Self Completion Questionnaire

Questionnaires that are completed by respondents themselves are one of the main instruments for gathering data using a social survey design, along with the structured interview that was covered in the previous chapter. Probably the most common form is the mail or postal questionnaire. The term self-completion questionnaire is often used because it is somewhat more inclusive than postal questionnaire. This chapter explores: • the advantages and disadvantages of the questionnaire in comparison to the structured interview; • how to address the potential problem of poor response rates, which is often a feature of the postal questionnaire; • how questionnaires should be designed in order to make answering easier for respondents and less prone to error; • the use of diaries as a form of self-completion questionnaire