questionnaires

Question 1

questionnaires

Answer 1

favoured by positivists, written or self-completed questionnaires are a form of social survey and can be distributed in a range of ways - notably, via post, email or handed out in person. typically a list of pre-set questions that are closed-end questions with pre-coded answers

Question 2

advantages (5)

Answer 2

practical - questionnaires are cheap and quick

quantifiable data

representative - reach a geographically widespread research sample

reliable - the questionnaire can be easily repeated due to how the questions are pre-set

limited ethical issues - the respondent is under no obligation to answer the question

Question 3

disadvantages (4)

Answer 3

response rate - postal questionnaires, in particular, obtain a very low response rate, which may hinder the representativity

low validity - people may be more willing to lie

unrepresentative - you are likely to get a certain group of people, e.g: the unemployed or elderly, that answer the questionnaire as many other people bought be too busy, and so you won’t get a particularly representative sample

the interviewer isn’t here to ask follow-up questions and explain questions if the participants do not understand