Postal Questionnaires - PERVERT Flashcards
Practical factors
Strengths: Postal questionnaires offer a cost-effective and efficient way to collect data from a large and geographically dispersed sample.
Weaknesses: However, postal questionnaires may have longer response times and lower response rates compared to other methods, and researchers must account for potential issues such as non-response bias.
Ethical factors
Strengths: Postal questionnaires provide anonymity to respondents, allowing them to feel more comfortable providing honest and candid responses.
Weaknesses: Nonetheless, researchers must still ensure informed consent and provide clear instructions to participants to minimize misunderstandings or concerns about privacy and confidentiality.
Reliability
Strengths: Postal questionnaires can yield reliable data when questions are clearly formulated and response options are well-defined.
Weaknesses: However, reliability may be affected by factors such as missing data, respondent fatigue, and the inability to clarify questions or probe for more detailed responses.
Validity
Strengths: Postal questionnaires can demonstrate high content validity when questions are carefully designed to address the research objectives and capture relevant variables.
Weaknesses: Yet, the absence of interviewer supervision may limit researchers’ ability to ensure respondents’ understanding of questions or to verify the accuracy of responses.
Examples
Strengths: Postal questionnaires are commonly used in epidemiological studies, public opinion polls, and market research to gather data on demographics, behaviors, and attitudes.
Weaknesses: However, postal questionnaires may not be suitable for all research contexts, particularly those requiring complex or sensitive data collection methods that may benefit from direct interaction with participants.
Representativeness
Strengths: Postal questionnaires can enhance the representativeness of findings by allowing researchers to reach a diverse sample of participants across different demographic groups and geographic locations.
Weaknesses: Nonetheless, the representativeness of postal questionnaires may be limited by factors such as response rates, sample characteristics, and the potential for self-selection bias among respondents.
Theoretical factors
Strengths: Postal questionnaires can contribute to theoretical development by providing systematic data on specific variables or constructs, allowing researchers to test hypotheses and refine theoretical models.
Weaknesses: However, the absence of interviewer supervision may limit researchers’ ability to explore unexpected themes or to probe for deeper insights that may emerge in qualitative research.
