UGC NET Study Notes On Questionnaire

By Mohit Choudhary|Updated : August 8th, 2022

UGC NET Exam is conducted twice a year by NTA. There are ten units in Paper-1, and each unit has equal weightage in the examination. Most Important Topics in UGC NET Environment, Logical Reasoning, Teaching Aptitude, Research Aptitude, Communication, ICT, Higher Education.

In Today's post, we are covering the most important research tool- The questionnaire. This topic is part of Research Aptitude, and this time, we have observed that most questions have been asked from Research Aptitude and Teaching Aptitude in Paper 1 of the UGC NET Exam.

Questionnaire

  • A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions to the respondent for the purpose of gathering information.
  • The questionnaire is used during structured surveys or interviews.
  • The respondents read the questions, interpret what is expected, and then write down the answers themselves.
  • It was invented by the Statistical Society of London in 1838.
  • It is cheap and does not require much effort.
  • It could be verbal, non-verbal or telephonic or through survey and it is very simple to compile data in this because answers given by respondents are standardised.

Questionnaire construction

Question type

  • The question could be closed-ended or Open-ended or Combined.
  • In closed-ended respondent pick an answer from the given options in the questionnaire.
  • In open-ended questionnaires ofter flexibility to respondents to answer the questions.
  • In combined, questions begin with closed-ended with specified information asked and then go to Open-ended to elaborate on those questions.

Question sequence

  • The question should flow logically in questionnaire.
  • From least sensitive to most sensitive.
  • From factual to elaborative.
  • From behavioural to attitudinal.
  • From general to specific.

The order is as follows:

1. Screens- It is used as a screening method to find out early whether or not someone should complete the questionnaire.

2. Warm-ups- it is simple to answer, help capture interest in the survey, and may not even pertain to research objectives

3. Transitions- These questions are used to make different areas flow well together.

4. Skips- It include questions similar to "If yes, then answer question 5. If no, then continue to question 6".

5. Difficult- These questions come towards the end because progess bars let the respondent know that they are almost done. Therfore, the respondent is more than willing to answer these questions.

6. Classification- Classification, or demographic question should be at the end because these questions are personal in nature which will make respondents uncomfortable and not willing to finish the survey.

Basic rules for questionnaire item construction

  • The statement used in the questionnaire must be interpreted by respondents in the same way.
  • The statement must be used in a way where persons that have different opinions or traits gives different answers.
  • Always give space in the questionnaire where the respondent may write an answer.
  • Only positive statement must be used and negative or double negative statement must be avoided.
  • Assumptions must not be made about the respondent.
  • Easy to understand language must be used in a questionnaire.
  • The question in the questionnaire must not be biased or even leading the participant towards an answer.

Questionnaire administration modes

Main modes of questionnaire administration include: 

1. Face-to-face - In this questionnaire are presented orally by the interviewer.

2. Paper-and-pencil- In this Questions are presented on paper.

3. Computerized questionnaire -In this, Questions are presented on the computer. After the selection of answers computer then selects the next question based on the previous answer.

Concerns with questionnaires

Though questionnaires are inexpensive, quick, and easy to analyze, sometimes the questionnaire can have more problems than benefits.

1. For example- The researcher may never know if the respondent understood the question, unlike in interviews where the researcher knows.

2. In the Questionnaire, questions are so specific that the information gained can be very minimal.

3. Questionnaires produce very low respondents, whether they are mail or online questionnaires because the respondent may not find it interesting.

4. The other problem associated with response rates is that sometimes when the people return the questionnaire they either have a very positive review or a very negative review. People who are unbiased do not respond because it is not worth their time.

5. The questionnaires has be collected based on a sound sampling technique to get a better result. It has to be non-repetitive.

We hope you all understood the Questionnaire for Paper-1 for UGC NET Exam 2022.

Thank you,

Team BYJU'S Exam Prep

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