questionnaires Flashcards
what is a questionnaire?
a set of questions for a respondent to answer, these can either be close ended (quantitative data) or open ended (qualitative)
what are the strengths of structured questionaires?
*practical-
- do not need to train interviewers and can post so quick cheap and easy to administer
-quick and easy to quantify data, can be done by computers
-if postal can be detached as they are completed at a distance
*ethical- if anonymous, more ethically sound than other methods, ensuring confidentiality is maintained, no obligation to answer
-by guaranteeing anonyminity and making it clear that participants do not have to answer any questions that they do not want to, informed consent is gained
*theoretical-
positivists favour as they are highly structured, meaning that the study is high in reliability as the same questions are asked, therefore comparisons can be made. gain quan data - reliability
large number of people- reprenentitative results
-unbiased data
what are the weaknesses of structured questionnaires?
*practical
- limited and superficial data as answers are often too brief
-postal and online - researchers cannot ensure that participant receives it
-lacks flexibility, once complete
*ethical- sensitive issues- difficult to explore certain topics and may not feel comfortable
-deception if data is shared
*interpretivists dislike as detached nature
- no way to clarify meanings
-no verstehen
-no in depth understanding
-imposition of problem- researcher only includes questions which they think are important from their narrow viewpoints
what are the strengths of unstructured questionnaires?
*practical- access is gained, personal characteristics of the researcher will not influence the data
*ethical-if anonymous, they are more ethically sound than other methods as person is protected
-no obligation to answer questions
-can explore certain sensitive issues
-informed consent is less of an issue ass they can choose if they complete
*theoretical- interp like this method as it produces qual data so can clarify meanings and misunderstandings, gain validity and vehstehen
what are the weaknesses of unstructured questionnaires?
*practical-
researcher does not know who has completed the questionairre
-low response rate
-costs money and time
*ethical-
-psycological harm when recalling sensitive topics
-deception if data os shared
*theoretical-
positivists dislike as not highly structured, low reliability, cannot gain quantity data, hard to analyse, not be representative so cannot make accurate generalisations.
what are the examples for structured questionnaires?
*census
*british crime survey
what is the example for unstructured questionnaires?
*dean and Taylor- claimants experience of unemployment,85. claimants, 90 mins, the wording of the questions were adapted to fit each person and appropriate questions taken out.
