A structured questionnaire is a useful, cheap and quick method to administer across 36 schools and to 50 children. It is a convenient way to collate anonymous data from the sample children. The questionnaire contains a wide variety of question types. It is an appropriate method because systematic and comparable data are needed; which can be obtained directly from the individuals being surveyed without having to speak directly to the respondents. On the downside, it limits the range and scope of questioning and takes time and skill to design. I am unable to probe children further on the answers they provide. To overcome this, I have included some free-text questions exploring the children’s experience of learning interaction in face-to-face and online settings and these will be subjected to thematic analysis and will subsequently guide interviews with some of the children; which will also be analysed thematically.
To ensure that other people interpret the questions I have posed in the way that I intend; the questionnaire will be piloted with a small number of children similar to those who will be asked to participate in the main survey. A pilot involves respondents answering the questions so that I can see how they have interpreted them; commenting on the clarity of the questions and making suggestions for improving them; finding out if the questionnaire is unclear in any way and how long it takes to complete. Piloting can make an enormous difference to the quality of the questionnaire and as a result, to the quality of the data. Researchers often find that the answers they receive to questionnaires do not provide the desired outcome because questions were ambiguous or misleading or do not cover the chosen topic; the pilot will allow for questions to be rewritten, if required and test the content validity. There is a danger of differing interpretations of the same questions and respondents’ responses may not be allowed for in the questionnaire; again a pilot can allow for questions to be re-worded, if required or changes to the research method.
Survey data derived from questionnaires allows me to count the frequency of responses to a given question according to my predetermined categories and also to relate the data to the dependent and independent variables that I identified when framing the study. Validity will be demonstrated through the questionnaires being distributed to 50 children across 36 schools and followed up with interviews with children and teachers. I will ensure that research data is recorded in a durable and retrievable form and be appropriately indexed and stored.