Researchers aim to become good, if not the best with relevant
Research output, but most often they encounter many problems, more so, if we are just beginners. We like to write and we like to read papers of experts for us to learn more. What to do and how to construct a very satisfactory
questionnaires is the main purpose of this article. Some ideas are capsulated from the work of an expert Robert B. Frary and
was made simple to reduce the unsatisfactory results of questionnaires as follows:
What are the causes of this unsatisfactory results of questionnaires? In the paper of Frary ( 2007) the causes are the following: (1) inexperienced developer, (2) inadequate consideration of aspects of
questionnaire process, (3) questionnaire’s deficiency, (4)
respondents have little concern on the questions they answered. All of this are true. When the researchers are beginners they do not have yet enough knowledge on how to construct a research questionnaire. They need to take deep understanding on the
process on how it is to be written or constructed. Its deficiency will discourage the respondents to answer and not only non response the researcher will get but also it is possible for the non return. In this point Frary ( 2007) suggested to questionnaire developers that they must possess mental discipline. To obtain feedback from a small but representative sample of potential respondents is also important.
How to obtain this feedback? It could be either in the four (4) different ways. One is through: (1) informal, open-ended interviews ( with several potential respondents, as if they are the research subject) The purpose of this is to determine the relevancy of the questions and to which extent there maybe problems in obtaining responses. Another is through (2) pilot testing, (3) dry run and (4) field trial.
When is field trial necessary? This necessary if there is substantial uncertainty in the following areas: response rate, question applicability. question performance.
What are the types of question items and which is more preferred? There are two types of question items. They are: (1) open-ended questions, (2) objective questions. The characteristics of an open-ended questions are seems easy to write, quite likely to suppress responses. To capture unsuspected information is one of reasons why
Researchers use open-ended questions. But is this reason valid? For brief, informal questionnaires having respondents fewer than 50, the reason can be considered valid. Listing process is time-consuming and introduces error. Small number of respondents will just require simple listing of the responses to each question. Open-ended questions should be avoided because respondents’ willingness and ability to respond in writing varies. On the other hand, questions where the investigator/ researcher sets the prevalent categorize for the respondent to choose from is known as objective questions. This is more preferred on the reason that respondents are of no chance to suppress their answers. And this also more helpful and beneficial to the researchers because they can easily analyze the results of the research responds.
More summaries about the Two Types of Research Questions