In the introduction to this volume, Dörnyei suggests that, although questionnaires are frequently employed by second language researchers, “there does not seem to be sufficient awareness in the profession about the theory of questionnaire design and processing” (p. 1). Looking to the various branches of research in the social sciences, such as psychometrics, social psychology, and sociology, Dörnyei notes that many of the questionnaires in second language research fail to meet the standards for reliability and validity because the researchers are apparently unfamiliar with the principles of questionnaire construction, administration, and processing. This book is intended to be a practical, easily understood guide for researchers to use when working with self-administered pencil-and-paper questionnaires. It achieves this aim.

My own introduction to this book was fortuitous. While consulting rather impenetrable survey research methodology books, trying to design a survey for international distribution, I was fortunate enough to have this book land on my desk unexpectedly. Immediately I knew that this was the book that I had been searching for. Its layout is logical. The four major sections are straightforward, answering my immediate questions and concerns: “What are questionnaires, and why would we use them?”; “How do we construct questionnaires so that we can answer our research questions?”; “Who do we give the questionnaire to, and how?”; and “What do we do with the data once it is collected?” Not only were the questions answered, but they were done so in clear, frank, and common-sense manner with step-by-step, never-fail instructions.

As someone with no experience in questionnaire design and use, I consulted this book like a manual. Particularly appreciated were details about questionnaire construction often overlooked in survey research volumes, such as advice about layout and the use of booklet formats, paper quality and color, appropriate rating scales, the use of familiar language in the questions, placement of demographic information (at the end), and remembering to thank respondents. The sections of the book having to do with sampling, administering the questionnaires, and understanding and working with the data are equally easy to understand. After this, the author provides the following, in checklist format: reminders of what information to include when writing up results, as well as summary “do's and don'ts” for each chapter. In an appendix, Dörnyei includes a list of major questionnaires in second language research, categorized by subject area, as well as the authors and locations of each questionnaire. This information is useful, and reading the various extant questionnaires would be an excellent starting place for anyone considering working with this form of data collection.

In sum, this book is a must-have, must-read for all novice researchers, classroom teacher-researchers, and students considering working with questionnaire data. On the other hand, this is not a book for experienced statisticians; it is not exhaustive, particularly with regard to data analysis, nor is it meant to be. Perhaps reflecting the author's own practice, the book is clearly enough written to be used in university-level academic preparation courses taught to English as a second language (ESL) students, and it is approachable and reader friendly enough for even the most overworked graduate student (or professor). After reading and repeatedly consulting this book in my own research practice, I immediately listed it as a required text in my master's-level course concerned with research methods and applications in teaching ESL. I trust my students will find it as helpful as I did.