Floyd C. Mann

A Limited Comparison of two Methods of Data Collection: The Fixed Alternative Questionnaire and the Open-Ended Interview

A good deal has been w r i t t e n concerning the r e l a t i v e advantages and disadvantages of the fixed alternative questionnaire and the open-ended i n t e r view as methods for the collection of opinion research data* There i s l i t t l e question but that good survey procedure c a l l s for intensive interviewing at some stage i n a program of research i n t o a new f i e l d of inquiry. More often than not, intensive interviews w i t h open-ended questions are used i n the i n i t i a l , exploratory phases of. a research program to determine what the major variables are, and to help sharpen f i r s t working hypotheses. There i s , of course, no reason to r e s t r i c t intensive interviews to the i n i t i a l stages of a research program; they can be used to excellent advantage i n the further study of relationships which are already known. There i s also no question but that a properly developed, ca r e f u l l y pretested and administered fixed alternative questionnaire i s the most economical and useful way of co l l e c t i n g and processing large masses of information. A paper and pencil questionnaire constructed to meet the objectives of a specific study design (e.g. the further testing of tentative findings obtained through intensive interviews) may be developed int o a very precise t o o l . The prudent researcher w i l l use these two methods i n combination to seek out those relationships necessary to meet the objectives of his research program.-]/