What is a questionnaire survey?
A questionnaire survey is an extractive process, a tool that is generally considered as a quick and cost-effective method to generate large quantities of data. The purpose of any survey, such as questionnaire depends on what the specific objectives are and what you need to know at the end of the process. Even though subjects may vary widely the tool is often applied in the same standardized way offering little flexibility in application – the questionnaire is prepared, administered through enumerators to a sample group and the data analyzed. A questionnaire simplifies what are complex situations, relationships and characteristics into statistical data. However are these necessarily “real” or indicative numbers and does this statistical data truly reflect the lives of poor people? These are some important reflective questions, which we need to continuously ask ourselves. There are always gaps between the objective of the survey, the concepts used and understanding of the respondents and
