Questionnaire and Survey: What is the difference?

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pappu636
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Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2025 8:42 am

Questionnaire and Survey: What is the difference?

Post by pappu636 »

Quiz and Survey Have you ever wondered what the difference is?
If you haven't done it, it's probably because you think that a questionnaire and a survey are the same thing. The truth is that you couldn't be more wrong.

A questionnaire is a set of written questions used to obtain information in order to evaluate a single person. Even though the questionnaire can be answered by more than one person, the answers are not part of a statistical analysis. Example: a test in school is a questionnaire.

A survey adds specific data to questionnaires so that at the end there can be a statistical analysis with the information obtained to evaluate a group of people since the answers are added to reach a conclusion. Example: the set of questions used to study the trend for the next presidential elections is a survey.

Why the confusion between questionnaire and survey?
differences between questionnaire and surveyBefore the Internet, completing a questionnaire portugal phone number a matter of filling out a paper form.

If you manually manipulate the data obtained during the research, we could say that the analysis was a completely separate process from the questionnaire.

QuestionPro's online survey software has combined both processes (data collection and analysis) making one tool do both. This makes QuestionPro fast, easy and cost effective.

Another factor that contributes to the confusion is the online definitions that exist for both concepts:

Merriam Dictionary defines questionnaire as:

1.- A set of digital or printed questions, often with spaces for answers.

2.- A survey conducted using a questionnaire.

Considering that these definitions do not distinguish whether the data will be analyzed or not, it is confusing, isn't it? However, in an old dictionary I found something that is closer to reality.

Webster's New World School Compact (Fourth Edition):

Questionnaire : Set of questions used to collect information from a person.

Survey : Detailed study through the collection of information for later analysis.

This definition, although older, is simple but adds an important difference. The questionnaire collects information while the survey analyzes the results. If we compare the printed definition with the digital definition, we can realize that the questionnaire has evolved with the Internet.
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