Research methods - open + closed questions Flashcards
What is an open question?
A question that allows respondents to give their own answers without limitations. Generates qualitative data.
What are the strengths of open questions?
- Detailed, full information is gathered
- Responses aren’t limited so participants can give true answers (more valid)
What are the limitations of open questions?
- Hard to compare and analyse data
- Can do a content analysis but if there are rare responses this won’t be very useful
What is a closed question?
A question that allows respondents to select a response that is limited.
What are the strengths of closed questions?
- Efficient way to collect specific data
- Responses can be compared and analysed easily
What are the limitations of closed questions?
- Data lacks detail
- The limited response options may not be able to capture the range of responses participants want to give (low validity)
What are closed questions - rating scales?
Limit responses turn them in a quantitative format giving quantitative data. EG: 0 - never 1 - Rarely 2 - Sometimes 3 - Often
What are the strengths of closed questions rating scales?
It gives a wider range of responses yet is still easy to process and analyse.
What are the limitations of closed questions rating scales?
The scale points may be open to subjective interpretation, this lowers reliability.
What are closed questions - Likert rating scales?
Limit responses and turn opinions into a quantitative format giving quantitative data. EG: 1 - Strongly agree 2- Agree 3 - Not sure 4 - Disagree 5 - Strongly disagree
What are the strengths of Likert rating scales?
- A range of responses is available
- Trying each response to a number value makes it easy to analyse
- Not forced choice option of ‘not sure’ means data may be more valid
What are the limitations of Likert rating scales?
- ‘Not sure’ is not informative, some participants may use this response a lot
- Descriptors are open to subjective interpretation
