1.4 Questionnaires

Question 1

The questions might be

Answer 1

• close-ended = choose from limited range of possible answers that researcher has selected

or

Open-ended = respondents are free to answer however they wish, in own words = without pre-selected choices being offered by researcher

Question 2

define Open Questionnaire

Answer 2

A self complete form with questions which allow the respondent to answer in as much detail as they want.

Question 3

Define Closed Questionnaire

Answer 3

A self complete form with questions which give a set of responses that the respondent can choose from.

Question 4

Practical strengths?

Answer 4

1) Quick and cheap way to gather data from large numbers of ppl, widely spread geographically
2) No need to recruit and train interviewers- respondents complete the questionnaires to themselves
3) Data is usually easy to quantify = were precoded q are used

Question 5

practical limitation = Data often limited + superficial

Answer 5

• Data often limited + superficial = becuase Questionnaires need to be fairl brief - ppl wouldnt do ones that take too long =time consuming

Question 6

practical limitation = incentives

Answer 6

• It may be necessary to offer incentives (to persuade ppl complete q) = adds cost

Question 7

practical limitation = who filled it lol

Answer 7

U never know if the respondents that the Q was intended filled it

Question 8

Theoretical limitation = Lack validity?

Answer 8

u dont know if individuals have understood the Q and there is no researcher to help clarify the meaning. Individuals may lie
answers fixed so what i wanna say not there

Question 9

Theoretical limitation = interpretivists suggest

Answer 9

Questionnaires might appear to be objective and free from bias. However they are subjective because the researcher decided what questions to ask and then they interpret the results. This produces a socially constructed and distorted view of reality

Question 10

Strenght theoretical = Positivists favour questionnaires =? y?

Answer 10

because they are detached and objective form of research as the sociologist’s contact with the participant is minimal so the researcher has little chance of influencing the participate response = so no interviewer bias.

Question 11

theoretical issues in using Questionnaires - positivism just briefly very = 3

Answer 11

• reliability = involved replicability
• Representativeness = !) llarge scale !) Use representives sample(can be undermined by low response rate)
• Detachment and objectivity = for pos scientific researcg is objective (UNBIASED) AND DETACHED ( thus they favour Q cause detached_

Question 12

theoretical issues in using Questionnaires - Interpretivism= just briefly very = 3

Answer 12

• Detachment = disagree with pos as Interp belive we should be close to subject to obtain info
• Lying forgetting and trying to impress
• imposing the researchers meaning = as the researchers choose questions and researcher already decided what is important + wat isnt

Question 13

Feminism and questionnaires?

Answer 13

feminist critical of use of survery methods such questionnaires and structured interviews.