Asking people questions is one of the most commonly applied data collection methods in the social sciences. Its standardized form, that is, the questionnaire using multiple choice items in a fixed order and format, became widespread since the 1940s onward, when the US army applied the technique to quickly screen potential new recruits. For several decades, the mode of administration was one of face-to-face, telephone, or mail. In recent decades, due to the penetration of Internet with the general public, Internet questionnaires have been added to the range of modes of administration.

This tool allows us to make and launch Internet  questionnaires in a fast and user-friendly way. The University of Antwerp has a campus license for the online survey tool Qualtrics for staff and students. If you are not affiliated to the University of Antwerp, you either have to get your own Qualtrics account (e.g. via your own institution) or use a free acount (albeit with reduced functionality).

The course is offered live on campus, and you need to bring your own laptop. There is a possibility to have a take-home task at the end of the course.  

Course contents

In this course, we illustrate the possibilities of this software by moving step-by-step from a research question, through operationalization of scientific concepts, pilot study, to an analysis plan of the data intended to be collected. At the end of this course, students are able to:

  • Navigate through the most useful and important features of Qualtrics
  • Select or design multiple choice items by operationizing research concepts
  • Understand and discuss the rationale of a well-designed survey (research question, operationalization, pilot study, analysis plan)
  • Understand and discuss the limitations of Internet questionnaires (measurement validity, internal validity, external validity)

Target audience/prerequisites

The course is open to young researchers (especially PhD students and postdocs) from any field of research

Instructors

Prices

PhD student UAntwerpen : € 50 

UA-affiliated : € 90

Academic non-UA : € 160

Publicand non-profit sector : € 250

Private sector : € 500

Course structure and time schedule

The next QUALTRICS course will be on 3 June, 2024.

The course takes a full day, from 9.30am till 4.30pm.