Questionnaires Flashcards
Is a researcher needed or is it a self report method?
Do not necessarily require a researcher but involves a self report written answer from the ppt
What is a questionnaire?
A written group of set questions that is used to collect a large amount of data from a group of people.
What does a questionnaire tend to ask about?
Asks about a topic of interest to find out the ppts beliefs, feelings, thoughts and attitudes.
What type of questions can a questionnaire ask?
Open-ppt writes their own response that is appropriate
Closed-ppt picks most appropriate option that reflects their views
What type of formats can a questionnaire be in?
Examples
Opinion survey or poll
Attitude scales
Psychological tests
Strengths of questionnaires
- high validity as same questions asked to each ppt in the same procedure
- can be completed by post which removes researcher bias as researcher can’t influence results if they’re not there
- can be repeated to check for reliability as there is a standardised procedure
- can obtain a large amount of standardised data quickly and conveniently as questionnaires can be sent by post or done on the spot
- face validity by asking other professionals in the field to review the questions before the questionnaire sent out
Weaknesses of questionnaires
- if the questions restrict respondent answers then they may not collect real life valid data. Thus conclusions may not be valid
- closed questions prevent expansion in answers and open questions have limited space. So they may not be able to give their full opinion
- can be affected by extraneous variables such as where the ppt did the questionnaire or the gender or friendliness of the researcher. So reducing reliability
- response rates to postal questionnaires can be low, effecting the amount of data collection so detailed conclusions can’t be made
- social desirability bias could affect validity
What type of data is collected using questionnaires?
Qualitative and quantitative
