Evaluation: Questionnaires.

What are questionnaires? (Strength)

Cost-effective

What can they gather and why? (Strength)

Gather large amounts of data quickly because they can be distributed to large numbers of people.

Why is the number of people important? (Strength)

It determines the volume of data collected.

Can a questionnaire be completed without a researcher being present? (Strength)

A questionnaire can be completed without the researcher being present, which reduces the effort involved.

What is the data usually? (Strength)

Straightforward to analyse and is particularly the case if the questionnaire comprises mainly fixed choice closed questions.

What does the data lend itself to? (Strength)

Statistical analysis

How can comparisons between groups of people be made? (Strength)

Using graphs and charts

What's a major problem of questionnaires? (Limitation)

The responses given may not always be truthful.

What may respondents be keen to do? (Limitation)

To present themselves in a positive light and this may influence their answers.

What kind of demand characteristic is made? (Limitations)

Social desirability bias.

What do questionnaires often produce? (Limitation)

A response bias

What is response bias? (Limitation)

Where respondents tend to reply in a similar way.

Why may respondents do response bias? (Limitation)

Respondents complete the questionnaire too quickly and fail to read questions correctly

What's a particular form of response bias? (Limitation)

Acquiescence bias.