3 RM - Questionaires Flashcards
What are the 3 types of questionnaires ?
- Posted/emailed to respondents
- Wait whilst respondent fills in questionnaire
- Given to respondent who returns once completed
Strengths of email/post questionaries
Easy to send to lots of people
Large number of responses = represents target population and covers wider geographical area
Reliable as its same Q’s in same order
Practical - quick, cheap, no researcher training required
Increase validity - researcher not present so respondents may feel more comfortable to honesltly answer
Ethics - anonymous, mains confidentiality
Weaknesses of email/post questionnaire’s
Low response rates
Time consuming for respondents who may be uninterested
Inflexibility - impossible to elaborate on answers/ explore areas of interest
Respondents may be influenced in answers by others in their home
People with simulator characteristics may be more inclined to respond - unrepresentative?
Strengths of researcher waiting questionaries
Higher representativeness as there is a higher response rate
Researcher can assist with misunderstood questions
Weaknesses of researcher waiting questionaires
Some people may refuse to fill in - Low representation
Researcher could influence answers given - reducing validity
More time consuming for the researcher
What is one issue with respondents returning the questionnaire ?
They may not return it - does reduce the researcher effect
What is the researcher effect ?
Presence of researcher may influence the respondent in various ways EG: body language, gender, age, ethnic origin
What is an open question ?
There is a space provided for respondent to write what they want - gives greater detail and qualitative data
What is a closed question ?
Requires short answers (yes/no). Usually listed for the respondent to tick
Easier to quantify and creates quantitative data
What is a leading question ?
A question that influences the respondent to answer in a way that the researcher wants
What is an ambiguous question?
A question that is unclear or difficult to understand
What is a recall question ?
A question that requires the respondent to remember something from the past
What is a pilot study?
A small scale version of the study done first to check whether the research will work. Eg: check the sample is representative.
Helps to iron out any problems the study - eg: the questions making sense
What is the census ?
A questionnaire done every 10 years by the government
Sent through the post to every uk household
Closed questions on jobs,number in family,religion
Helps to gain a full picture of uk society
Strengths of the census
Representative - every uk household
Easy to analyse - closed ended questions
Allows government to plan for future policies
