NEA Flashcards
6 different types of question for questionnaires
Covert observation
Fixed category response
Ranking
Likert scale
Semi-open response
Open response
Covert observation meaning as a type of questionnaire question
You answer the question yourself by simply observing the person in question e.g their age/ gender (as it can come across as rude asking someone their age)
Benefits of using covert observation in questionnaire (you answer the question yourself e.g someone’s age/ gender by simply observing them instead of actually asking them)
-You don’t have to ask someone their age as it can seem rude
-You avoid starting with a very boring question but instead can start with a more interesting question so that the person in question is more likely to give you their time and not walk away
-It saves you and the person in question time as they are responding to less questions but you still get an answer down on your questionnaire sheet
Drawbacks of using covert observation in questionnaires (where you answer the question yourself by simply observing the person in question)
Relies on assumptions- you may guess their age wrong which can lead to inaccurate data and conclusions e.g 50% of people above the age of 30 agreed with…when in reality it was only 10%
Covert observation- what it is and benefits and drawbacks of using it in a questionnaire
You answer the question yourself by simply observing the person in question e.g their age/ gender instead of actually asking them
Good- you avoid coming across as rude by asking someone their age
Good- saves you and the person in question time as they have one less question to answer so are also more likely to stay and give you their time
Good- avoids starting with a really boring question, again they’re more likely to answer the rest of the questions and give you their time
Bad- relies on assumptions, you can easily guess wrong leading to inaccurate data and conclusions
Fixed category response meaning in questionnaire
There’s a strict number of options that the respondent is given to choose from
E.g How did you travel into the town centre today
Choose one from: car, bike, train, bus, foot, other
Benefits of using fixed category response in questionnaires (where the respondent is given a strict number of options to choose from. E.g How did you travel into the town centre today. Choose one from: car, bike, bus, train, foot , other)
Easy to present data with (to then be able to analyse) e.g create bar charts
Drawbacks of using Fixed category responses in questionnaires (where the respondent is given a strict number of options to choose from. (E.g How did you travel into the town centre today? Choose one from: car, bike, bus, train, foot, other)
They might fit into multiple categories in which case their answer won’t be 100% accurate or they may select other even when one or more of the given options does apply to them
The ‘other’ category is hard to analyse/ make conclusions from as you don’t know what it is
Fixed category response- what it is and benefits and drawbacks of using it in questionnaires
Where the respondent is given a strict number of options to choose from (e.g How did you travel into the town centre today? Choose one from: car, bike, bus, train, foot, other)
Good: easy to present data with e.g creates bar charts
Bad: They might fit into multiple categories
Bad: They might fit into ‘other’ which is hard to analyse and make conclusions from
Ranking meaning in questionnaire
Respondents place options in order of preference e.g on potential flood defences to install in teh area etc
Drawbacks of ranking in questionnaire (Respondents place options in order of preference e.g on which flood defences to be installed in the area)
- People might not hold a strong enough opinion on the matter so may answer randomly
- Time consuming to answer- People hesitant/ doubt their answers
- The lowest ranked option doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad/ the highest ranked option doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good
- very hard to analyse
- May be impacted by insider/ outsider perspective or tourist/ local perspective etc
Ranking- what is is and drawbacks of using it in questionnaires
Respondents place categories in order of preference e.g on which flood defences to be installed in the area
Bad: People might not hold a strong enough opinion on the matter so may answer randomly
Bad: Time consuming to answer- people are hesitant/ doubt their answers
Bad: Lowest ranked option doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad and highest ranked option doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good etc
Bad: Very hard to analyse
Bad: Can be influenced by insider/ outsider or tourist/ local perspective
Likert scale meaning in questionnaire
A statement is read out and the respondent is asked whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree or neither agree/ disagree
Drawbacks of using Likert scale in questionnaire (a statement is read out and respondents are asked to what extent they strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree or neither agree/ disagree:
-Doesn’t tell you the reason for the respondant’s extent of agree
-You have to ensure that the statement isn’t leading or bias/ shows your personal opinion
- Often if people don’t know the answer then they choose neutral, not because they genuinely have a neutral opinion about it
- You may agree with some parts of the statement but disagree with other parts
Likert scale- meaning and drawbacks of using it in questionnaires
A statement is read out and respondant’s are then asked to what extent they strongly agree/ agree/ disagree/ strongly disagree/ disagree/ neither agree nor disagree
Bad: Doesn’t tell you the reason for the respondant’s extent of agree
Bad: You have to ensure that the statement isn’t leading or bias/ shows your personal opinion
Bad: Often if people don’t know the answer then they choose neutral, not because they genuinely have a neutral opinion about it
Bad: You may agree with some parts of the statement but disagree with other parts
Semi open response meaning in questionnaire
Respondants can answer with relative freedom but with small constraints e.g ‘What 3 words would you use to describe the local shopping centre’, not ‘What words would you use to describe the shopping centre’ where they can use however many words they want
OR
You ask the respondent and open question but on your clipboard you have the options (which you can add to if their response doesn’t fit into the categories you currently have)
Benefits and drawbacks of using semi- open responses in questionnaires
Good: Data is in neat format when you go to present it (when you ask an open question but have set options/ on your clipboard that you categorise the responses with)
Bad: Some words have a subjective meaning e.g quiet to one person might mean dead silent but to another person it might mean you can still hear animals and cars and neighbours but just not that loud
Bad: If you ask for adjectives some people might not know what adjectives are but if you say ‘describe’….and you’re looking for adjectives they might say ‘right old dump’ etc
Drawbacks of using open response in questionnaires
-Hard to process and analyse
-Time consuming
-You might not be able to wrote everything they say down and miss key points
-People rush their answers
- Hard to record- asking to voice record might create ethical issues
Pilot studies meaning
A trial run of the data collection method where you collect and analyse a small amount of data.
Try out or ‘pilot’ all aspects including location, time of day, sampling strategy etc
Then you think ‘is this the type of data that I actually need’ and then based on this you either keep or change the method that you used for the real data collection.
(Admit to doing it, especially if you adapted the original method, as it forms part of the evaluation)
Opportunistic sampling meaning
When you see someone you stop them- there’s no set system involved
(This is the most common type of sampling in questionnaires)
Cluster/ target sampling
Where you target a specific group e.g age/ gender/ wheelchair users etc
Snowball sampling meaning
You decide on the first sample then that person decides on the next sample and so on
E.g Please answer this questionnaire then forward it on to someone else
(It’s very rarely used and is unreliable)
