Methods - Formal Assessment 1

Question 1

What is the P.E.E set up for practical issues?

Answer 1

Point: A strength/ weakness of interviews/ questionnaires….
Evidence: Evidence/theory
Explanation: Why does the evidence support the point?

Question 2

What is the P.E.E set up for ethical issues?

Answer 2

Point: An ethical issue with interviews/questionnaires…
Example: Example
Evidence: How can this be solved?

Question 3

List three theoretical issues for questionnaires.

Answer 3

• Validity (accurate)
• Reliability (replicable)
• Representativeness (represents a wider society)

Question 4

List three ethical issues with questionnaires.

Answer 4

• Right to withdraw
• Confidentiality
• Personal questions

Question 5

List three practical issues with questionnaires.

Answer 5

• Low response rate
• Limited and superficial
• Biased samples

Question 6

List four issues of validity within questionnaires

Answer 6

• Lying
• Forgetting
• Right ‘answerism’
• Not understanding the question
  e. g m/c citizens potentially understand advanced vocab more in comparison to w/c

Question 7

What type of question provides reliable and replicable data?

Answer 7

Close-ended questions

Question 8

How can research be repeated when using a questionnaire?

Answer 8

By using an identical questionnaire.

• Same questions
• Same order
• Same answer choices

Question 9

What makes questionnaires more reliable in comparison to interviews?

Answer 9

There is no researcher to influence participants answers.

Question 10

What can make findings unrepresentative in questionnaires?

Answer 10

Low response rates

Question 11

Why are questionnaires more representative?

Answer 11

Questionnaires are often large scale and thus more representative.

Question 12

Why do the results of questionnaires have a better chance at being representative of a wider population?

Answer 12

Questionnaires can collect information from a large number of people, the results stand a better chance of being truly representative of the wider population in comparison to methods which study only very small numbers of people.

Question 13

List seven features of structured interviews.

Answer 13

• Standardised
• Pre-set
• Less valid but more reliable
• Produce conclusions that are easy to quantify
• Detached
• Fixed questions
• Quantitative data (numbers)

Question 14

List four practical issues for structured interviews:

Answer 14

Strengths:

• Higher response rate than questionnaires
• Easily quantified results

Weaknesses:

• More expensive than questionnaires
• False data (lying)

Question 15

List four ethical issues for structured interviews:

Answer 15

• Pressure (to answer questions)
• Right to withdraw
• Stressful topics and harm
• Confidentiality

Question 16

List nine features of unstructured interviews:

Answer 16

• Varied questions (or none at all)
• Discovery
• Require more analysis - Therefore less reliable
• More valid, accurate and detailed
• Used for sensitive topics
• Qualitative data - Information about qualities; information that can’t actually be measured
• Hard to analyse findings
• Interview bias
• Open-ended questions

Question 17

List three practical issues of unstructured interviews:

Answer 17

• Time + money (can take several hrs limiting numbers)
• Training (b/g in sociology)
• Interpretational skills (rapport)

Question 18

List three ethical issues of unstructured interviews:

Answer 18

• Pressure
• Right to withdraw
• Confidentiality

Question 19

What is a semi-structured interview?

Answer 19

Involves some improvisation around questions e.g ‘how do you mean?’

Question 20

What is a group interview?

Answer 20

Conversation with a group

Question 21

Why are group interviews less common?

Answer 21

People either don’t speak or don’t shut up

Question 22

List theoretical issues involving unstructured interviews (positivists and interpretivists)

Answer 22

Positivists:

• Prefer questionnaires + structured interviews
• Prefer quantitative data (easier to analyse)
• Reliable+representative data
• Generalises everyone

Interpretivists:

• Prefer participant observation+unstructured/semi-structured interviews
• Produce valid data
• Interested in meaning+valid in-depth data
• Qualitative data

Question 23

List four general issues with interviews:

Answer 23

• Artificial e.g controlled setting. Good for reliability, bad for accuracy.
• Cultural differences e.g when studying other cultures
• Power inequalities e.g powerful interviewer vs powerless interviewee. unethical + affect validity.
• Biased and leading questions will affect validity e.g ‘do you agree?’