Questioning as a research method (psychological, marketing or sociological) plays an important role in the life and development of modern society. It is with its help that specialists in various fields manage to conduct various studies, act on a clearly defined plan and achieve high (and accurate) results. Everything becomes possible with a clear structure and regulation of any questionnaire - the question-answer system.
The main advantages of this method - the ability to obtain information from a large number of respondents - a questionnaire as a research method does not limit the number of participants, as well as ensuring a high level of mass research. Another positive point is anonymity, since the vast majority of surveys are aimed at recording answers, and not at the respondent’s personality. However, it is worth clarifying that all this does not apply to questionnaires when applying for a job, where slightly different rules apply.
Questioning as a research method allows you to get the maximum possible amount of information about a product in a short period of time, to find out the opinions of society on some issues and in other similar cases. As is clear from the name of the method itself, it is based on the main tool that records all the questionnaire data, that is, the questionnaire. If you turn to the explanatory dictionary for help, you can get the definition of this word: the questionnaire is a set of questions (necessarily interrelated), for each of which the respondent (respondent) should give a clear answer. Questions in the questionnaires may require precise answers (mathematical) or expressing a specific opinion (sociological and psychological). Based on these answers, the experts draw the appropriate conclusions on the problem of interest to them.
In the modern world, to analyze the opinions of different groups of people, questionnaires are most often used as a method of sociological research, therefore, professionals in this field work as well as experienced psychologists who are tasked with correctly compiling the questions for the respondent. There are several rules that the so-called “questionnaire” must comply with. First, the purpose of the study should be correlated with the total number and content of questions in the questionnaire. Secondly, in order to be able to analyze the results of the questionnaires of different focus groups, questions should always be placed at the beginning of the questionnaire to clarify the personal data of the interviewee - name (in a small number of cases), age, gender and social status. Thirdly, questioning as a research method should not be overloaded with vague or insignificant questions, the charter of which the respondent will not be able to fully answer the most important ones.
Among other things, the questions in the questionnaire should be clear and logical, follow in a logical sequence, and also gradually increase the interest of the respondent (in the case of a marketing survey). At the end of the questionnaire, it is worth asking the most difficult questions, the answer to which will have to be considered. An important condition for the quality of the questionnaire is the accuracy of the wording of the questions, which does not allow double interpretation or ambiguity. When creating a questionnaire, questions from several verbose sentences with the use of professional terms cannot be allowed. In addition, if the questionnaire as a research method is not sociological, it should not address questions about memories, personal preferences, or the social environment in which the interviewee lives.
In conclusion, it should be noted: if you create a questionnaire for any type of surveys yourself, do not forget to check before questioning. You can ask questions to people uninterested in order to assess how well the wording sounds and whether it is easy to give an answer. If the "pilot" test is successful, you can start the study.