Form vs. Questionnaire — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 8, 2024
Form typically refers to a document with blank fields for user input, focusing on basic information, while a questionnaire is designed to gather specific data through targeted questions.
Difference Between Form and Questionnaire
Table of Contents
ADVERTISEMENT
Key Differences
A form is a document that contains fields where users can enter information, often used for administrative purposes like applications or registrations. Forms are designed to collect essential data, such as name, contact details, and other identifiers. On the other hand, a questionnaire is a specialized form used primarily for research or statistical analysis, consisting of a series of questions intended to gather detailed insights from the respondent about specific topics.
Forms are usually straightforward and require direct factual answers, such as filling out personal or financial details. They are crucial in everyday administrative and transactional interactions. Whereas questionnaires are crafted to explore opinions, behaviors, or detailed personal or demographic information, often including multiple-choice questions, Likert scales, or open-ended questions to gather comprehensive data.
Forms are commonly found in both physical and digital formats and are utilized in various settings including healthcare, education, and employment. Questionnaires, on the other hand, are frequently used in market research, academic studies, and surveys to analyze trends, preferences, or patterns among a specific population.
The design of forms is typically utilitarian, focusing on ease of use and clarity to ensure that the necessary information is collected efficiently and accurately. In contrast, the design of questionnaires may involve psychological considerations to avoid biases in responses, and they may employ various scales and branching questions to capture more nuanced data.
Forms often have a generic structure applicable to a wide audience or a broad set of requirements. Questionnaires, however, are usually tailored to target specific groups or research questions, making them more customized in approach and content.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comparison Chart
Purpose
Collect basic, factual information
Gather detailed, specific insights
Types of Questions
Direct and factual
Varied, including open and closed
Common Uses
Registration, applications
Research, surveys
Design Considerations
Clarity, ease of use
Avoiding bias, capturing nuances
Customization
Generic, broadly applicable
Highly specific and targeted
Compare with Definitions
Form
A printed or digital document with blank spaces for information to be inserted.
She filled out the employment form carefully.
Questionnaire
Can include various types of questions to capture different data.
The questionnaire mixed multiple-choice questions with open-ended ones to gather detailed responses.
Form
A tool for systematic data collection in specific fields.
The form on the website asked for all the usual contact details.
Questionnaire
A set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, devised for the purposes of a survey or statistical study.
The questionnaire was designed to understand consumer habits.
Form
An arrangement or structure of certain elements.
The form of the questionnaire was simple yet effective.
Questionnaire
A methodological tool for collecting data from individuals.
The marketing team developed a questionnaire to assess brand recognition.
Form
A template used in various administrative and legal contexts.
He downloaded the tax form from the government portal.
Questionnaire
A research instrument consisting of a series of questions for gathering information from respondents.
She completed the health questionnaire at the clinic.
Form
A type or variety of something with distinct characteristics.
The form of his reply was unexpected and informal.
Questionnaire
Often used in academic and market research contexts.
The students were asked to fill out a questionnaire after the lecture.
Form
The shape and structure of an object
The form of a snowflake.
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions (or other types of prompts) for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. The questionnaire was invented by the Statistical Society of London in 1838.Although questionnaires are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case.
Form
The body or outward appearance of a person or an animal; figure
In the fog we could see two forms standing on the bridge.
Questionnaire
A form containing a set of questions, especially one addressed to a statistically significant number of subjects as a way of gathering information for a survey.
Form
A model of the human figure or part of it used for displaying clothes.
Questionnaire
A form containing a list of questions; a means of gathering information for a survey
Carry out a questionnaire
Fill out a questionnaire
Form
A mold for the setting of concrete.
Questionnaire
To survey using questionnaires
Form
The way in which a thing exists, acts, or manifests itself
An element usually found in the form of a gas.
Questionnaire
Same as Questionary.
Form
(Philosophy) The essential or ideal nature of something, especially as distinguished from its matter or material being.
Questionnaire
A list of questions, usually on a printed form, to be answered by an individual. The forms often have blank spaces in which the answers can be written. Sets of such forms are distributed to groups and the answers used for various purposes, such as to obtain statistical information for social science, political, or marketing research, or to obtain information about a patient for the use of medical practitioners.
Form
A kind, type, or variety
A cat is a form of mammal.
Questionnaire
A form containing a set of questions; submitted to people to gain statistical information
Form
(Botany) A subdivision of a variety usually differing in one trivial characteristic, such as flower color.
Form
Method of arrangement or manner of coordinating elements in verbal or musical composition
Presented my ideas in outline form.
A treatise in the form of a dialogue.
Form
A particular type or example of such arrangement
The essay is a literary form.
Form
Procedure as determined or governed by regulation or custom
Gave his consent solely as a matter of form.
Form
Manners or conduct as governed by etiquette, decorum, or custom
Arriving late to a wedding is considered bad form.
Form
A fixed order of words or procedures, as for use in a ceremony
"As they had never had a funeral aboard a ship, they began rehearsing the forms so as to be ready" (Arthur Conan Doyle).
Form
A document with blanks for the insertion of details or information
Insurance forms.
Form
Performance considered with regard to acknowledged criteria
A musician at the top of her form.
Form
A pattern of behavior or performance
Remained true to form and showed up late.
Form
Fitness, as of an athlete or animal, with regard to health or training
A dog in excellent form.
Form
A racing form.
Form
A grade in a British secondary school or in some American private schools
The sixth form.
Form
A linguistic form.
Form
The external aspect of words with regard to their inflections, pronunciation, or spelling.
Form
Chiefly British A long seat; a bench.
Form
The lair or resting place of a hare.
Form
To give form to; shape
Form clay into figures.
Form
To make or fashion by shaping
Form figures out of clay.
Form
To develop in the mind; conceive
Her reading led her to form a different opinion.
Form
To arrange oneself in
Holding out his arms, the cheerleader formed a T. The acrobats formed a pyramid.
Form
To organize or arrange
The environmentalists formed their own party.
Form
To fashion, train, or develop by instruction, discipline, or precept
Formed the recruits into excellent soldiers.
Form
To come to have; develop or acquire
He formed the habit of walking to work.
Form
To enter into (a relationship)
They formed a friendship.
Form
To constitute or compose, especially out of separate elements
The bones that form the skeleton.
Form
To produce (a tense, for example) by inflection
Form the pluperfect.
Form
To make (a word) by derivation or composition.
Form
To become formed or shaped
Add enough milk so the dough forms easily into balls.
Form
To come into being by taking form; arise
Clouds will form in the afternoon.
Form
To assume a specified form, shape, or pattern
The soldiers formed into a column.
Form
To do with shape.
Form
The shape or visible structure of a thing or person.
Form
A thing that gives shape to other things as in a mold.
Form
Regularity, beauty, or elegance.
Form
(philosophy) The inherent nature of an object; that which the mind itself contributes as the condition of knowing; that in which the essence of a thing consists.
Form
Characteristics not involving atomic components. en
Form
(dated) A long bench with no back.
Form
(fine arts) The boundary line of a material object. In painting, more generally, the human body.
Form
(crystallography) The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid.
Form
(social) To do with structure or procedure.
Form
An order of doing things, as in religious ritual.
Form
Established method of expression or practice; fixed way of proceeding; conventional or stated scheme; formula.
Form
Constitution; mode of construction, organization, etc.; system.
A republican form of government
Form
Show without substance; empty, outside appearance; vain, trivial, or conventional ceremony; conventionality; formality.
A matter of mere form
Form
(archaic) A class or rank in society.
Form
(UK) A criminal record; loosely, past history (in a given area).
Form
Level of performance.
The team's form has been poor this year.
The orchestra was on top form this evening.
Form
A class or year of school pupils (often preceded by an ordinal number to specify the year, as in sixth form).
Form
A blank document or template to be filled in by the user.
To apply for the position, complete the application form.
Form
A specimen document to be copied or imitated.
Form
(grammar) A grouping of words which maintain grammatical context in different usages; the particular shape or structure of a word or part of speech.
Participial forms;
Verb forms
Form
The den or home of a hare.
Form
A window or dialogue box.
Form
Essentials
Form
(taxonomy) An infraspecific rank.
Form
The type or other matter from which an impression is to be taken, arranged and secured in a chase.
Form
(geometry) A quantic.
Form
A specific way of performing a movement.
Form
(transitive) To assume (a certain shape or visible structure).
When you kids form a straight line I'll hand out the lollies.
Form
(transitive) To give (a shape or visible structure) to a thing or person.
Roll out the dough to form a thin sheet.
Form
(intransitive) To take shape.
When icicles start to form on the eaves you know the roads will be icy.
Form
To put together or bring into being; assemble.
The socialists did not have enough MPs to form a government.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon formed The Beatles in Liverpool in 1960.
Form
To create (a word) by inflection or derivation.
By adding "-ness", you can form a noun from an adjective.
Form
(transitive) To constitute, to compose, to make up.
Teenagers form the bulk of extreme traffic offenders.
Form
To mould or model by instruction or discipline.
Singing in a choir helps to form a child's sociality.
Form
To provide (a hare) with a form.
Form
To treat (plates) to prepare them for introduction into a storage battery, causing one plate to be composed more or less of spongy lead, and the other of lead peroxide. This was formerly done by repeated slow alternations of the charging current, but later the plates or grids were coated or filled, one with a paste of red lead and the other with litharge, introduced into the cell, and formed by a direct charging current.
Form
The shape and structure of anything, as distinguished from the material of which it is composed; particular disposition or arrangement of matter, giving it individuality or distinctive character; configuration; figure; external appearance.
The form of his visage was changed.
And woven close close, both matter, form, and style.
Form
Constitution; mode of construction, organization, etc.; system; as, a republican form of government.
Form
Established method of expression or practice; fixed way of proceeding; conventional or stated scheme; formula; as, a form of prayer.
Those whom form of lawsCondemned to die.
Form
Show without substance; empty, outside appearance; vain, trivial, or conventional ceremony; conventionality; formality; as, a matter of mere form.
Though well we may not pass upon his lifeWithout the form of justice.
Form
Orderly arrangement; shapeliness; also, comeliness; elegance; beauty.
The earth was without form and void.
He hath no form nor comeliness.
Form
A shape; an image; a phantom.
Form
That by which shape is given or determined; mold; pattern; model.
Form
A long seat; a bench; hence, a rank of students in a school; a class; also, a class or rank in society.
Form
The seat or bed of a hare.
As in a form sitteth a weary hare.
Form
The type or other matter from which an impression is to be taken, arranged and secured in a chase.
Form
The boundary line of a material object. In (painting), more generally, the human body.
Form
The particular shape or structure of a word or part of speech; as, participial forms; verbal forms.
Form
The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid.
Form
That assemblage or disposition of qualities which makes a conception, or that internal constitution which makes an existing thing to be what it is; - called essential or substantial form, and contradistinguished from matter; hence, active or formative nature; law of being or activity; subjectively viewed, an idea; objectively, a law.
Form
Mode of acting or manifestation to the senses, or the intellect; as, water assumes the form of ice or snow. In modern usage, the elements of a conception furnished by the mind's own activity, as contrasted with its object or condition, which is called the matter; subjectively, a mode of apprehension or belief conceived as dependent on the constitution of the mind; objectively, universal and necessary accompaniments or elements of every object known or thought of.
Form
The peculiar characteristics of an organism as a type of others; also, the structure of the parts of an animal or plant.
Form
To give form or shape to; to frame; to construct; to make; to fashion.
God formed man of the dust of the ground.
The thought that labors in my forming brain.
Form
To give a particular shape to; to shape, mold, or fashion into a certain state or condition; to arrange; to adjust; also, to model by instruction and discipline; to mold by influence, etc.; to train.
'T is education forms the common mind.
Thus formed for speed, he challenges the wind.
Form
To go to make up; to act as constituent of; to be the essential or constitutive elements of; to answer for; to make the shape of; - said of that out of which anything is formed or constituted, in whole or in part.
The diplomatic politicians . . . who formed by far the majority.
Form
To derive by grammatical rules, as by adding the proper suffixes and affixes.
Form
To treat (plates) so as to bring them to fit condition for introduction into a storage battery, causing one plate to be composed more or less of spongy lead, and the other of lead peroxide. This was formerly done by repeated slow alternations of the charging current, but now the plates or grids are coated or filled, one with a paste of red lead and the other with litharge, introduced into the cell, and formed by a direct charging current.
Form
To take a form, definite shape, or arrangement; as, the infantry should form in column.
Form
To run to a form, as a hare.
Form
The phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something;
The inflected forms of a word can be represented by a stem and a list of inflections to be attached
Form
A category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality;
Sculpture is a form of art
What kinds of desserts are there?
Form
A perceptual structure;
The composition presents problems for students of musical form
A visual pattern must include not only objects but the spaces between them
Form
Any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline);
He could barely make out their shapes through the smoke
Form
Alternative names for the body of a human being;
Leonardo studied the human body
He has a strong physique
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
Form
The spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance;
Geometry is the mathematical science of shape
Form
The visual appearance of something or someone;
The delicate cast of his features
Form
(physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary;
The reaction occurs in the liquid phase of the system
Form
A printed document with spaces in which to write;
He filled out his tax form
Form
(biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups;
A new strain of microorganisms
Form
An arrangement of the elements in a composition or discourse;
The essay was in the form of a dialogue
He first sketches the plot in outline form
Form
A particular mode in which something is manifested;
His resentment took the form of extreme hostility
Form
A body of students who are taught together;
Early morning classes are always sleepy
Form
An ability to perform well;
He was at the top of his form
The team was off form last night
Form
A life-size dummy used to display clothes
Form
A mold for setting concrete;
They built elaborate forms for pouring the foundation
Form
To compose or represent:
This wall forms the background of the stage setting
The branches made a roof
This makes a fine introduction
Form
Create (as an entity);
Social groups form everywhere
They formed a company
Form
Develop into a distinctive entity;
Our plans began to take shape
Form
Give a shape or form to;
Shape the dough
Form
Make something, usually for a specific function;
She molded the riceballs carefully
Form cylinders from the dough
Shape a figure
Work the metal into a sword
Form
Establish or impress firmly in the mind;
We imprint our ideas onto our children
Form
Give shape to;
Form the clay into a head
Common Curiosities
Can a form include questions that are not factual?
Typically, forms stick to factual information, though some may include sections for brief comments or notes.
How does a questionnaire differ from a form in its use?
A questionnaire is specifically designed to collect detailed insights for research or analysis, often including diverse question types like multiple choice and Likert scales.
In what settings are forms commonly used?
Forms are used in diverse settings including healthcare, education, government, and employment.
What types of questions are typically found in a questionnaire?
Questionnaires may include a range of question types, from multiple-choice to scale-based and open-ended questions.
What is a common feature of both forms and questionnaires?
Both are tools for collecting data, though their purposes and the depth of data collected vary significantly.
What is the main purpose of a form?
The main purpose of a form is to collect basic, factual information for administrative and transactional purposes.
How are questionnaires tailored to their target audience?
Questionnaires are often customized with language and question types that are most suitable for the specific demographic or subject matter of the study.
How important is design in the effectiveness of forms and questionnaires?
Design is crucial; for forms, it ensures clarity and ease of use, and for questionnaires, it helps avoid bias and improve the accuracy of the data collected.
Are digital forms and questionnaires becoming more common than paper-based ones?
Yes, digital versions are increasingly common due to their ease of distribution, completion, and data analysis.
What role do forms and questionnaires play in data analysis?
Both play critical roles; forms provide essential raw data for various processes, while questionnaires offer detailed insights that support complex analyses and decision-making.
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
Close vs. Tight
Next Comparison
Simon vs. SalmonAuthor Spotlight
Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
