What are Questionnaires?

Questionnaires are any written instruments

that present respondents with a series of questions or statements to which they are to react either by writing out their answers or selecting from among existing answer.

Source: Brown, J.D. (2003). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. New Jersey: Laurence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Page 6

What do Questionnaires measure?

We use questionnaires when we

want to study the knowledge, opinions, ideas and experiences of our learners, fellow teachers, parents or whatever.
language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Source: Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for

Page 124

What do Questionnaires measure?

Questionnaires are used to discover the factual

information, experiences and thoughts.

3 types of questions: Factual Questions: Behavioral Questions: Attitudinal Questions:

Source: Brown, J.D. (2003). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. New Jersey: Laurence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Page 6

Purposes of questions in Questionnaires

Factual questions: are used to find about who the respondents are

Age, gender, residential location, level of education, occupation, learning history, course books used.

Behavioural questions: are used to find out what the respondents are doing or having done in the past.

Learning strategies, the frequency students have used a particular strategy in the past.

Attitudinal questions: are used to find out what people think.

Attitudes, opinions, beliefs and interests.

Source: Brown, J.D. (2003). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. New Jersey: Laurence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Source: Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Advantages
Save time Cost effectiveness
Source: Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for

language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Disadvantages

Subjectivity: Researchers/ Respondents/ Little or no opportunities to correct the respondents mistakes: little opportunities to double check the validity of the answers. Simplicity of answers: limits the depth of the investigation

Source: Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Is there a way to limit the disadvantages?

Questionnaire preparation

Purpose

Why are you setting up the questionnaire? What do you hope to find out? Try to imagine the range of responses? Will they tell you what you need to know?

Handling the data

Will they be in a form that is simple and convenient to analyse?

How many copies of the questionnaires will you need? Will you need spares? How are you going to ensure maximum return of the completed questionnaires? Are the questionnaires going to be anonymous or confidential?

Practical details

Anonymity or Confidentiality?

Source: Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Features of Questionnaire
Clarity The instructions should be clear and explicit to the informants. Have answers to be ticked, crossed, circled or written out? Simplicity The questionnaire should be laid out in a straightforward manner.

Source: Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for

language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

A typical layout of the questionnaire

Title Instructions Questionnaire items Additional information A final thank you

Types of Questions: Closed questions

(Please tick () the appropriate box.) How many years have you been studying English? 0-3

4-6

7-10 more than 10

Types of Questions: Open questions

Why did you decide to learn English rather than

some other foreign language? (If you have several reasons, pick the most important.)
________________________________________

Specific open questions questions ________________________________________ Short answer questions

________________________________________ Sentence completion

Types of Questions: the combination of closed and open elements

What is your main reason for studying English? (Please

tick ONE of (i) (iii), or write in an answer to (iv))

(i) For business

(ii) For further study (eg. University course) (iii) For social reasons (iv) other (please specify)__________________

Types of Questions: Follow-up questions

Did you enjoy your EFL evening class? YES/NO (Please circle appropriate answer.? (a) If your answer to (1) was YES, what did you enjoy most about it? ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ (b) If your answer to (1) was NO, why did you not enjoy it? ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

Types of Questions: Ranking questions

Rank the following from 1 to 4 in order of preference

I like to learn best by

studying:
___ with the whole class. ___ in small groups. ___ in pairs. ___ independently

Types of Questions: List

Indicate your qualifications by circling any of the

following:

Diploma

B.A
M.A Ph.D

Types of Questions: Category

Indicate your salary range by circling one of the

following:

Less than 20.000

20.000- 40.000
40.000 60.000 More than 60.000

Types of Questions: Ranking

Rank the following from 1 4 in order of preference

I like to learn best by studying: with the whole class In small groups In pairs independently

Types of Questions: Likert Scale Questions

Circle one of the following to indicate your attitude to the following statement:

I like to learn through interacting with native

speakers

Strongly agree
Agree Neutral

Disagree
Strongly disagree

Types of Questions: Quantity / Frequency Question

Circle one of the following:

How often did you practice English

outside class last week?

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10, more than

10.

Types of Questions: Grid Questions

How many students are in the following classes?

0-5

5-10

10-15

15+

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Types of questions: verbal scale questions

How helpful did you find the textbook we used

this term?

Very interesting OK Not interesting

How much homework do you do in a typical

week? (please tick)

A lot Average Not much None

Piloting the questionnaires

Whose wording may be ambiguous; Which are too difficult for the

respondent to reply to;

eliminated?

Which may/ or should be

Which are problematic to code in

the data analysis process.

How to write effective items?

short questions are good questions (Brown, 2001, p.45)

Brown, J.D. (2001)Doing second language research, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Rule 1
We should choose the simplest way to write the items.

Clear Direct

NO jargons NO technical words

NO proverbs
NO abbreviations

Rule 2
AVOID ambiguous words or sentences

Nonspecific adjectives or adverbs: good, many, sometimes, often

Items containing universals such as all, none, never

Modifying words such as only, just, merely

Words having more than one meaning

Rule 3
AVOID negative constructions

Not, no

Rule 4
AVOID Double-barrelled questions - asking two or

more questions in one while expecting a single answer.

Do you always write your homework and do it thoroughly?

Rule 5
Include both positive and negative worded items.

Agree- Disagree Like - Dislike

Checking the language

Are there any words that could have more than one

meaning?
Are any of the questions open to more than one

interpretation?
How could this questionnaire be improved to make

it more reliable?

What are the possible errors in the following items?

1.

Cheating in exams is bad.

Agree Disagree

2.

As a teacher, I am always willing to admit it when I make a mistake.

True False

3.

If you found some money, what would you do?

Id keep it Id take it to a police station Id give it to charity

What are the possible errors in the following items?

1. The employers can wither carry on industry and

accumulate profits if they have the good will of the workers.

Agree Disagree

2. Do you think that using speaking activities is a good

way of teaching speaking to students?

Yes No

The Interview
In an interview, the interviewer asks the

interviewee questions in person or over the telephone.

(Johnson and Chritensen, 2004)

Types of interviews
Unstructured

Structured

Little or No control
The direction of the interview is relatively unprepared

TheSemi-structured interviewer has a general idea, but not enter the interview with a list of predetermined questions

Work through list of questions prepared by researchers.

Types of interview

Informal, conversational interview It is spontaneous It is loosely structured Interview guide approach It is more structured than the informal conversational interview. The questions can be asked in any order by the interviewer. Question wording can be changed by the interviewer if it is appropriate. Standardized, open-ended interview Open-ended questions are written on an interview protocol The wording of the questions can not be changed

Closed, fixed-response interview The same information is provided to everyone Use closed ended questions

Types of interviews
Informal, conversational interview = Unstructured interview = In-depth interview

Interview with guide approach = Semi-structured interview Stantadized, open- ended interview / Closed, Fixedresponse interview = Structured interview.

Types of topics

Behaviour Opinions Feelings Knowledge Factual information/ personal perceptions

Source: Brown, J.D. (2003). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. New Jersey: Laurence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Source: Wallace, M. J. (1998). Action research for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Strengths of Interviews

Allows probing and posing of follow-up questions by the interviewer. Can provide in-depth information. Can provide information about participants internal meanings and ways of thinking.

Telephone and e-mail interviews provide very quick turnaround.

Moderately high measurement validity (i.e., high reliability and validity) for well constructed and tested interview protocols. Can use with probability samples.

Relatively high response rates are often attainable.

Useful for exploration as well as confirmation.

Weaknesses of Interviews

Reactive effects (e.g., interviewees may try to show only what is socially desirable). Investigator effects may occur (e.g., untrained interviewers personal biases and poor interviewing skills).

Interviewees may not recall important information and may lack self-awareness.
Perceived anonymity by respondents may be low.

Data analysis can be time consuming for open-ended items.

Measures need validation.

Is a face-to-face interview appropriate or necessary?

NO if Large number of people are involved

YES if Small numbers of people are involved

People are widely dispersed

Most of the questions are closed You want to preserve anonymity Breadth of data is central summary in character

People are accessible

Most of the questions are open and require an extended response with prompts

Depth of meaning is central

Research aims mainly require insight and understanding

(Gillham,aims are factual and Research 2000, p. 11)

Gillham, B. (2000).The research interview. New York: Continuum

Planning and Conducting Interviews

Preparing the interview schedule Piloting Selecting informants

Elements of the interview Briefing and explanation Questioning

Instrument Tape-recording Note-taking

Preparation for Interview

Choose a setting with little distraction Explain the purpose of the interview Address terms of confidentiality Explain the format of the interview Indicate how long the interview usually takes Tell them how to get in touch with you later if they want to Ask them if they have any questions Ask for permission to record the interview or bring along someone to take notes.

Conducting interview
Verify the tape recorder is working Ask one question at a time Attempt to remain as neutral as possible Encourage responses Be careful about the appearance when note taking

Provide transition between major topics

Dont lose control of the interview

Individual and group interviews

Individual interviews = one to one Group interviews = Focus group

Example interview schedule

Interview Schedule

Interviewee: ____ Date: _____ Location: _____ Topic: Student Motivation (EFL) How long have you been studying English? Why did you choose to study English? Prompts: Business/ Further studies/ Social/ Hobby) How would you describe your motivation (i.e. desire to study English) at this time: HIGH/ AVERAGE/ LOW?

Example interview schedule

Would you say that your motivation has changed

during your period of study?

Prompts: Constant/ up and down? More / less now

than at beginning? What would you say are the things that have affected your motivation over your period of study? Prompts: Teachers/ textbooks/ Fellow students/ something in you? How did these affect you? Can you suggest anything that could happen or could be done at this time to improve your motivation? Prompts: Career development/ more leisure? Better syllabus/ teacher/ textbook?)

Research topic DISCUSSION

What are your research questions? What will you do to find out answers

to your research questions?

Who will you ask to get information?

Why will you select this instrument?