THE RESEARCH

INSTRUMENT
TYPES OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
• QUESTIONNAIRE
• INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
THE QUESTIONNAIRE
• IT IS A SET OF QESTIONS ARRANGED IN SEQUENCE AND DESIGNED TO BE
SELF-ADMINISTERED.
• THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE ARE DIRECTED TO THE
RESPONDENTS.
• ADVANTAGES OF USING QUESTIONNAIRE (BABBIE, 1973)
• IT IS A LESS EXPENSIVE PROCEDURE
• IT REQUIRES LESS SKILL TO ADMINISTER AND CAN BE ADMINISTERED TO A LARGE
NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY.
• IT ENSURES SOME AMOUNT OF UNIFORMITY FROM ONE MEASUREMENT SITUATION
TO ANOTHER BECAUSE OF ITS STANDARDIZED WORDING, ORDER OF QUESTIONS AND
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECORDING RESPONSES.
• IN COMPLETING QUESTIONNAIRES, RESPONDENTS MAY HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THEIR
ANONYMITY SO THAT THEY FEEL FREER TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS.
• A QUESTIONNAIRE PUTS LESS PRESSURE ON THE RESPONDENT TO PROVIDE AN
IMMEIDATE RESPONSE.
• GENERAL RULE, QUESTIONNAIRE MAY BE USED IF RESPONDENTS ARE
LITERATE, EASY CONTACTED AND CLEARLY MOTIVATED TO REPLY.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD QUESTIONNAIRE
• BEST (1971) THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD QUESTIONNAIRE ARE:
• IT DEALS WITH A SIGNIFICANT TOPIC THAT THE RESPONDENT WILL RECOGNIZE AS
IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO WARRANT SPENDING HIS TIME ON.
• IT SEEKS ONLY THE INFORMATION THAT CANNOT BE OBTAINED FROM OTHER
SOURCES.
• IT SHOULD BE ONLY LONG ENOUGH TO GET ESSENTIAL DATA.
• IT MUST BE ATTRACTIVE, NEAT AND CLEAN.
• ALL DIRECTIONS MUST BE CLEAR AND COMPLETE. IT MUST BE WORDED SIMPLY, AND
CATEGORIES SHOULD PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EASY, ACCURATE AND
UNAMBIGUOUS RESPONSES.
• QUESTIONS SHOULD BE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE, AVOIDING LEADING SUGGESTIONS
AS TO THE RESPONSES DESIRED.
• QUESTIONS MUST BE PRESENTED IN GOOD PSYCHOLOGICAL ORDER, FROM GENERAL
TO SPECIFIC RESPONSES. THIS WILL ENABLE THE RESPONDENT TO ORGANIZE HIS OWN
THOUGHTS SO HE CAN GIVE LOGICAL AND OBJECTIVE RESPONSES.
• THE QUESTIONNAIRE FORMAT SHOULD BE SO CONSTRUCTED SUCH THAT DATA WILL
EASILY BE TABULATED AND INTERPRETED. IF A MECHANICAL TABULATING MACHINE IS
USED, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ALL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS HAVE CODES.
INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM
QUESTIONNAIRES
• FOUR TYPES OF INFORMATION CAN BE GENERATED FROM QUESTIONNAIRE:
• ATTITUDE
• THIS REFERS TO WHAT PEOPLE SAY THEY WANT.
• THEY DESCRIBE HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT SOMETHING.
• ATTITUDE QUESTIONS MUST SHOW WHETHER THE RESPONDENT HAS A POSITIVE OR
NEGATIVE FEELINGS ABOUT AN ATTITUDE OBJECT.
• EXAMPLE:
• SHOULD COMMERCIAL LOGGING OPERATIONS BE BANNED?
• 1. YES
• 2. NO
• IN GERERAL, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT A TOTAL BAN ON COMMERCIAL LOGGING IN THE PHILIPPINES?
• 1 - STRONGLY OPPOSE
• 2 – MILDLY OPPOSE
• NEITHER OPPOSE NOR FAVOR
• MILDLY FAVOR
• STRONGLY FAVOR
• DO YOU TEND TO AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT: “ANYONE WHO WANTS TO CUT LOGS
FOR PROFIT SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO DO SO.”
• 1 – AGREE
• 2 - DISAGREE
INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM
QUESTIONNAIRES
• FOUR TYPES OF INFORMATION CAN BE GENERATED FROM
QUESTIONNAIRE:
• BELIEF
• THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE THINK.
• THEY ARE ASSESSMENTS OF WHAT A PERSON THINKS AS TRUE OR FALSE.
• BELIEF QUESTIONS ARE DESIGNED TO ELICIT ONE’S PERCEPTIONS OF PAST, PRESENT
AND FUTURE REALITY.
• EXAMPLE:
• IS THIS STATEMENT TRUE OR FALSE? “LAST YEAR, THERE WERE MORE ILLEGAL COMMERCIAL
LOGGING OPERATIONS THAN LEGAL ONES ON MT. MAKILING.”
• 1 – TRUE
• 2 – FALSE
• IN YOUR OPINION, WOULD BANNING COMMERCIAL LOGGING PREVENT SOMEONE FROM
CUTTING LOGS FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL USE?
• 1 – ALWAYS YES
• 2 - USUALLY YES
• 3 – SOMETIMES
• 4 - ALMOST NEVER
• 5 – NEVER
INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM
QUESTIONNAIRES
• FOUR TYPES OF INFORMATION CAN BE GENERATED FROM
QUESTIONNAIRE:
• BEHAVIOR
• This is what people do.
• A behavior question may concern what one has done in the past, what he is now doing,
or what he intends to do.
• Example:
• Have you ever been involved in commercial logging?
• 1 – No
• 2 – Yes
• Are you currently holding a logging permit?
• 1 – No
• 2 – Yes
• Do you think you will engage again in commercial logging on Mt. Makiling in the near future?
• 1 – No
• 2 – Probably No
• 3 – Probably Yes
• 4 - Yes
INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM
QUESTIONNAIRES
• FOUR TYPES OF INFORMATION CAN BE GENERATED FROM
QUESTIONNAIRE:
• ATTRIBUTE
• This refer to what people are.
• It normally refers to personal or demographic characteristics.
• Example:
• Are you presently married?
• 1 – No
• 2 – Yes
• How many children do you have?
• ____ (0) or None
• ____ (1-3)
• ____ (4-5)
• ____ Others, please specify ________
STRUCTURING YOUR QUESTIONS
• Four basic types of structures of questions
• Open Ended
• In an Open ended questions, answer choices are not provided. Therefore, the
respondent must “create his answer to the question.
• Examples:
• What should be done to improve this university?
• In what province is your residence located?
• Close Ended With Ordered Choices
• In this type, answers are provided. However, these are not arranged in any order so that
the respondent must choose from among these discrete categories by evaluating them
independently.
• Example
• On which of the following have you spent the most time last week?
• 1 – Writing thesis outline
• 2 – Watching television
• 3 – Playing billiards
• 4 – Participating in sports fest
• 5 – Visiting with friends
STRUCTURING YOUR QUESTIONS
• Basic types of structures of questions
• Partially Closed-ended
• This question provides a compromise. Answer options are provided but the
respondent is also given the opportunity to create his own response to the
question.
• Example:
• Which of these university facilities do you most frequently use?
• 1 – Library
• 2 – Tennis Court
• 3 – Computer Center
• 4 – Swimming Pool
• 5 – Others (Specify) ____________________
THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
• It is also a set questions, but questions are meant to be asked by an
interviewer.
• Advantages of interview:
• Personal interviews usually yield much better information on the sample of
the population compared to questionnaires.
• The interview is more flexible. If the respondent misunderstands a
question, the interviewer can explain it. He can also paraphrase the answer
of the respondent.
• The interviewer not only listens to what the respondent is saying, but also
observes how he says it, If he wishes to, the interviewer can follow-up a
question, thereby obtaining more in-depth information in context.
• The interview is more appropriate in revealing information about complex
emotionally laden topics through probe questions.
PRACTICAL APPROACH TO PREPARING
QUESTIONS
• The researcher needs to follow a systematic approach such as:
• List down your research objectives.
• For each objective, list the corresponding hypotheses you intent to test
toward achieving the objective.
• For each hypothesis, list down possible questions you will need to ask in
order that you can test the hypothesis.