Summarize Research Article
Methodological differences between questionnaire & interviews are seen as having differing & possibility complementary strengths & weaknesses. While questionnaires are usually views as a more objective research tool that can produce generalizable results because of large sample sizes, results can be threatened by many factors including: faulty questionnaire design; sampling and non – responses errors; biased, questionnaire design & wording; respondent unreliability; ignorance, misunderstanding, or bias, errors in coding, processing & statistical analysis; and faulty interpretation of results. Questionnaire research can be seen as over-reliant on instruments & thus, disconnected from everyday life, with measurement processes creating a spurious /artificial sense of accuracy. Neither are interviews neutral tools; here data are based on personal interactions which lead to negotiated & contextually based results. While interviews provide context where participants can ask for clarification, elaborate in ideas, & explain perspectives in their own words, the interview can use questioning to lead or manipulate, interviewee responses. Due to the interpersonal nature of the interview context, participants may be more likely to respond in ways they deem socially desirable. Since most qualitative studies name relatively sample size, the results can be difficult to replicate or generalize. Further differences between the two methods can occur through the coding & analysis of the data. Quantitative data are numeric; more objective, statistical process employed generates results & the interpretation of results. Qualitative data, researcher generally utilizes a process of inductive coding, which can be easily influenced by researcher subjectivities. It can also be difficult to judge how well proposed qualitative categorization actually suits the data.
Reference:
Harris, Lois R. & Brown, Gavin T.L. (2010). Mixing interview & questionnaire methods: Practical problems in aligning
Citations: Hatamipour K, Rassouli M, Yaghmaie F, Zendedel K, Majd HA. Spiritual Needs of Cancer
Patients: A qualitative study. Indian Journal of Palliative Care 2015:21:61-7
Website: www.jpalliativecare.com
DOI: 10.4103/0973- 1075.150190
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