What factor affects the representativeness of questionnaire results?

The representativeness of questionnaire results is significantly influenced by the response rate. A poor response rate can undermine the validity of the data collected because it suggests that a large portion of the intended sample has not participated in the survey. This can lead to biased results if the non-respondents differ in important ways from those who did respond. For example, if certain demographic groups are underrepresented in the responses due to attrition, the findings may not accurately reflect the views and perspectives of the entire population. Thus, a low response rate can result in skewed findings that do not generalize well to the broader community.

By contrast, a high response rate ensures that a larger proportion of the sample frame has shared their insights, thus enhancing the likelihood that the results reflect the views of the entire population. A large sample size generally contributes to statistical power and precision but is not sufficient on its own if the response rate is poor. Open-ended questions can provide rich qualitative data, but they do not directly affect the representativeness of the sample. Therefore, maintaining a good response rate is crucial for obtaining representative results from questionnaire surveys.