Final answer:
Questionnaires are effective for collecting specific facts, especially in scenarios where respondents are geographically scattered, need prompts, lack information, or cannot partake in interviews. They allow for both quantitative and qualitative data collection, though there are considerations to ensure data accuracy and representation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Questionnaires are invaluable tools for researchers, particularly when eliciting specific facts from users who are geographically distributed, require prompting to respond to questions, or when they may not be well-informed or do not have time for interviews. These tools can also handle more complex inquiries through open-ended questions that necessitate short essay responses, enabling participants to convey personal beliefs and information, which is qualitative data.
The variety of distribution methods including online surveys, make it easier for anthropologists and other researchers to gather a large quantity of data. Such methods offer the opportunity to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, with the latter providing a rich source of material that is subjective and based on what is seen in a natural setting. For sensitive topics, anonymous written surveys are often used to ensure confidentiality and honest answers.
Overall, questionnaires serve as a versatile method of gathering data, demonstrated by large-scale examples such as the U.S. Census. However, researchers must be mindful of the issues related to them, such as the potential for respondents to provide inaccurate data due to a lack of knowledge, or difficulties in achieving representative samples when using web surveys.