NCJ Number
58631
Date Published
1978
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A DISCUSSION OF THE USES OF QUESTIONNAIRES IN STUDYING CHILD ABUSE IS UNDERTAKEN IN TERMS OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF QUESTIONNAIRES, PROBLEMS, FORMAT OF QUESTIONNAIRES, AND COMPUTERIZATION OR ANALYSIS OF DATA.
Abstract
QUESTIONNAIRES ARE GENERALLY ACCEPTED NOT ONLY FOR THE GATHERING OF INFORMATION BUT ALSO AS TOOLS BOTH FOR RESEARCH AND FOR CASE MANAGEMENT. WITH REGARD TO THE STUDY OF CHILD ABUSE, QUESTIONNAIRES CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE CASE VOLUME, IDENTIFY CHILD ABUSE SITUATION REMEDIES AND MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES, AND IDENTIFY REFERRAL AGENCIES. QUESTIONNAIRES CAN ALSO OBTAIN DATA FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND ABUSING PARENTS. CHILD ABUSE PROFESSIONALS SHOULD CONSULT WITH STATISTICIANS AND COMMERCIAL ADVISERS ON THE DESIGN OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE, ITS ITEMS, AND ITS ORDER. THE CONSTRUCTION OF QUESTIONNAIRES SHOULD BE GUIDED BY SUCH PRINCIPLES AS THE NEED TO ESTABLISH GOALS, DEFINE THE SAMPLE, AND MAXIMIZE RESPONSE. RESEARCHERS SHOULD BE CAREFUL TO PRETEST QUESTIONNAIRES AND SHOULD BE AWARE OF PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF QUESTIONNAIRES, SUCH AS THE FACT THAT RESPONSES TO QUESTIONNAIRES MAY NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL BEHAVIOR OF THE RESPONDENTS. DESIGNERS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE FORMAT SHOULD CONSIDER SUCH POINTS AS APPEARANCE AND LEGIBILITY, PROVISION FOR CODING, AND INCLUSION OF RATING SCALES. THE COMPUTERIZATION OR ANALYSIS OF DATA REQUIRES THAT PROCEDURES BE ESTABLISHED FOR THE CODING OF QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES AND TREATMENT OF LARGE NUMBERS OF VARIABLES. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (KCP)