One practical issue is the low response rate. Many people may not bother to complete and return a postal questionnaire, which would result in a small and potentially unrepresentative sample. To deal with this, I would include a pre-paid, self-addressed envelope to make returning it easy and free. I could also offer a small incentive, such as entry into a prize draw, to encourage more people to participate and boost the response rate.
Postal questionnaires are a quantitative research method with several practical issues. The most significant is often a low response rate, as recipients may discard them. This can make the final sample unrepresentative of the target population. Another issue is that questions must be clear and simple, as the researcher is not present to explain them. There is also the problem of not knowing who in the household actually completed the questionnaire, which is particularly relevant when investigating role relationships. Sociologists use strategies like incentives, follow-up letters, and carefully designed, easy-to-return forms to mitigate these problems.
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