Questionnaires

• why are they used?

  • assess thoughts or feelings
  • assess the dependent variable
• open questions

  • doesn't have a fixed answer and respondents can answer in any way they like
  • tend to produce qualitative data - difficult to analyse but has lots of detail and depth
• closed questions

  • fixed responses
  • quantitative data - easy to analyse but lacks depth and detail
• strengths and weaknesses

  + cost effective

  + completed without researcher present

  + data collected straightforward to analyse

  -responses may not be truthful

  -may have been influenced by demand characteristics as they may want to be seen positively (social desirability)