Deutsch: Fragebogen / Español: Cuestionario / Português: Questionário / Français: Questionnaire / Italiano: Questionario
Questionnaire refers to a document that contains questions and other types of items designed to solicit information appropriate for analysis; written survey administered individually or in groups. Questionnaires are used primarily in survey research but also in experiments, field research, and other modes of observation.
In the context of psychology, a questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. It is widely used to collect self-report data on a variety of topics, including behaviors, preferences, beliefs, attitudes, and traits.
General Description
Questionnaires are a fundamental tool in psychological research and assessment. They can be administered in paper form, online, or verbally. The design of a questionnaire is critical and requires careful consideration of the wording, order of questions, and response formats to minimize biases and improve the reliability and validity of the data collected. Questionnaires can be structured with closed-ended questions (e.g., multiple-choice, Likert scales) or open-ended questions that allow for more detailed responses.
Application Areas
Psychological questionnaires are used across various domains:
- Clinical Psychology: For diagnosing mental health conditions and assessing symptoms, such as depression or anxiety scales.
- Educational Psychology: To assess student attitudes, teacher effectiveness, or learning styles.
- Industrial-Organizational Psychology: In assessments of job satisfaction, organizational culture, or leadership styles.
- Social Psychology: For measuring attitudes, prejudices, social norms, and many other social variables.
Well-Known Examples
Some well-known psychological questionnaires include:
- Beck Depression Inventory (BDI): Used to measure the severity of depression.
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): A personality questionnaire designed to identify psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.
- Big Five Personality Test: Assesses the five major dimensions of personality traits.
Treatment and Risks
Questionnaires are valuable for their efficiency and ability to reach a broad audience at a low cost. However, they are subject to limitations such as self-report bias, where respondents might not always provide accurate or truthful answers, and the influence of the wording or format of questions. Ensuring confidentiality and ethical handling of data is also crucial in the administration of psychological questionnaires.
Similar Terms
Related tools in psychological assessment include surveys, which are often used interchangeably with questionnaires but can be broader in scope, and interviews, which involve direct, face-to-face interaction and can provide deeper, more nuanced data.
Articles with 'Questionnaire' in the title
- Attributional-style questionnaire: Attributional-style questionnaire (ASQ) refers to a questionnaire designed to assess a person's habitual pattern of attributing events in a certain way (eg
- Choice-Dilemmas Questionnaire: Choice-Dilemmas Questionnaire refers to a self-report measure of willingness to make risky decisions that asks respondents to read a series of scenarios involving a course of action that may or may not yield financial, interpersonal, or . . .
- McGill Pain Questionnaire: McGill Pain Questionnaire is one of the earliest and most frequently used questionnaires and draws on the fact that people use words to describe pain. McGill Pain Questionnaire consists of three (3) main dimensions, sensory, affective, and . . .
- Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire: Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire refers to a measure of job satisfaction that yields scores on 20 dimensions.
- Position Analysis Questionnaire: The Position Analysis Questionnaire refers to a structured Job analysis method developed by McCormick. The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) is a job analysis tool used in industrial and organizational psychology to determine the key . . .
Summary
In psychology, a questionnaire is an essential methodological tool for collecting quantitative data on a wide range of psychological attributes and behaviors. It is crucial for research, diagnosis, and understanding human psychology, provided it is designed and implemented with careful attention to methodological rigor and ethical standards.
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