The uses and abuses of the questionnaire procedure

Abstract

There are five possible sources of error in the use of the questionnaire procedure: (1) the method stresses categorical answers, often necessarily inaccurate; (2) the uncontrollable nature of the replies; (3) the uncertain nature of the interpretation that is put upon the results; (4) the usual statistical treatments accorded returns from the questionnaire often lend a false glamor to the investigation; (5) unreturned questionnaires and replies left blank are falsely assumed to be half negative and half positive. The advantages: (1) time and scope of inquiry; (2) possibility of furnishing cues for further investigation; (3) natural and inherent principle of formulation. Strictly speaking, the questionnaire is not an experimental method, but a prescientific procedure, antecedent to and dependent upon further experimental research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)