Lesson 11 (Questionnaires)

Question 1

What are the three types of questionnaires, who are they favoured by/ what data is collected?

Answer 1

Structured: close ended questions that collect quantitative data that is favoured by positivist

Semi-structured: close ended and open ended questions collecting both quantitative and qualitative data favoured by interpretivists and positivists

Unstructured: open ended questions collecting qualitative data [reliable, meaning, interpretations] favoured by positivists

Question 2

Advantages of questionnaires (in general)?

Answer 2

• inexpensive way to gather data (particularly self-completion questionnaires)
• results from questionnaires can be quantified into graphs and percentages [easy to analyse and compare, identify trends]
• unstructured questionnaires produce data that is high in validity
• confidentiality is ensured [participants are more comfortable to give accuracy, more valid or reliable results]
• questionnaire could be sent out through the internet [easy, quick, cheap, access a lot of people]

Question 3

Disadvantages of questionnaires [in general]?

Answer 3

• there might be gaps in data (e.g. if dishonest answers or skipped questions which leads to inaccuracy and low reliability)
• answers may be difficult to compare and contrast if qualitative data collected
• survey fatigue (especially if survey/ questionnaire is long) which may lead to low response rate, therefore less representative sample