Definition
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a planned set of questions used to collect comparable responses from people.
What it means
First decide what you need to learn. Then ask each person the same clear questions so the answers can be compared fairly. Response choices should not overlap, should cover likely answers, and should include “other” when needed. Avoid wording that pushes people toward one answer.
Remember it
Same clear questions make answers easier to compare.
Example
A class asks, “How do you usually travel to school?” with choices walk, bicycle, bus, car, or other. Each person selects one answer. The class can then count the responses and make a frequency table or graph.
Watch for
A questionnaire is the question form used to collect responses; a survey is the wider investigation, including whom to ask and how to analyse the results.
Common mix-up
A leading question can bend the data by making one answer sound more desirable.
Exact meaning
A questionnaire is a written or digital data-collection instrument containing questions in a planned wording and order, sometimes with fixed response choices. It is used to obtain responses that can be recorded, compared, and analysed for a survey or investigation.