Explain the difference between open and closed questions.

a) Please evaluate the structure and content of the covering letter provided for this task (see Additional
materials). It is a good example of a covering letter and one that should accompany a postal questionnaire to
inform participants of the research.
Guidance
• Consider both the structure and content of the letter.
• Is it well structured? Is the layout clear?
• Outline the key features of the cover letter – what is good about it? Is it informative?
• Evaluate the implications of each component e.g. what impact does a university logo have on a potential
research participant?
b) Please answer the following questions using literature to support your statements and your own examples to
demonstrate your understanding of the terms.
• Explain the difference between open and closed questions.
• Explain the difference between positively and negatively worded questions.
• Explain what is meant by a double-barrelled question.
• Explain what is meant by a leading question.
• Explain what is meant by a loaded question.
Guidance
Use the following subheadings to structure your response – open and closed questions, positively and negatively
worded questions, double-barrelled questions etc.
Write a paragraph or so to address each question and use at least one example per each term e.g. an example of
an open question is….
Read about survey design and the different types of questions in Chapter 9 of the required textbook for the
module Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R. (2016) Research Methods for Business: A Skill-Building Approach,
(seventh edition). UK:Wiley
You should endeavour to include references from other textbooks (see reading list in module handbook).
c) Pre-testing or piloting a survey questionnaire is an important phase of the research process. Explain why?
Guidance
Use your required textbook for the module Sekaran, U. and Bougie, R. (2016) Research Methods for Business:
A Skill-Building Approach, (seventh edition). UK: Wiley
Additionally – Chapter 11 of Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2016). Research Methods for Business
Students, (seventh edition). UK: Pearson.
Please consider the example of what the paper should look like in additional materials.