A problem-situation on questionnaire survey exercise

Some Independ Study (IS) students expressed concern that the centre has not approved their questionnaires which they need to conduct survey for doing IS assignments. The centre told me that some of the students' questionnaires have quality problems and some apparently have ethical problems in terms of intrusion of privacy, etc..  On the other side, students worry that, if their questionnaires are not approved in time, they cannot finish the assignment reports within the assignment deadlines. There are students who hold the view that, to avoid all these problems, they will only consider to do quantitative analysis using secondary  data (e.g. conducting multiple regression analysis using published corporate financial data). As a teacher, I would like students to learn Research Methods as a practical and critical skill.

So, different stakeholders have different and conflicting concerns and all are unhappy with the problem-situation. In terms of soft systems thinking, we have a problem-situation exhibiting soft complexity. It is up to students interested in soft systems thinking to construct a rich picture for this problem-situation.

My advice to students are:

1. Try to improve or simplify your questionnaires so that they are acceptable to the centre's requirements.
2. Try to formulate a contingency plan in case your questionnaire is not approved by the centre, e.g. using secondary data or materials from literature review.

It is important for students to keep developing their research skills so that they are able to construct good quality survey questionnaires, among others. For many years to come, you will encounter situations where your works will be rejected and you will experience failures. Learn from failures and build up intellectual strengths from your failure experience....

If your works are rejected and you start to complain that your assessors are too tough, you do not gain respect from others and you do not see the need to make self-improvement..