Saturday, April 19, 2014

“Q” is for Questionnaires

QIn 2007 I joined a social forum called QnA. The format was based on questions and answers. It was created by Microsoft, with the intention of gathering up information to form a search engine. The surprise for Microsoft was that through those questions data was also gathered by the forum members regarding other members and great friendships were formed. When Microsoft closed down the site, there was a great deal of sadness, but most of those friendships endured; in fact, many of my Facebook friendships evolved from questions asked an answered on the old QnA.

From time to time I have seen questionnaires posted on Facebook that entice people to participate. Even I have been interested in trying a few of them. I have discovered that my color is white, my mythological creature is the phoenix (although, according to Chinese astrology, I am a dragon), I am a swan and if I ever find myself arrested, my partner in crime would be an actress I’d never heard of before: Jennifer Lawrence. These questionnaires are fun, but I wonder for what reason the company that produces them does so?

There is another type of questionnaire that I find absolutely annoying. Anyone who in recent years has attempted find a job, applying online, has had to fill out one of these questionnaires on the application. These are definitely dedicated to collecting psychological data. These are multiple choice questions aimed at driving the applicant crazy, especially since there is, according to the instructions, no correct or incorrect answer. The problem with these ambiguous questions with no right or wrong answers is that if you give the wrong answer you won’t get the job. And not only are there trick questions, but the trick questions are asked over and over, with different wording or the same wording in different orders.

The last group of questionnaires are the ones I understand the least. I mean, I understand that the information we give in the questionnaires given by doctors is very important for the way in which our health is controlled. But, wouldn’t once be enough? Oh well, this is the age of questionnaires.

 

©Copyright by Mary Purpari “Q” is for Questionnaires April 19, 2014

6 comments:

  1. I'm with you about those stupid psychological job questionnaires. They are so dumb and you give the wrong answer and that's it, no chance at the job. Yes, questionnaires seem to be a part of everyday life. Some are fun and some are downright annoying. Guess we have to live with them just like inflation and taxes, eh?

    http://cattitudeandgratitude.blogspot.ca/2014/04/q-is-for-quill-and-quite-quietly.html

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  2. I agree questionaires are awful; however, I have completed some of these on FB. I'm not convinced that I'm most like Dorothy or would have the most fun going to lunch with Emma Watson.

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Lunch with Emma Watson--I think that would be fun; she is an actress I've heard of, at least. Questionnaires--one of the banes of life, I guess, especially the tax questionnaire...

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  3. I tried to get a job with Target several times, but I always mess up on their questionnaire. In the past, when live interviews were the praxis, I would have gotten the job in 5 minutes. Oh well.

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  4. I haven't been through the psychological questionnaire before...my husband has had to, though. I did take one of those questionnaires when I was in retail in college where they try to determine if you'll steal or not by asking 1,000 questions and repeating the same ones in different ways to see if you're lying. Maybe it's similar to that?

    Visiting from the A to Z challenge signup page. Great to meet you!

    Stephanie Faris, author
    30 Days of No Gossip
    http://stephie5741.blogspot.com

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  5. Thankfully, I've been out of the conventional workforce for many years, so haven't been subjected to those questionnaires. My interviews were always in person and verbal.
    QnA is where you and I met, Mary, as well as several others who are still friends today. ☺ Thanks for bringing back those memories.

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I would really love to read your thoughts, so leave a comment so we can all converse. Thanks.