Specifications

Creating a specification allows us to gather information that supports manufacturing decisions. Research is necessary, whether for satisfaction, for market research, to evaluate training or to carry out business evaluations.

Benefits. The great advantage of the questionnaire compared to the interview is that it allows data to be collected from a large number of individuals at a relatively low cost. Fewer staff and sometimes less travel are required.

The questionnaire also mitigates bias as the interviewer has no opportunity to influence the responses, intentionally or unintentionally.

Unlike an interview, a questionnaire does not allow the examiner to clarify certain questions, ensure that the examiner understands the answers, ask for clarification or explanation of the answers, or ensure that the respondent responds to all questions on the form. It may be impossible to recontact the respondent if all the information necessary to support a conclusion has not been requested or provided, or if it becomes apparent that the questions were unclear. Additionally, in most cases it is not possible to request confirmation of responses. It is generally not possible to obtain as much in-depth information from a questionnaire as from an interview.

The specification may be mailed, delivered in person, or by electronic means such as fax, e-mail, Internet, or diskette.

The most common way to distribute the specification is by mail. When sent by mail, it can be administered more slowly than a series of structured interviews. In addition to the fact that developing specifications takes more time than interviews, correspondents must be given time to receive it by mail, respond to it and return it.

It usually takes months to create and receive the information, if the specifications are sent by mail, for this type of study. It can take up to nine months or more to develop and finalize a well-designed survey using multi-page questionnaires sent to samples designed to be representative of multiple subgroups within a large population. Under ideal conditions, it may be possible to complete a simple study in seven or eight weeks.

Distribution and receipt of questionnaire responses may take less time if electronic means are used. Electronic submission can also be designed to eliminate the need to manually transfer responses into a form that can be analyzed.

However, developing an electronic version similarly took time. In the case of distribution by email and the Internet, there are not yet good ways to protect anonymity and privacy. Generally speaking, in an Internet survey, individuals can only be sampled after they have decided to consult the site through which the questionnaire is distributed. It is therefore very difficult to apply random sampling methods to a population likely to be interested in an audit.