questionnaires Flashcards
what are the three types of questionnaires
- postal
- telephone
- internet
what are the two types of questions that can be asked
- open ended
- close ended
what is a practical advantage
reach a wide geographically dispersed sample (connor and dewson)
EXAMPLE: census (whole population) and british crime survey (50,000)
what is connor and dewsons study
practical advantage:
- posted 4000 qs
- 14 different unis
- about factors affecting WC children’s decisions when going to uni
advantage because: reach wide group from different backgrounds and parts of the country
what is an example of a self completion questionnaire
census
what data do qs produce and who favours then
quantitative data and are favoured by positivists
why do interpretivists reject them
provide a static picture of social life and often lack validity
what is a practical disadvantage
low response rate (hite)
questions may be triggering or people may not want to answer it
what is hites study
low response rate or just over 4.5% from the 100,000 questionnaires she sent out regarding ‘love passion and emotional violence’
what is an ethical advantage
informed consent: by agreeing to complete qs, everyone will have given consent (hite, don’t have to answer)
what is an ethical issue
age appropriate questioning: if being answered by vulnerable groups for example children - need to be sure it appropriate ( schofield)
what is schofields experiment
research into sexual behaviour, a young girl was asked ‘are you a virgin’ she answered ‘no not yet’
what is a theoretical advantage
reliability and representativeness: easy to replicate - standardised and systematic. Large sample sizes makes it representative ONLY if response rate is high for example census
what is a theoretical disadvantage
imposition bias: by writing the questions researcher is imposing their ideas and values - decide what they feel is important to ask. Shipman ‘ impose a straight jacket on respondents’
