5 - Asking Questions Flashcards

1
Q

Advantages of open questions

A

respondents can answer in their own terms
allows unusual answers
allows tapping into participant’s knowledge
good for exploring new areas

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2
Q

disadvantages of open questions

A

time consuming to record/code
length may put respondents off
inaccuracies in transcription of spoken answers

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3
Q

coding, and the types of coding

A

deriving themes/categories of behaviour. researcher usually assigns number to code
allows information to be coded quantitatively
–> pre coding and post coding

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4
Q

post coding

A

going back to info to look for incidences of theme or category, may be unreliable because of inconsistencies in judgement from different coders

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5
Q

pre coding

A

when researcher designs coding grame before administering the survey

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6
Q

3 basic principles of coding

A

categories are mutually exclusive
categories are exhaustive (including “other”)
clear rules regarding how codes are applied (ensuring consistency)

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7
Q

advantages of closed questions

A
easy to process
easy to compare
set of answers help clarify the meaning of the question
quick and easy to complete
reduces risk of bias from recorder
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8
Q

disadvantages of closed questions

A

answers lack authenticity/spontaneity
care needs to be taken to prevent overlap in categories
difficult to make answers exhaustive
irritates respondents when answer categories aren’t relatable
reduces conversation/rapport in interviews

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9
Q

types of questions

A
  • personal factual questions (age, occupation, how often do you go to the movies? etc. often have to rely on memory to answer)
  • factual questions about entity or event (good when info isn’t available elsewhere, leads to problems because people aren’t careful/systematic observers)
  • questions about beliefs (should Canada maintain military presence abroad?)
  • questions about attitudes (common in structured interviews/questionaires, Likert scale is common)
  • questions about knowledge (who was Canada’s first prime minister?)
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10
Q

general rules for designing questions

A
  • keep research question in mind (reduces risk of asking irrelevant questions)
  • being specific (what exactly do you need to know?
  • recognize ambiguity (how would you answer it?)
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11
Q

what does it mean to avoid ambiguity?

A
  • avoid “often” and “regularly” as measures of frequency

- clarify words that mean different things to different people (ex: dinner)

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12
Q

what does it mean to avoid long questions?

A

-long questions may be nice for questions asking about behaviour, the longer they take to answer, the more it may facilitate memory recall

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13
Q

what does it mean to avoid double-barrelled questions?

A

ex: how frequently do you cook and clean? respondent may cook but never clean

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14
Q

what does it mean to avoid general questions?

A

.

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15
Q

what does it mean to avoid leading questions?

A

.

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16
Q

what does it mean to avoid questions that ask several questions

A

ex: who did you vote for in the 2011 federal election? should be did you vote in the 2011 federal election? if yes, which party did you vote for?

17
Q

what does it mean to avoid negatives?

A

confusion can lead to innaccurate answers

18
Q

what does it mean to minimize technical values?

A

.

19
Q

what does it mean to ensure respondents have requisite knowledge?

A

-if respondents do not know about topic, answers won’t be meaningful

20
Q

what does it mean to ensure symmetry between question and answer set?

A

ex: do you believe in God? strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree

21
Q

what does it mean to ensure answer set is balanced?

A

equal number of positive responses to negative responses

22
Q

what does it mean to not overstretch people’s memories?

A

ex: how many times do you drink in a year? vs how many times do you drink in a week?

23
Q

what does it mean to provide “don’t know” options?

A
  • avoids forcing expression of views that aren’t held
  • allows out for those too lazy to do thinking (lower education, later questions in survey are more likely to utilize ‘don’t know’ option
24
Q

what does it mean to consider question order?

A
  • all respondents should receive questions in the same order?
  • researchers should be sensitive to possible effects of order
25
Q

tips on question order

A
  • general questions before specific questions (if specific is before general, aspects of specific answer may be omitted from answer for general because it has already been addressed)
  • opinions/attitudes before behaviour/knowledge (ex: spouse reports doing 20% of housework, influences question ‘is housework shared equally?’)
  • early questions should be related to announced topic
  • important/meaningful questions early to stimulate interest
  • questions that cause embarrassment/anxiety go at the end but not the very end or else the interview will leave a negative impression
  • personal questions that are apparently irrelevant to research question go at the end
  • long questions should be grouped by topic
  • if respondent answers something that will be asked later in the interview, still ask the question because answer might’ve changed
26
Q

vertical vs horizontal answers

A
  • vertical reduces likelihood of confusion

- vertical clearly distinguishes answers from questions

27
Q

vignette questions

A

-a form of closed question used to examine ethical standards and beliefs by presenting scenario(s) and asking how participants would respond

28
Q

advantages of vignette questions

A
  • anchors responses in realistic scenario, reduces unreflective reply
  • because vignette is about other people, allows for distance between question and respondent, leading to more candid replies
29
Q

disadvantages of vignette questions

A
  • impossible to establish assumptions made by respondent about the scenario
  • difficult to establish how far from respondent’s normative views (ie what people say they’ll do and what they do are different)
30
Q

pilot studies

A
  • pilot study cannot use members of sample in true study
  • if study will use closed questions, open questions can generate closed answers
  • can help develop interviewer’s confidence
  • helps identify unuseful question, highlights needed modifications
  • flags questions that make respondents bored/uncomfortable
  • identifies questions most often skipped
  • determines adequacy of instructions
  • offers opportunity to evaluate overall flow
31
Q

using existing questions

A
  • already piloted, tested for reliability/validity
  • allows for comparisons to other research
  • provide insight on best way to approach research