to fill in questionnaires, only 80 may do so. So it is a good idea to send questionnaires to more people than you need.
Preparing a questionnaire
The most common type of questionnaire is a self-completion questionnaire. You will probably have filled in this type yourself; a typical example would be a company asking for your opinion on their service.
Don't forget to design your questionnaire with regard to its function. It should be easy to read, with the questions spaced out clearly and distinguishable from the answer section and the preamble.
You also need to give clear information on the following.
The aims and purpose of the questionnaire
Who to contact for more information
What happens next (will there be another questionnaire? Or a follow up interview? What happens to the data?)
Instructions on how to answer the questionnaire
How to send it back (including any deadlines)
Whether you need the participant's contact details, and why. This is important as the respondent should be assured of confidentiality and anonymity. The questionnaire itself should not bear the name of the respondent.