Practical factors

Question 1

Questionnaires

Answer 1

Strengths - Easy, cheap, lack of research effects, quick to analyse.
Limitations - Low response rate, misunderstanding questions, leading questions and closed questionnaires mean answers may not fit in.

Question 2

Interviews

Answer 2

Strengths - Unstructured and semi-structured allows for rapport to be built, allows for clarification, unstructured and semi-structured have flexibility.
Limitations - Time (especially for unstructured and semi-structured) and costs of training interviewers (especially unstructured).

Question 3

Observations

Answer 3

Strengths - Flexible, overt means researcher can ask questions, some groups that are hard to access means this is preferrable.
Limitations - Time, cost, researcher effects, requires certain personal characteristics, covert relies on memory, some groups are hard to access.

Question 4

Experiments

Answer 4

Strengths - Variables are controlled.
Limitations - Time and cost.

Question 5

Statistics

Answer 5

Strengths - Cheap and easily accessible.
Limitations - May not ask questions specific to research.

Question 6

Personal documents

Answer 6

Strengths - Cheap.
Limitations - Can be hard to access.

Question 7

Public documents

Answer 7

Strengths - Some are easy to access and are cheap.
Limitations - Can take time to access under FoI Act.

Question 8

Historical documents and prior research

Answer 8

Strengths - Cheap, time, can be easy to access.
Limitations - Research aims may not be the same, questions may not be specific to research.

Question 9

Content analysis

Answer 9

Strengths - Cheap and easy to access.
Limitations - Time.