Page 45 - DLIS401_METHODOLOGY_OF_RESEARCH_AND_STATISTICAL_TECHNIQUES

Methodology of Research and Statistical Techniques

Notes 2. The Administration of a Questionnaire

Questionnaires can be administered in a variety of ways.
(a) Self-Administered Questionnaire
In this type of survey, respondents fill out a questionnaire delivered to them by mail, taking
precautions to ensure a sufficiently high response rate, or they can be delivered “on the spot”,
e.g., in a factory or school. The basic problem is the monitoring of returns, which have to be
identified, i.e., you have to make up a return graph to indicate the response rate (over 50%),
and you have to send follow-up mailings to non-respondents.

(b) Interview Survey
In a (more time-consuming and expensive) interview survey, sensitive and complicated issues
can be explored face-to-face. This method also ensures a higher response rate, and a reduction
of “don’t know” answers. The interviewer has more control over the data collection process
(note that observations can be made during the interview) and can clarify, in a standardized
way, unclear questions. Since the questionnaire is the main measurement instrument, the
interviewer must make sure that the questions have identical meaning to all respondents:
interviewers should (and are trained to) be familiar with the questionnaire, dress like the
respondents, behave in a neutral way during the interview, follow the given question wording
and order, record the answers exactly, and probe for answers. Interview surveys typically
have a higher response rate (affecting generalizability).
(c) Telephone Survey
A questionnaire conducted by telephone is a cheaper and less time-consuming method, one
moreover in which the researcher can keep an eye on the interviewers, but one on which the
respondents can also hang up.
3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Survey Research
Survey research generally has the advantage that, depending on the research objective, it can
serve descriptive, explanatory, as well as exploratory purposes. But more important than
anything else, depending on sampling techniques, it can generalize findings to large populations,
while the standardization of the questionnaire (and the way it is administered) ensures reliability
of the measurement instrument. In addition, many respondents can be researched, relatively
many topics can be asked about them (flexibility), and statistical techniques allow for accurate
analysis. Note that pre-collected data can also be analyzed for a different purpose (secondary
data-analysis).
The main weakness of survey research is its rather superficial approach to social life because
all subjects are treated in a unified way, the particularities of each cannot be explored in any
great detail, and no knowledge is acquired of the social context of the respondents’ answers.
Also, surveys measure only answers, and not what this actually refers to (you know whether
a person has responded to be “conservative” but not whether s/he is). Next, surveys are not
so good in measuring action, but rather thoughts about action. This raises questions of validity:
perhaps the questionnaire does not reveal anything “real”, that is, anything of genuine concern
for the respondents themselves.
C. Field Research
While surveys typically produce quantitative data, field research yields qualitative data. Also
notice how field-research often not only produces data but also theory (alternation of deduction
and induction).

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