A questionnaire is a set of questions that is made to obtain information with a specific objective. There are numerous styles and formats of questionnaires, according to the specific purpose of each one.
In the field of education, questionnaires are usually the mechanism chosen by teachers to evaluate their students. A questionnaire can appear in writing, instructing the student to answer each of the questions on a sheet of paper. According to their answers, the teacher will be able to judge if the student learned, or not, what was dictated in class.
The questionnaires as an exam can also be specified orally. In this case, the student must respond to the questioning of the teacher, who will be in charge of asking questions related to the subject of study.
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A questionnaire is a document that, through questions, allows the collection of information.
Characteristics of questionnaires as an evaluation method
Depending on the subject, the way in which the student answers and the teacher corrects a quiz can vary considerably. For example, if the questions deal with mathematics or some other exact science, very precise results will be expected, since a minimum error can lead to large differences; however, if the quiz is about the history of a country or about psychology, the teacher is likely to respect the student’s opinion to a certain extent, as long as it does not include false information and provides at least the information requested.
On the other hand, the written and oral questionnaires used to assess foreign language students are very different. First of all, unlike those mentioned in the previous paragraph, these are made for students with a limited vocabulary and with much fewer linguistic tools, unless, of course, they are very advanced exams. Therefore, when correcting a questionnaire of this type, great depth is not expected, but rather, for example, a good level of spelling and grammar.
Surveys are based on questionnaires to know the opinion of the people.
Surveys and orientation guides
Surveys, on the other hand, are also developed through questionnaires. If a company that makes confectionery wants to know the preferences of consumers before launching a new product, it can survey buyers through questionnaires that ask what their favorite flavors are, what type of packaging attracts them the most, how much money they are willing to pay for candy, etc.
Many magazines and websites publish questionnaires of various kinds to guide their readers on topics related to love, health, money, and friendship, among many others. For example, it is common to find some that offer answers about “why a love relationship does not work” or “how to improve work performance”. It is important to note that these are not very reliable sources, especially when dealing with health issues, but can act as guides to later make important decisions, such as visiting a doctor.
Uses of questionnaires in censuses
The censuses organized by a State are other procedures that include questionnaires. Thanks to a census, the authorities of a country can obtain very important data to develop statistics that, in turn, serve for the elaboration of state policies.
Census questionnaires usually ask the population about the family nucleus, the characteristics of the dwelling, the domestic economy and other questions.
The notion in psychology
Psychology uses the questionnaire to study and analyze many different topics, including personality, emotional stability, intelligence, social skills, mental alertness, and depressive tendencies.
Some questionnaires contain several versions of the same questions located at a certain distance from each other, so that the person evaluated does not notice the repetition, which can lead to different answers in each case, and a lack of sincerity is detected.
