What is one potential drawback of surveys and questionnaires?

Surveys and questionnaires can be an effective way to gather information, but one significant drawback is the potential for respondents to be less than honest in their answers. This can stem from various factors, such as social desirability bias, where individuals provide responses they believe are more acceptable or favorable rather than their true feelings or experiences. This issue can compromise the validity of the collected data and lead to skewed or misleading results. When participants are not forthcoming or are influenced by external expectations, the accuracy of the information gathered is put at risk. Therefore, the integrity of the survey results heavily depends on the honesty of the respondents, making this a critical consideration in survey design and interpretation.