Mail and self- Administered Questionnaires

The self-administered questionnaire is a type of questionnaire, either in paper or electronic form.

Self-administered questionnaires enable researchers to reach a large number of potential respondents in a variety of locations, especially when use mail or online questionnaires .

However, the response rate for self-administered surveys is relatively low, compared to other methods such as interviews or researcher-

administered questionnaires ..

Researchers can give questionnaires directly respondents or mail them, then respondents

who read instruction and questions then record their answers

1-This type of survey is by far the cheapest .2 -It can be conducted by a single researcher.

3-A researcher can send questionnaires to a wide geographical area.

4-The respondent can complete the questionnaire when it is convenient .

5 -It can check personal records if necessary.6 -It is offer anonymity.

7 -It is avoid interviewer bias.8 -It is very effective

9 -The response rates may be high for a target population that is well educated or has a strong interest in the topic or the survey organization

-The biggest problem with mail questionnaires is low response rate.

Most questionnaires are returned within two weeks but other trickle in up two months later.

* To solve this problem-:Researchers can raise response rates by sending non respondents reminder letter.but this solve adds to the time and cost of data collection.

2 -A researcher can not control the conditions under which a mail questionnaire is completed

example :- A questionnaires completed during a drinking party by dozen laughing people may be returned along

with one filled out by an earnest respondent

3 -no one is present to clarify questions or to probe for more information when respondents give incomplete answers

4 -someone other than the sampled respondent for example ( spouse , new resident )may open the mail and complete the questionnaire without the researcher's knowledge.

5 -Different respondents can complete the questionnaire weeks a part or answer questions in different order than that intended by researchers

6 -incomplete questionnaires can also be a serious problem 7 -Researchers can not visually observe the respondent's

reactions to questions physical characteristics or the setting .

for example , an impoverished 70 years old white woman living alone on a farm could falsely state that she is a prosperous 40 years old Asian male doctor living in a nearby town with three children

such extreme intentional lies are rare but serious errors can go undetected

8 -The mail questionnaire format limits the kinds of questions that a researcher can useQuestions requiring visual aids

for example :- look at this picture and tell me what you see?

(open - ended )questions

9-many contingency questions and complex questions do poorly in mail questionnaire.

10-likewise mail questionnaire are ill suited for the illiterate or near illiterate in English.

11-Questionnaires mailed to illiterate respondents are not likely to be returned ; if they are completed and returned ,the questions were probably misunderstood so the answer are meaningless