Research Methods- Topic 4 (Paper1)

Question 1

Define closerd-ended questions.

Answer 1

Respondents must choose from a limited range of possible answers that a researcher has decided in advance.

Question 2

Define open-ended question.

Answer 2

Respondents are free to give whatever answers they desire, in their own words and without any preselected answers being offered by the researchers.

Question 3

Summarise practical advantages of questionaires.

Answer 3

Quick and cheap.
No need to recruit and train interviewers to collect data.

Question 4

Summarise the reliability of questionaires.

Answer 4

They are repeated.
There’s no researcher to influence the respondents answers.

Question 5

Summarise hypothesis testing of questionaires.

Answer 5

We can make statements about the possible causes of low achievement.
Enable us to identify the causes, they attract to positivist sociologists.

Question 6

Summarise detachment and objectivity of questionaires.

Answer 6

They are detached and unbiased method where the sociologists personal involvement with their respondents are kept to a minimum.

Question 7

Summarise representativeness of questionaires.

Answer 7

Can collect information from a large number of people.

Question 8

Summarise ethical issues of questionaires.

Answer 8

Fewer ethical issues.
May ask intrusive or sensitive questions, respondents are generally under no obligation to answer them.

Question 9

Summarise practical problems of questionaires.

Answer 9

The data from questionnaires tend to be limited and superficial.

Question 10

Summarise low response rates of questionaires.

Answer 10

Few of those who receive a questionnaire bother to complete and return it.
Follow up questionnaires lead to adds of cost and time.

Question 11

Summarise inflexibility of questionaires.

Answer 11

Not flexible- once they have been made the researcher is struck with it.

Question 12

Summarise questionaires as snapshots.

Answer 12

Questionnaires are snapshots. They only give a picture of social reality at one moment.

Question 13

Summarise detachment of questionaires.

Answer 13

Cirourel 1968 argues that data from questionnaires lack validity and doesn’t give a true picture of what has been studied.
Detached from all primary methods.

Question 14

Summarise lying,forgetting and ‘right answerism’ of questionaires.

Answer 14

Problems of validity are created when respondents give answers that aren’t full or frank. They try to please respondents may life, forget, not know, not understand or second guess the researcher.

Question 15

Summarise imposing the researchers meaning of questionaires.

Answer 15

The researcher has decided what is important by choosing the questions.
Use close-ended questions most of the time. limited response.
Use open-ended questions some times so respondents are free to answer as they please.

Question 16

Give 3 reasons why positivists might favour questionnaires.

Answer 16

1) Achieve the main goal.
2) Pre-coded responses.
3) They are large scale and thus more representative.

Question 17

2 reasons why interpretivits might reject the use of questionnaires.

Answer 17

They tend to impose the researchers ideas on respondents.
They fail to achieve the main interpretivits goal of validity.

Question 18

Operationalisation of concepts of using questionnaires to study education.

Answer 18

This involves turning abstract ideas into measurable forms. This can be particularly difficult when creating a questionnaire for pupils.
It may produce answers that are based on respondents misunderstanding of what the question means.

Question 19

Samples and sampling frames of using questionnaires to study education.

Answer 19

Schools routing keep lists of pupils, staff and parents. These can provide accurate sampling frames from which the sociologists can draw a representative sample.

Question 20

Access and response rate of using questionnaires to study education.

Answer 20

Response rates for questionnaires are often low. Schools may be reluctant to allow sociologists to disturb questionnaires because of the disruption to lessons that it may cause.

Question 21

Practical issues of using questionnaires to study education.

Answer 21

Questionnaires are very useful for gathering large quantities of basic factual educational information quickly and cheaply.

Question 22

Anonymity and detachment of using questionnaires to study education.

Answer 22

Questionnaires can be particularly useful when researching sensitive educational issues such as bullying, where their anonymity may overcome pupils embarrassed or fear of retribution from bullies.

Question 23

Suggest 3 problems you might have in designing a questionnaire to be completed by seven-year-old pupils on the subject of school rules.

Answer 23

Peer pressure.
Need consent.
Low attention span.