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Section
D:
Choosing The Method, A Guide to Community Consultation and Research Methods
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Self Completion Questionnaires
| Summary | This is a popular survey method that can be used
to examine a wide range of issues. It is important that questions
are clearly worded, as there is no interviewer to explain them.
Most questions tend to be of a multiple-choice format as these
are easy and quick to complete. Self-completion questionnaires
are often postal surveys. |
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| Examples | The Council regularly uses self-completion questionnaires
to consult members of the public about Council services, priorities
or proposed changes. Recently a postal questionnaire/leaflet was used to inform the public about the Council’s proposal to modernise the political structure and to find out their views on it. Questionnaires were sent to all individuals on the electoral register (about 344,000). Self-completion questionnaires have also been used in staff surveys. A survey on the training needs of disabled staff used self-completion questionnaires and the information from it was used to inform a training strategy and pro gramme. Transportation and Planning have also used self-completion questionnaires to examine communication in the Division. Top |
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| Useful for | When a large number of people need to be consulted
and the subject matter is simple and straightforward. Where a reasonable
response rate can be expected. Where most questions can be asked
in a multiple–choice format (open ended questions often get
a poor response). When budgets are limited. |
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| Not useful | Where the subject is complicated or qualitative information
is required. The response rates to self-completion questionnaires
vary greatly depending on a number of factors, including the subject
matter, the survey population, the follow-up, whether any incentive
is offered etc. Response rates to postal questionnaires, in particular,
can be very poor (typically 10-20%). Some groups may be more likely
to respond than others and it is often difficult to determine whether
respondents are representative of the total population. |
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| Equal Rights | Respondents must be able to read and write. For Asian
language respondents who do not speak English the questionnaire
may need to be made available in different languages. However,
many Asian respondents who cannot read English can also not read
other languages, a taped version may be more appropriate. Respondents
with visual impairments will need to be accommodated (e.g. with
large print, Braille and/or taped versions of the questionnaire). Top |
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| Costs | One of the cheapest forms of survey - cheaper than
face to face and telephone interviews. If done in-house, costs
can be very low, mainly printing and postage. However, they do
require a large amount of staff time for data entry and analysis.
Access to a suitable computer package for analysis will be necessary.
If an external organisation is used costs are variable, depending
on sample size and length of questionnaire. Top |
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| Time Scale | 2-3 months |
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| Contact | Richard Smith | 01274 433839 |
| Research and Consultation | ||
| John Warbuton | 01274 432130 | |
| Staff Surveys | ||
| Sandra Broadbent | 01274 437691 | |
| Training needs for disabled staff | ||
| Phil Williams | ||
| Large Postal Surveys | 01274 434635 | |
| Top | ||
| Section C | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | Section E |
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Introduction and Framework Section A Section B Section C Section D Section E |
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