Collecting Data Flashcards
where can questionaires be carried out?
on the phone
On the internet
In the post
Face to face
What are some advantages of questionaires?
practical – quick and cheap means of gathering large amounts of data
seen as reliable
pose fewer ethical issues than most other research methods
What are some disadvantages of questionaires?
may need to offer incentives to get people to take part
data produced tends to be limited
often have a low response rate
people may lie
method is inflexible – once questions are set, the researcher is stuck with them
what is a structured interview?
when there are pre-set questions
what is an unstructured interview?
when there are no set questions – the researcher can ask further questions on topics mentioned
what is a rapport?
a relationship
why is building a rapport useful?
the person being interviewed will likely feel comfortable and answer more questions
what are focus groups?
small groups of people being interviewed together
what is a weakness of focus groups?
people may be influenced by other people’s answers (conformity)
what is a strength of focus groups?
it is quicker, also less interrogative so people will likely feel more comfortable
what makes interviews ethical?
can opt out
can debrief
can get informed consent
what makes interviews unethical?
power imbalance
sensitive issues may upset people
what are the practical issues with interviews?
take time
cost more
takes longer to analyse data
access may be difficult
are interviews reliable?
structured - yes as they have standardised questions
unstructured - not as much as there are no set questions so it is harder to repeat
are interviews representative?
structured – can be as they are quicker so can have a large sample
unstructured – may be hard to be representativ as they take more time so may be unable to have as big of a sample
