Quantitative Primary Methods: Questionnaires - Strengths and Weaknesses Flashcards
How many strengths and weaknesses will you need to know for questionnaires?
5 strengths and 5 weaknesses
What are the 3 types of considerations for strengths and weaknesses? (PET)
Practical, Theoretical, Ethical
Why is accessing a large sample of people a strength? Is it P, E or T?
Because Questionnaires can be given out in different ways. This is a Practical Strength
Which PET consideration is Literacy a weakness for? Why is Literacy a weakness?
It is a Practical strength, and if the reader can’t understand the questions and the researcher is not present, they will not complete it properly.
Why is the sample being representative a Strength? Is it P, E or T?
This is a strength as it means findings for the overall population can be generalised. It is a Theoretical strength
Why is the researcher not knowing who actually fills in a questionnaire a weakness? Is it P, E or T?
Because the wrong group of people could fill in the questionnaire. This is a Theoretical Weakness
Why is data being easy to Standardise a strength? Is it P, E or T?
Because it means the questions for each participant will be answered the same way. This is a Theoretical Strength
Why is the response rate a potential weakness? Is it P, E or T?
It is a weakness as usually less than 5% of questionnaires given out are ever given back. This is a Theoretical strength
Why is Objectivity a Strength? Is it P, E or T?
This is a strength as it will not affect results as the researcher is not present during the answering. This is an Ethical Strength.
Why is the limited depth of answers by participants a weakness? Is it P, E or T?
This is a weakness as the researcher will not be able to better know why participants feel certain ways. This is a Theoretical Weakness
What will the limited depth of answering available for participants affect? Is this a P, E, or T factor?
The validity of the research. This is a Theoretical factor
Why do Positivists like Questionnaires and why is this a Strength to them? Is it P, E or T?
Questionnaires produce Quantitative data which allows patterns and trends to be found easier. This is a Practical Strength
Why could Social Desirability be a weakness? Is it P, E or T?
Because the wording of the questions could reflect the opinions of the researcher. This is a Theoretical Weakness
