Questionnaires can be used to gather data for research studies. They typically have open or closed-ended questions, however some questionnaires might use a combination of both. Open questions allow the respondents to answer in their own terms while closed questions give an array of predetermined answers that they can choose from. Questionnaires are also available by phone, postal mail or online.
Online questionnaire surveys are becoming frequent, but it’s crucial to make sure that the information collected is accurate and reliable. To accomplish this researchers must precisely measure response rates and keep track of the number of people who take the survey. The researcher should also be able to determine the possible reasons for why someone might not respond and address the reasons (e.g. sampling bias).
Online questionnaires are also less expensive than traditional methods. This makes them an attractive alternative to traditional questionnaire based research. This method is not without problems. Online questionnaires aren’t easy to assess in terms of their reliability and validity and could have an impact on the social esteem of the respondents.
There are internet-based.org/questionnaires-as-a-poll-instrument a variety of ways to overcome the limitations. This article discusses several specific strategies that can be used by researchers to increase the quality and reliability of their online questionnaires such as: (i) paying participants when they are finished with the questionnaire yields a lower response rate than waiting for all responses or a middle procedure; (iii) asking participants to enter their names for receipt preparation doesn’t reduce or increase the social appeal of answers; and (iv) framing the fixed portion of a participant’s payment as “for answering the questionnaire” and providing feedback on progress increases answer quality.