Art and science of creating a questionnaires in quantitative research. New reality and new challenges

The text enriches the theoretical reflection on the standardization of measurement tools in the methodology of social sciences. The need for this text is also, to some extent, didactic and organizing the reflection so far. This article presents the original concept of analyzing questionnaire questions on three following levels: content-related, logical, and psychological. The substantive / content-related level refers to the division according to the way of construction - structure, format - questions and/or answers. On the other hand, the logical plane is a division according to the functions given questions or groups of questions fulfilled in a broader context, i.e. concerning the whole questionnaire. The psychological plane was distinguished due to the intended or unintended but unavoidable emotional reactions evoked by the respondent). In the last part of the text, a reflection on the most common errors in research tools is presented and recommendations for avoiding them are formulated.

Strategic premises for campaigning based on competence and integrity in Poland

The article presents the concept of valence campaigning which is based on references to non-programmatic components of political image, such as competence and integrity. The analysis covers the premises for introducing references to these characteristics in the campaign derived from the strategic position of competing political parties. The empirical section contains the results of measurement of the frequency of these appeals in the pre-election rhetoric of parties participating in parliamentary campaigns in Poland between 2007 and 2019. The Comparative Campaign Dynamics Dataset was used for the study. The results show that the high frequency of arguments related to competence results primarily from the advantageous position of a party in the polls as well as its earlier participation in the government. Integrity is mainly emphasized by new parties and, unexpectedly, the ones involved in scandals in the past.

A child's entry into primary school is an important life event for parents that is accompanied not just by the child’s expectations but also those of the parents themselves. We have attempted to interpret them in the present study, which presents the results of a quantitative research investigation conducted through random multi-stage stratified sampling based on analysing relevant surveys and building on the authors' previous qualitative investigations. The sample studied was 504 parents of pupils in Years 1 and 2 who attended selected primary schools in the 2020/2021 school year. The main data collection tool was an online questionnaire that mapped primary school choice strategies and parents' expectations of the school, schooling, and teachers. These factors were then examined in relation to the variable choice of an educational program and parents' attitudes toward education (an academic approach versus a personalistic one). We found that parents' expectations of school choice are principally divided according to whether respondents believe school should fulfil the more traditional role of education or whether they prefer their children to develop their personalities and seek an alternative educational program or school for their offspring.