Questionnaires

Question 1

What are closed questionnaires?

Answer 1

Respondents must choose from a limited range of answers that has been decided in advance. Makes it easy to quantify

Question 2

What is an open questionnaire?

Answer 2

Respondents are free to give whatever answer they wish in their own words

Question 3

What are the practical advantages of questionnaires/

Answer 3

Quick and cheap which means you can gather from a large number of people
No need to recruit of train interviewers
Easy to quantify

Question 4

Why are questionnaires reliable?

Answer 4

The identical questionnaire can be used again and again

No researcher present to influence the answers

Question 5

Why do positivists favour questionnaires?

Answer 5

Quantifiable

Detached and objective

Question 6

Why are questionnaires representative?

Answer 6

Information can be collected from a large number of people

Question 7

How are questionnaires ethical?

Answer 7

Person’s choice whether to fill it in

Question 8

What are the practical problems of questionnaires?

Answer 8

Data is limited and superficial
Necessary to offer incentives to get it filled in
Researcher cannot be sure whether they have received it and if it was completed by whom it was addressed to

Question 9

Why do questionnaires have a low response rate?

Answer 9

Many who receive it don’t bother to return it. Those who do return it will likely to be similar and therefore makes it unrepresentative

Question 10

Why don’t questionnaires give a fully valid picture?

Answer 10

Give a snapshot of one point in time and don’t show how things change

Question 11

What is wrong with detachment in questionnaires?

Answer 11

the lack of contact means there is no way to clarify what the question means to the respondent or how to deal with misunderstanding.

Question 12

How can questionnaire answers be inaccurate?

Answer 12

They may lie, forget, not understand, some may give untrue respectable answers (right answerism)

Question 13

Why do interpretivists argue questionnaires are more likely to impose researchers own meaning?

Answer 13

They choose the questions

Question 14

What can be a problem with using questionnaires to research education?

Answer 14

Children are more likely to misunderstand, especially if its not written in a way they can read. Therefore the validity is questioned. Could be oversimplified too much so there is no value.

Question 15

How is finding a sample in school easy?

Answer 15

Schools have lists of all students, parents and teachers

Question 16

How can a questionnaire be off putting for children?

Answer 16

It has the appearance of a formal document so it looks boring

Question 17

What can you say about the response rates of questionnaires distributed in schools?

Answer 17

Rate is high. Once the head has approved it, teachers may feel under pressure to have it completed. This means it is more representative. Although some teachers may be too busy to complete a questionnaire

Question 18

What are the practical advantages of questionnaires in schools?

Answer 18

Useful for gathering large quantities of basic factual educational information quickly and cheaply. Eg Micheal Rutter and questionnaires in secondary schools- large scale.

Question 19

What are the practical issues of researching education with questionnaires?

Answer 19

Limited and superficial answers, like in Rutter’s study
Written questionnaires require the participant to read and a child may not
Children have a shorter attention span so it needs to be brief = limited information
Children have a smaller memory so may not know the answers
Schools have a ‘grapevine’ so children may have already decided their response together before they receive it which reduces validity
Teachers are busy
Teachers answers may be invalid because they may judge the researchers intent and adjust their answers

Question 20

Positives for questionnaires and anonymity and detachment in schools

Answer 20

Useful when researching sensitive issues like bullying
Response rate may be higher because of this and pupils may be more likely to reveal details of their experiences- validity

Question 21

What do interpretivists think of questionnaires?

Answer 21

Emphasises the importance of rapport so they reject it