Questionnaire or survey research is generally used to identify the attitudes, knowledge, or behavior of large samples. For instance, Kinsey used this method to obtain information about his many participants, though questions have since been raised about Kinsey’s validity and reliability. Kinsey recognized these problems and tried to increase the validity by using interviews to supplement the questionnaires.
Some researchers prefer to use interviews instead of questionnaires; there are advantages and disadvantages to each method. An interview allows the researcher to establish a rapport with each participant and emphasize the importance of honesty in the study. In addition, the researcher can vary the order of questions and skip questions that are irrelevant. However, there are some limitations to interviews. First, they are more time consuming and expensive than questionnaires. Also, it has been argued that questionnaires provide more honesty because the participant may be embarrassed to admit things to another person that he or she would be more likely to share with the anonymity of a questionnaire. Research has revealed that when people answer sexuality questionnaires, they are likely to leave out the questions that cause the most anxiety, especially questions about masturbation (Catania et al., 1986).