Mailed Questionnaires vs. Collective Administration [2]
Mailed: Questionnaires are sent with a return envelope. They generally suffer from a low response rate (often 25-30%) because there is no researcher present to motivate the respondent,.
Collective: Administered to a “captive audience” (e.g., students in a class, conference participants). This yields a high response rate because the researcher is present to explain the purpose and ensure collection
Pilot Testing (Pre-testing) [3]
Pilot testing involves a small-scale trial run of the questionnaire on a group similar to the study population.
It is critical for:
Discovering errors: Checking the validity/reliability of questions and the time taken to answer.
Reactions: Ensuring questions are not too sensitive or threatening and are clearly understood.
