questionnaires

Question 1

types of questions

Answer 1

closed ended
open ended
yes / no questions
multiple option questions
multiple choice questions
scaled questions

Question 2

practical advantages of questionnaires

Answer 2

cost - cheap as main costs are printing as postage

time - can cover large population very quickly - Conner and Dewson - 4000 questionnaires to students - study of factors influencing decisions of working-class students

access - as questionnaires are posted nationwide, they can get access to a large number of respondents

Question 3

ethical advantages to questionnaires

Answer 3

informed consent - if respondents choose to return the questionnaire this is seen as informed consent

confidentiality and privacy - most respondents are only identified by a code number and linked names and addresses are kept securely

Question 4

theoretical advantages to questionnaires

Answer 4

replication - same questionnaire is used repeatedly with identical questions in same order and with same choice of answers - high reliability

Validity - positivists - due to being reliable and objective research, data gained has high validity as it accurately reflects views of participants

objectivity - high objectivity as detached form of research where researcher does not influence participants responses - detachment

Question 5

practical disadvantages of questionnaires

Answer 5

cost - to encourage participation, researchers often send follow up questionnaires and offer financial incentives eg prize draws

time limit - questionnaires need to be short as long questionnaires rarely returned - can limit amount of info gathered

Question 6

ethical disadvantages of questionnaires

Answer 6

no real problem - as long as anonymity is maintained - no real ethical issues

Question 7

theoretical issues of questionnaires

Answer 7

truthfulness - answers may not be true - may not understand question or their answers not reflect actual behaviour - Gallup survey suggested 35% Episopalians had been to church when only 16% did - Bruce 1995

response rates - postal questionnaires - lower representativeness of research - often low response rates

snapshots - only a snapshot of a moment - no evidence of change overtime - lower validity

Question 8

positivist views on questionnaires

Answer 8

reliable, objective and representative in quantitative form

allow for correlations to be discovered

help identify social facts and social laws

respondents not influenced by researcher so valid

Question 9

interpretivists views on questionnaires

Answer 9

questionnaires do not produce valid accurate data - predetermined responses so limited info

reveal how interactions occur between people and only produce a snapshot

reveal patterns in data but cannot answer why the pattern exists

Question 10

feminist views on questionnaires

Answer 10

patriarchal view of research

impose researcher’s view

unequal power relationship between dominant researcher and compliant respondent