Questionnaires are used to collect information for research studies. They often feature open or closed questions however, some questionnaires may employ an amalgam of both. Open questions allow respondents to respond in their own words. Closed questions present an array of predetermined answers that they can select from. Questionnaires can be administered by phone, postal mail or online.

Online questionnaire surveys are becoming more frequent however it is important to ensure that the information collected are reliable and valid. To do this, the researcher should be able to accurately assess responses rates and track the amount of people who fill out the survey. The researcher must also be able to identify possible reasons why a person might not be able to respond and then address the issues (e.g. sampling bias).

Online questionnaires are also less expensive than traditional methods. This makes them a viable alternative to traditional questionnaire based research. This method comes with obstacles. Online questionnaires are challenging to assess in terms of their reliability and validity and can have social desirability impacts on the sample of respondents.

There are several strategies to limit these limitations. This article discusses specific strategies that researchers can use to improve the quality and reliability their online questionnaires. These include: (i), paying participants right away after internet-based.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-questionnaires/ they have completed the survey yields the lowest response rate than waiting for all responses or an intermediary procedure; (iii), asking participants to enter names for receipt preparation does not decrease or enhance social appeal; and (iv), framing the fixed portion of the payment as”for taking the survey” and providing feedback on progress increases the quality of responses