Questionnaires should be user-friendly in their design yet structured to ensure that the essential data is collected. To achieve this, the researcher must create a carefull blend of the following:
- Open-ended questions
- Likert scales
- Close-ended questions
Open-ended questions can elicit complete answers and thus provide useful data. However many persons do not like to write. These persons tend to avoid answering a lot of open-ended questions.
Close-ended questions are much easier to answer but sometimes do not allow respondents to fully express their thoughts or feelings. These questions normally receive a yes or no as the response.
Likert scales provide a compromise between ease of use and completeness of reponse. They offer the respondents a range of responses from which to choose. Thus they can easily express them selves in a more or less complete manner. The "drawback" is that likert scales require more thought and preparation time. However, researchers should invest the time and effort required to ensure that their questionnaires are designed to elicit accurate and complete data.
Click on the link below to view an excerpt of a sample questionnaire
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