Questionnaires

Question 2

Practical advantages

Answer 2

• Quick and cheap → able to gather large sets of data ( postal / online)
• No need to recruit and train interviewers
• Data easy to quantify → processed by computer to provide relationships between variables

Question 3

Ethical advantages

Answer 3

• less of chance for psychological harm
• relatively not intrusive – not threatening to break privacy
• respondents tend to be more honest

Question 4

Theoretical - reliability

Answer 4

Reliability
- Has standard procedure → replicable / researchers obtain same answers

• No researcher present to influence answers
• Allows comparisons over time and between different societies

Question 5

Theoretical - representativeness

Answer 5

Representativeness
- Collects from large sample so → reflects wider society efficiently

• tend to pay more attention to the need to represent a sample
• researcher not present so little influence – lack of methodological perspective

Question 6

Practical disadvantages

Answer 6

• Data limits and superficial → as they are brief and limit amount of info from each ppt
• Incentive sometimes have to be used to gather info – increases cost
• Cannot be certain if people actually receive questionnaires in post
• Can be difficult to measure if the person it was sent to was who returned it
• Once the questionnaire is finalised → stuck with questions so are unable to explore any new areas of interest
• ambiguous / leading questions

Question 7

Ethical disadvantages

Answer 7

• sensitive questions  could trigger a person / distress
• need consent  without consent questionnaire cannot take place can be difficult
• guarantee anonymity – people may not want to take part/ feel exposed
• right not to answer- may not get as much data than other parts making in unequal
• may disclose immoral responses that have to be passed on

Question 8

Theoretical disadvantaged

Answer 8

With postal questionnaires many don’t bother to complete them
HITE’s study 100,000 studies sent out only 4.5% returned

• Higher response rate if follow up calls sent out → increases cost
• Complex language - can limit those who are able to answer- lowers representative

Question 9

HITES study

Answer 9

With postal questionnaires many don’t bother to complete them
HITE’s study 100,000 studies sent out only 4.5% returned

Question 10

Theoretical disadvantage - validity

Answer 10

• lacks validity as unable to what ppt do as could lie or not understand
• Interpretivists argue bias or researcher comes through as they chose questions showing what is important
• Lack of contact means no way of knowing if they both interpret the questions the same way
• Fail to produce a fully valid picture → as do not capture how behaviours change
• not always representative as low response rate
• close end questions - respondent has to fit their views – options aren’t flexible / fixed answers not valid

Question 11

Positivists viewpoint

Answer 11

Favours as
* Achieves reliability/ generalisability and representativeness
* Standardised questions → produces reliable data because others can replicate
* Pre coded responses allow us to produce quantitative data
identity and measure behaviour patterns
* Establish a cause and effect relationship
* Often large scale thus more representative