Advantages and Limitation of Questionnaire Method are as follows:
Advantages of Questionnaire:
1. Questionnaire is relatively economical and inexpensive. It is possible to cover a large number of people scattered over a wide area.
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2. This method saves time. Instead of meeting people personally it is possible to approach them in a larger number through the mailed questionnaire. Analysis and interpretation can be done quickly.
3. Questionnaire ensures anonymity. The respondent is free to express his views and opinions.
4. Questionnaire is said to be more suitable for eliciting information regarding some personal and private affairs such as sex habits, marital relations, etc., because of the anonymity that it maintains.
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5. Quetionnaire does not put much pressure on the respondent’s emotionality. It provides sufficient leisure time to answer the questions in a relaxed mood.
6. In questionnaire, the collected answers can be processed and analysed in a simpler and a faster manner. Uniformity of answers helps the standardisation of the recording procedure.
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Disadvantages and Limitations:
1. Questionnaire method cannot be administered in the case of illiterate and uneducated persons.
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2. Questionnaire is not suitable when a spontaneous answer is very much required.
3. There is no way of checking misinterpretations and unintelligible replies by the respondents.
4. Proportion of returns, especially of mailed questionnaire, can be very low, as low as 10%. This does not give a comprehensive picture of the situation.
5. In spite of their advantage questionnaires lack the flexibility of interviews. Generally, they have lower response rates, since it is easier for the respondents not to respond. They permit the measurement of verbal behaviour only, without allowing the researcher to make observations. Furthermore, mailed questionnaires enable the respondent to skip questions.