Can you use questionnaires in qualitative research

It generates a unique material potentially valuable for a wide range of scholarly disciplines. The method may be familiar to researchers in archival studies but in this article we suggest that qualitative questionnaires are also a fruitful research method for information studies.

The examples are chosen to illustrate two possible ways to apply this method: the first is to return to existing questionnaires and re-analyse the answers collected by means of them as well as the questionnaire itself, and the second is to create a new one. An important starting point for this article is that one of the authors for a number of years worked as an archivist at the Folklife Archives, something we will return to later on.

In the early twentieth century, Scandinavian scholars in ethnology and folklore studies collected different expressions of folk culture. They were interested in cultural expressions of rural life that were assumed to be under threat by the emerging industrialization and urbanization of the time. The scholars wanted to preserve the ways of life of the peasantry for the future.

In Sweden, museums and archives sent expeditions to collect objects and map and record traditions and living conditions that were considered to be under threat of extinction Gustavsson, The expeditions where sent out to areas where old customs, traditions and rural ways still remained intact. The expeditions were largely national romantic projects Salomonsson, , p.

The scholars also took help of so-called local informants, people who were considered well versed on the local conditions at specific locations and able to provide detailed answers for periods that stretched as far back as the informants could remember Waldetoft, , p. The scholars from the archives compiled lists of questions on topics that they wanted to know more about. The lists, or qualitative questionnaires as they were called, covered various and diverse themes or topics such as hygiene, oat growing, Christmas customs, and thatched roofs.

With the help of the questionnaires the informants gathered information and provided the archive with detailed reports from their place of residence. The questionnaires, as well as the instructions the informants received, were initially designed based on the idea that questions should be answered neutrally and objectively Klein, , p.

Many cultural historical archives still issue qualitative questionnaires, and now as well as then, each one having a theme. But during the second half of the twentieth century both the instructions and the attitude towards the informants and the answers changed. Today the informants, or respondents as they also are called, are no longer considered to be representatives of a particular place and they are encouraged to answer the questionnaire based on their own experience Waldetoft, , p.

Informants are also invited to make their own interpretations. Most archives working with questionnaires have regular informants who have enrolled because they are interested in sharing their knowledge of and views on everyday life. The number of informants writing for the Folklife Archives in Lund is currently around people. Today city dwellers are also included. The average age of the respondents is high, there are more women than men, and only a few have immigrant background.

The informants are quite homogenous and the material can thus not be used as representative of the Swedish population as such. One advantage of the material is that the informants have enrolled voluntarily; they chose what questionnaires they want to answer and how thoroughly each answer would be.

The informants writing for the Folklife Archives also agree to not being anonymous even though names never are used in scholarly writing. Therefore, answers to existing qualitative questionnaires hold specific ethical features compared to qualitative research material obtained through for example interviews.

To re-analyse answers from existing questionnaires is therefore not an ethical issue. It could be argued that they in fact are intended for being used in several studies. The answers to a qualitative questionnaire have much in common with other qualitative methods for example diary entries. Both consist of memories, opinions and experiences. However — as opposed to diary entries — memories, opinions and experiences in qualitative questionnaires are recollected for the specific situation of replying to a questionnaire and to high degree guided by the questions asked.

Informants know that the answers will be read by someone at the archive and saved for future research. A desire to share thoughts and recollections is an incentive for some informants while others are motivated by the contribution to the documentation of everyday life Sheridan, , p. However, to what degree an informant is engaged with the answers may differ from one questionnaire to another. In those niches where qualitative approaches have been able to evolve and grow, a new trend has seen the inclusion of patients and their representatives not only as study participants i.

The underlying assumption is that patients and other stakeholders hold unique perspectives and experiences that add value beyond their own single story, making the research more relevant and beneficial to researchers, study participants and future patients alike [ 34 , 35 ].

In this sense, the involvement of the relevant stakeholders, especially patients and relatives, is increasingly being seen as a quality indicator in and of itself. The above overview does not include certain items that are routine in assessments of quantitative research.

What follows is a non-exhaustive, non-representative, experience-based list of the quantitative criteria often applied to the assessment of qualitative research, as well as an explanation of the limited usefulness of these endeavours. Given the openness and flexibility of qualitative research, it should not be assessed by how well it adheres to pre-determined and fixed strategies — in other words: its rigidity. Instead, the assessor should look for signs of adaptation and refinement based on lessons learned from earlier steps in the research process.

For the reasons explained above, qualitative research does not require specific sample sizes, nor does it require that the sample size be determined a priori [ 1 , 14 , 27 , 37 , 38 , 39 ].

Sample size can only be a useful quality indicator when related to the research purpose, the chosen methodology and the composition of the sample, i. While some authors argue that randomisation can be used in qualitative research, this is not commonly the case, as neither its feasibility nor its necessity or usefulness has been convincingly established for qualitative research [ 13 , 27 ].

Qualitative studies do not use control groups, either. However, it is not clear what this measure tells us about the quality of the analysis [ 23 ]. This means that these scores can be included in qualitative research reports, preferably with some additional information on what the score means for the analysis, but it is not a requirement.

Experiences even show that it might be better to have the same person or team perform all of these tasks [ 20 ]. First, when researchers introduce themselves during recruitment this can enhance trust when the interview takes place days or weeks later with the same researcher. Second, when the audio-recording is transcribed for analysis, the researcher conducting the interviews will usually remember the interviewee and the specific interview situation during data analysis.

This might be helpful in providing additional context information for interpretation of data, e. Being qualitative research instead of quantitative research should not be used as an assessment criterion if it is used irrespectively of the research problem at hand. Similarly, qualitative research should not be required to be combined with quantitative research per se — unless mixed methods research is judged as inherently better than single-method research. In this case, the same criterion should be applied for quantitative studies without a qualitative component.

The main take-away points of this paper are summarised in Table 1. We aimed to show that, if conducted well, qualitative research can answer specific research questions that cannot to be adequately answered using only quantitative designs. It also provides us with a greater range of tools to tackle a greater range of research problems more appropriately and successfully, filling in the blind spots on one half of the methodological spectrum to better address the whole complexity of neurological research and practice.

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Het halfopen interview als onderzoeksmethode. Jansen, H. The social readjustment rating scale. Journal of psychosomatic research, 11 2 , Smith, C. Motivation and personality: Handbook of thematic content analysis. Cambridge University Press. Toggle navigation. Make sure that all questions asked address the aims of the research. However, use only one feature of the construct you are investigating in per item. The longer the questionnaire, the less likely people will complete it.

Pilot Study. Run a small scale practice study to ensure people understand the questions. People will also be able to give detailed honest feedback on the questionnaire design. Question Order. Questions should progress logically from the least sensitive to the most sensitive, from the factual and behavioral to the cognitive, and from the more general to the more specific.

There should be a minimum of technical jargon. Questions should be simple, to the point and easy to understand. Make sure it looks professional, include clear and concise instructions. How to reference this article: How to reference this article: McLeod, S. Back to top. Keep these pointers in mind while designing this statement:.

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What should be the process of forming Qualitative research questions and questionnaires?