Qualitative research questionnaires are a structured or semi-structured set of questions designed to gather detailed, open-ended responses from participants.
It enables you to uncover underlying reasons and opinions, providing insights into a particular phenomenon.
While quantitative questionnaires often have closed-ended questions and numerical responses, a qualitative questionnaire encourages participants to express themselves freely.
Before designing your questionnaire, it is essential to
- know precisely what you need
- Ensuring your questions are specific enough for participants to understand.
Example Questions
- Describe your experience using our product.
- How has technology impacted your work-life balance?
Types Of Qualitative Research Questions
Now that you are familiar with what qualitative research questions are, let’s look at the different types of questions you can use in your survey.
Descriptive Questions
These are used to explore and describe a phenomenon in detail. It helps answer the “what” part of the research, and the questions are mostly foundational.
Example:
How do students experience online learning?
Comparative Questions
This type allows you to compare and contrast different groups or situations. You can explore the differences and similarities to highlight the impact of specific variables.
Example:
How do the study habits of first-year and fourth-year university students differ?
Interpretive Questions
These questions help you understand the meanings people attach to experiences or phenomena by answering the “how” and “why”.
Example:
What does “success” mean to entrepreneurs?
Evaluative Questions
You can use these to assess the quality or value of something. These allow you to understand the outcomes of various situations
Example:
How practical is the new customer service training program?
Process-Oriented Questions
To understand how something happens or develops over time, researchers often use process-oriented questions.
Example:
How do individuals develop their career goals?
Exploratory Questions
These allow you to discover new perspectives on a topic. However, you must be careful to avoid any preconceived notions or research biases.
Example:
What are the emerging trends in the mobile gaming industry?
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How To Write Qualitative Research Questions?
For your study to be successful, it is essential to design a questionnaire for qualitative research critically, as it will significantly shape your research and data collection. Here is an easy guide to writing your qualitative research questions perfectly.
Tip 1: Understand Your Research Goals
Many students begin their research without clear goals, and they often have to make substantial changes to their study midway through the research. This wastes time and resources.
Before you start crafting your questions, it is essential to know your research objectives. You should know what you aim to discover through your research, or what specific knowledge gaps you are going to fill.
With the help of a well-defined research focus, you can develop relevant and meaningful information.
Tip 2: Choose The Structure For Research Questions
There are mostly open-ended questionnaires in qualitative research. They begin with words like “how,” “what,” and “why.” However, the structure of your research questions depends on your research design.
Consider using broad, overarching questions to explore the primary research focus, and then add specific probes to investigate the particular aspects of the topic further.
Tip 3: Use Clear Language
The more precise and concise your research questions are, the more effective and free from ambiguity they will be. Avoid using complex terminology that may confuse participants.
Try using direct and straightforward language that accurately conveys your intended meaning.
Wrong Vs Right Ways Of Writing Questions
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| How would you characterise your attitude towards e-commerce transactions? | How do you feel about online shopping? |
| Could you elucidate on the obstacles encountered in your professional role? | What challenges do you face in your job? |
| What is your evaluation of the innovative product aesthetic? | What do you think about the new product design? |
| Could you elaborate on the impact of social networking platforms on your interpersonal relationships? | How has social media impacted your relationships? |
Tip 4: Check Relevance With Research Goals
Once you have developed some questions, check if they align with your research objectives. You must ensure that each question contributes to your overall research questions.
After this, you can eliminate any questions that do not serve a clear purpose in your study.
Tip 5: Concentrate On A Single Theme
While it is tempting to cover multiple aspects of a topic in one question, it is best to focus on a single theme per question. This helps to elicit focused responses from participants.
Moreover, you have to avoid combining unrelated concepts into a single question.
Example Of Ladder Structure
If your main research question is complicated, you can create sub-questions with a “ladder structure”. These allow you to understand the attributes, consequences, and core values of your research.
Main Research Question: How do you feel about your overall experience with our company?
Intermediate Questions:
- What aspects of your experience were positive?
- What aspects of your experience were negative?
- How likely are you to recommend our company to a friend or colleague?
Types Of Survey Questionnaires In Qualitative Research
It is important to consider your research objectives, target population, resources and needed depth of research when selecting a survey method. The main types of qualitative surveys are discussed below.
Face To Face Surveys
Face-to-face surveys involve direct interaction between the researcher and the participant.
This method allows observers to capture non-verbal cues, body language, and facial expressions, and helps adapt questions based on participant responses.
They also let you clarify any misunderstandings. Moreover, there is a higher response rate because of personal interaction.
Example:
A researcher conducting a study on consumer experiences with a new product might visit participants’ homes to conduct a detailed interview.
Telephone Surveys
These type of qualitative research survey questionnaires provide a less intrusive method for collecting qualitative data. The benefits of telephone surveys include, that it allows you to collect data from a wider population.
Moreover, it is generally less expensive than face-to-face interviews and interviews can be conducted efficiently.
Example:
A market research firm might conduct telephone surveys to understand customer satisfaction with a telecommunication service.
Online Surveys
Online survey questionnaires are a convenient and cost-effective way to gather qualitative data. You can reach a wide audience quickly, and participants may feel more comfortable sharing sensitive information because of anonymity.
Additionally, there are no travel or printing expenses.
Example:
A university might use online surveys to explore students’ perceptions of online learning experiences.
Strengths & Limitations Of Questionnaires In Qualitative Research
Questionnaires are undoubtedly a great data collection tool. However, it comes with its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. Let’s discuss the benefits of questionnaires in qualitative research and their cons as well.
| Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|
| Can be inexpensive to distribute and collect | Can suffer from low response rates |
| Allow researchers to reach a wide audience | There is a lack of control over the environment |
| Consistent across participants | Once the questionnaire is distributed, it cannot be modified |
| Anonymity helps make participants feel more comfortable | Participants may not fully understand questions |
| Open-ended questions provide rich, detailed responses | Open-ended questions may not capture the right answers |
Qualitative Research Questionnaire Example
Here is a concise qualitative research questionnaire sample for research papers to give you a better idea of its format and how it is presented.
Thank you for participating in our survey. We value your feedback on our new mobile app. Your responses will help us improve the applications and better meet your needs.
Demographic Information
- Age:
- Gender:
- Occupation:
- How long have you been using smartphones:
Questions
- How would you describe your overall experience with the new mobile app?
- What do you like most about the app?
- What do you dislike most about the app?
- Are there any specific features you find particularly useful or helpful? Please explain.
- Are there any features you think are missing or could be improved? Please elaborate.
- How easy is the app to navigate? Please explain any difficulties you encountered.
- How does this app compare to other similar apps you have used?
- What are your expectations for future updates or improvements to the app?
- Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience with the app?
Frequently Asked Questions
Questionnaires are best suited for qualitative research as participants are involved to share experiences in their own words which improve the quality of data and make it rich and meaningful
An example is: How do students experience online learning? This type of question provides descriptive and detailed responses.
Qualitative questions are open-ended and deal with opinions or experiences, while quantitative ones are closed-ended and provide numerical data.
