Q.Distinguish between a questionnaire and a schedule.
A questionnaire and a schedule are both a set of questions used to collect primary data, and the questions themselves can look identical — the difference lies in who records the answers and how the form reaches the informant.
| Basis | Questionnaire | Schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Who fills it | The informant fills it himself | A trained enumerator fills it |
| How it reaches the informant | Usually mailed to the informant | Carried in person by the enumerator |
| Suits which informants | Only literate informants | Both literate and illiterate informants |
| Response rate | Lower (non-response common) | Higher |
| Cost | Economical | More expensive |
| Clearing doubts | Not possible | Possible on the spot |
Thus the questionnaire method is cheaper and wider-reaching but limited to literate informants and prone to non-response, while the schedule method is more accurate and works with everyone but costs more.
In the questionnaire method the informant fills in the form himself, usually after receiving it by mail, so it suits only literate informants and suffers non-response. In the schedule method a trained enumerator carries the form, asks the questions and records the answers himself, so it works with illiterate informants and gives a higher response rate but costs more.
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