questionnaires Flashcards
what is a questionnaire
asking respondents to give answers to pre-set questions
what is a postal questionnaire
sent out in the post and received in the post
what is an online questionnaire
sent out online and returned online
what is a a self-completion questionnaire
completed by the individual, without direction
what are open-ended questionnaires
respondents are given freedom in answering questions how they wish in their own words
what are close-ended questionnaires
respondents must choose from a limited range of possible answers that the researcher has decided on in advance
what does it mean that questionnaires are standardised
there are set questions that can be repeatable
what does it mean that questionnaires can be operationalised
data can be out into measurable categories
what is a pilot study in questionnaires
the questions would be tested to see if they need clarification, ensuring a larger study would work
what is social desirability in questionnaires
answering in a way that they think the researcher wants
who favours (close-ended) questionnaires
positivists- reliable and objective, producing quantitative data that cab be analysed for patterns and cause-and-effect relationships. they are representative, and questions standardised
who do not favour (close-ended) questionnaires
interpretivists- claim they lack validity, and are inflexible, superficial snapshots that don’t capture an account of respondents’ meanings or insight
example of a questionnaire
Connor and Dewson- poster nearly 4000 questionnaires to students at 14 higher education institutions in study of the factors influencing the decisions of wc students to go to university.
factors of a postal questionnaire
- low response rate, leading to an unrepresentative sample
- can post to a large geographical area, or online to reach a large audience
- researcher and respondent don’t interact, so no particular skills needed
- not very costly to post
factors of self-completion questionnaires
- high response rate if incentive given
- can be good for some sensitive topics e.g. health questions, when anonymous, but not appropriate for other sensitive topics
- people may give socially desirable answers
factors of questionnaires
- not too intrusive as questions not generally in-depth
- quick to create, and quick for participants to fill in, so higher response rate
- produces quantifiable data, favoured by positivists, for correlations and patterns to be identified
- data as reliable due to standardised nature
- participants can easily withdraw if uncomfortable with questions
- researcher and respondent have no contact, so little room for interviewer bias
- researcher may impose own views by identifying what they believe to be important with questions asked
practical strengths of questionnaires
- cost and time effective (can send out a large number of questionnaires, widening sample frame. higher response rate is representative)
- don’t need specific training (cheaper and easier to administer)
practical weaknesses of questionnaires
- inflexible answers
- low response rate
- incentive needed increases cost
- questionnaire has to be brief for higher response rate, limiting number of questions
- ensure language used is clarified, so both researcher and respondent have same interpretation of questions, increasing reliability
ethical strengths of questionnaires
- can be made anonymous
- participants can easily withdraw
- no harm
- limited vulnerability issues
ethical weaknesses of questionnaires
- not appropriate for sensitive topics
- unable to gain a rapport
- confidentiality issues
- mostly detached
- imposing researcher’s meanings subconsciously influences them to believe what researcher believes to be important
- need to be anonymised
- need to consider vulnerable groups
- can ask intrusive questions e.g. Rutter
theoretical strengths of questionnaires
POSITIVISTS FAVOUR
- high reliability due to standardisation
- representative if close-ended
- researchers who use questionnaires tend to pay more attention to making a representative sample
- limited researcher influence
- hypothesis testing, cause-and-effect relationships can be identified
theoretical weaknesses of questionnaires
INTERPRETIVISTS DO NOT FAVOUR
- do not produce qualitative (valid) data
- lack verstehen (understanding)
- respondents may lie/ forget/ not know/ not understand
- unrepresentative with low response rate
- imposing researcher’s meanings
- interpretivists insist detachment means they lack validity, as they can’t clarify the question, and might have different interpretations of the question
