Questionnaires/ Social Surveys Flashcards
What are they?
Set of questions
- can produce both quantitative and qualitative
- open/ closed questions
- most useful for quantitative research
- can be sent by post, telephone, online, face to face
Response rate
How many of the sample actually respond; significant impact on representativeness
Incentive
To try and improve response rates, money, prize draws can be offered - does increase cost
Structured interview
Questionnaires can be asked to each respondent in person - improves response rate
Acronym
QQRVRPET
- quantitative
- qualitative
- reliability
- validly
- representativeness
- practical
- ethical
- theoretical
Reliability
Repeat research method and get same reliable result
Validity
Does method give genuine insight
Representativeness
Does the method produce results that can be generalised to the full population
Are questionnaires valid
No - open answers likely to be limited
Are questionnaires representative
Potential to reach a large sample - problems with response rate
What can questionnaires produce?!
Quantitative and qualitative data and is reliable
Are questionnaires practical?
Yes
Are questionnaires ethical?
Fewer than others
- need to keep anonymous
- might be inappropriate for sensitive subjects
Questionnaires theory
Positivist - provides reliable, quantitate data
Large scale surveys
The census and crime survey of England and Wales
