Logical analysis of questions in a questionnaire

Data gathering techniques based on a questionnaire are very popular and abundant research experience in this field has resulted in many directives helpful in the construction of that research tool. From among such directives, relating to various problems, have been selected those concerning the formal aspect of questions. The formal aspect of questions is also of interest for logicians. Using N. Belnap’s logical theory of questions it is possible to derive a series of directives for the construction of formally correct questions. In the first part of the study directives formulated by sociologists and relating to a suitable construction of closed questions as well as directives derived from the logical theory of questions, have been listed and juxtaposed with each other. As a result of this confrontation it is possible to say that, in respect of formal correctness, sociological directives do not bring anything that has not been, so far, taken into account by logical rules. Sociological rules have the form of' instructions which are not considered as absolutely binding and in addition, they are unclear whereas logical rules define rigorously the criteria of formal correctness of questions. It seems, therefore, desirable to have logical rules' included in the set of principles to be followed in constructing a questionnaire. Such rules should be unconditionally observed, in order to secure formal correctness of questions asked from respondents. When using questionnaire-based techniques of data gathering, one should keep in mind that questions contained in the questionnaire are not the only ones involved in the research. Beside them, distinguished may be the researcher’s own questions and the problem questions. Using the rules of correspondence it is possible to pass, from sentences being the answers to questionnaire questions to those constituting the answers to researcher’s own questions; such rules are unilateral or bilateral reductive sentences. Two categories of indirect answers have been distinguished by logicians: (1) partial, and (2) full answers to given questions. The answers given by respondents are most often indirect answers to the researcher’s own question. Whether such an answer is partial or full depends on the structure of the rule of correspondence defining the role of the questionnaire question concerned. If this rule is a bilateral reductive sentence, the answer to the question introduced by this rule, is always an indirect full answer to the researcher’s own question. If the rule of correspondence is a unilateral reductive sentence, two situations are possible: (a) if the answer to the questionnaire question is the one foreseen by the rule of correspondence, it is an indirect full answer, (b) if the answer to the questionnaire question is different from the one foreseen by the rule of correspondence, it is an indirect partial answer to researcher’s own question. Realizing these relationships may help to avoid unjustified conclusions drawn from answers given by respondents. A serious weakness of sociological works stems from the fact that the above-mentioned rules which constitute an essential premise in passing from respondents’ answers, through answers to researcher’s own questions – up to the answers to the problem question – are never revealed

External verification of the information obtained in a questionnaire interview

Results of external verification of two kinds of information obtained by means of questionnaire interviews in methodological investigations conducted in Włocławek in 1973 are presented. Each kind of information was verified by using a different method. In Part I are presented the results of verification of 7 questionnaire questions, among which 6 related to opinions. Information on the same topics obtained through in-depth interviews was used as a verification criterion. An in-depth interview was used along with an interview about an interview which constituted part of the method permitting to precisely characterize and evaluate the quality of the answers given by respondents. Part II presents the results of verification by means of the data contained in the files of work establishments and relating to 11 information items obtained in questionnaire interviews. The items concerned: the year and place of birth, educational level, number of completed training courses, the year in which the respondent started his work, level of wages in June, number of days of absence at work (warranted and unwarranted), number of late arrivals to work as well as of penalties and rewards recorded in the files. Discrepancies between interview answers and the files which appeared most frequently (30% of respondents) related to the numbers of days of absence at work and the numbers of late arrivals to work. These discrepancies not always indicate a contradiction between the information obtained in interview and the reality as the file records cannot be treated as absolutely reliable. By comparing answers about wages with the corresponding data from the files it was ascertained that 57% of respondents tended to overstate their wages by over 100 zlotys. This tendency is contrary to the findings presented by K. Lutyńska in the study contained in the present volume. It is recommended to apply simultaneously the less and more reliable methods of verification in order to evaluate the quality of the former methods as they can be used much more frequently than the latter

Research Assumptions and Procedures, Their Realization and Application

Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Comparison of Different Ways of Veryfying Information Obtained through Questionnaire Surveys

Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

Uczestnictwo w zdarzenaich traumatycznych i jego konsekwencje w postaci zaburzenia po stresie tarumatycznym wśród polskich strażaków

Strażacy należą˛ do grupy zawodowej, której członkowie są, z powodu nałożonych na nich obowiązków, prawie codziennie narażeni na zdarzenia traumatyczne. Stres doświadczany w takich sytuacjach może prowadzić do rozwoju zaburzenia po stresie traumatycznym (PTSD). Celem prowadzonych badań było ustalenie częstości narażenia na zdarzenia traumatyczne i rozwoju PTSD oraz określenie zależności pomiędzy cechami zdarzeń i emocjonalnymi reakcjami a manifestowaniem symptomów PTSD. Badania przeprowadzono w wylosowanych 40 jednostkach ratowniczo-gaśniczych wchodzących w skład Państwowej Straży Pożarnej. Badaniami objęto reprezentatywną grupę 974 polskich strażaków. Do pomiaru symptomów PTSD wykorzystano kwestionariusz PTSD-I opracowany przez Ch. G. Watsona i in. (1991). Do pomiaru cech zdarzeń traumatycznych i emocjonalnych reakcji na te zdarzenia opracowano odpowiednie pytania, z których zbudowano kwestionariusz. Większość osób badanych (86,1%) stwierdziło, że co najmniej raz, podczas służby, uczestniczyli w zdarzeniu traumatycznym. Wśród 7,6% uczestników zdarzeń rozpoznano PTSD. Do najczęściej doświadczanych zdarzeń traumatycznych należały sytuacje wypadkowe (63,4%). Ponad połowa badanych ujawniała różnorodne fizjologiczne i emocjonalne reakcje spowodowane danym zdarzeniem traumatycznym. Dominującym uczuciem wśród uczestników zdarzeń było: współczucie i bezradność. Lęk należał do emocji najsilniej związanych z poziomem symptomów PTSD (r = 0,48; p ≤ 0,001). Poziom symptomów w PTSD korelował z wiekiem osób badanych (r = 0,25; p ≤ 0,05) i długością stażu zawodowego (r = 0,27; p ≤ 0,05)