1. **Vague/Ambiguous**: The question is not specific enough. "How much" could mean time spent, number of assignments, etc. It also lacks a time frame - is it per day, per week, or per month?
2. **No options/Open to interpretation**: It is an open-ended question that will lead to inconsistent answers (e.g., "a lot", "2 hours", "3 pieces"). This makes the data difficult to analyse and compare. A better question would have response boxes (e.g., 0-2 hours, 3-4 hours, etc.).
Good questionnaire questions should be unambiguous and easy to analyse. This question has several flaws:
1. **Ambiguity/Vagueness**: The term "how much" is not clearly defined. It could be interpreted as the number of assignments, the number of hours spent, or some other measure. Different students will answer based on their own interpretation, making the results inconsistent.
2. **Lack of Time Frame**: The question does not specify a period. Is it asking about homework per day, per week, or per month? Without a consistent time frame, the answers cannot be compared meaningfully. For example, "3 hours" is a very different amount of homework if it's per day versus per week.
3. **Open-ended Format**: The question is open, which will lead to a wide variety of answer formats (e.g., "a lot," "not much," "2 hours," "3 assignments"). This makes the quantitative data very difficult to collate and analyse statistically. A better design would use tick boxes with pre-defined ranges (e.g., "How many hours of homework did you receive last week? [ ] 0-2 [ ] 3-5 [ ] 6+").
Expert