1. Social Research Methods
Alan Bryman
Social Research Methods
Chapter 10: Self-completion questionnaires
Slides authored by Tom Owens

2. What is a self-completion questionnaire?
Also called a self-administered questionnaire
No interviewer present
Respondent writes answers on form
Returned to researcher or deposited for collection
Usually postal questionnaires
Can be distributed in person or by
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3. Comparing self-completion questionnaires and structured interviews
Self-completion questionnaires tend to:
have fewer open questions
have easier to follow designs
be shorter, to reduce ‘respondent fatigue’
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4. Self-completion questionnaires have advantages…..
Cheaper and quicker to administer (to widely dispersed populations)
No interviewer variability
Convenience for respondents
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5. ….but many disadvantages
Cannot probe or prompt
Can only ask salient questions
Few open-ended or complex questions
Respondent can see the whole questionnaire before answering (question order effects)
Cannot ensure that the ‘right’ person answers
Cannot collect additional data
Respondent fatigue if too many questions
Excludes people with limited literacy skills
Greater risk of missing data
Lower response rates
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6. Tips to improve response rates to postal questionnaires:
Since response rates are relatively low there is a risk of sample bias; a rate of 60%+ is needed to be acceptable (Mangione,1995).
Response rates can be improved by:
Writing a good covering letter
Including a stamped addressed envelope
Issuing reminders
Using shorter questionnaires
Give clear instructions
Using a layout attractive to the respondent
Providing monetary incentives
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7. Tips on designing a self-completion questionnaire:
Use an uncluttered layout
neither too short and cramped nor too long and bulky
Aim for clear presentation
variety of font sizes, bold print, italics, and CAPITAL letters can be used
but be consistent!
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8. Arrange fixed answers vertically
Because this makes the questionnaire less confusing to read
Because questions can be distinguished from answers
Because the respondent is less likely to make a mistake
Because the questionnaire is easier to pre-code
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9. Give clear instructions about how to respond
how to indicate choice of answer:
a tick, a circle, an underline…..?
if more than one answer can be given:
sometimes you might want the respondent to select a number of possibilities from a list.
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10. Keep questions and answers together
Never spread a question over two pages
Locate the answers alongside each corresponding question, particularly for questions involving Likert scales
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11. Formatting a Likert scale
In the next set of questions, you are presented with a statement. You are being asked to indicate your level of agreement or disagreement with each statement by indicating whether you: Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), are Undecided (U), Disagree (D), or Strongly Disagree (SD).
Please indicate your level of agreement by circling the appropriate response.
23. My job is like a hobby to me.
SA A U D SD
24. My job is usually interesting enough to keep me from getting bored.
SA A U D SD
25. It seems that my friends are more interested in their jobs.
26. I enjoy my work more than my leisure time.
Tips and skills
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12. Using diaries as a form of self-completion questionnaire
As an alternative to structured observation in quantitative research
In a structured form:
with closed entries, like a questionnaire
recording time-use (amount of time spent on different activities)
Can reduce error due to memory problems
But can be more intrusive than a questionnaire
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13. A diary study to examine gender and time use
Sullivan’s (1997) studied the ways in which the experience of domestic time is gendered:
• the diaries recorded the amount of time spent by household members on particular activities in a one-week period
• these activities were rank-ordered into seven categories ranging from cooking to domestic travel
The diary method enabled Sullivan to show the differences between men and women regarding the performance of certain tasks and the proportion of their time spent on doing tasks together.
Research in focus 10.1
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14. Guidelines for preparing a diary for quantitative research
Corti (1993)
provide clear instructions for respondents about how to complete diary and how often
include model of a completed diary entry
provide checklist of items, events or behaviours to include in each entry
show blocks of time in columns
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15. Evaluating diaries as a form of self-completion questionnaire
Advantages
precise estimates of time spent on activities (valid, reliable data)
shows chronological order of events
useful for personal or sensitive issues
Disadvantages
cost of producing diaries and monitoring completion
boredom, fatigue and attrition
failure to record details
selective inclusion of events
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