Survey and questionnaire – design and validation

Aalborg University, Doctoral School in Medicine, Biomedical Science and Technology

The course focuses on the use of survey design and questionnaires in health science and give participants an understanding of strengths and limitations of survey as a study design and the research questions that surveys can and cannot answer.  

The choice of study population, sampling and data collection procedures will be discussed as well as the advantages and disadvantages of use of foreign language, standardized, previously validated, or self-constructed questionnaires; qualifying participants to think critically and make well-founded methodological and ethical decisions in their own study.  

Furthermore, participants will learn how to construct a questionnaire with high validity and reliability, focusing on both the writing of clear and unbiased questions and the choice of suitable options for answering as well as different types of measurement scales. Methods for evaluating reliability and validity will be presented. Participants will gain an understanding of the importance of thorough testing of questionnaires and of quantitative as well as qualitative methods for this purpose.  

During the course, lectures and discussions will be mixed with group work and individual exercises, allowing participants to develop, test, and discuss questionnaire questions and measurement scales relevant to their own study.  

For additional information, updates, and registration, please refer to AAU PhDMoodle via the link provided on the right side of this page.

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