Social Surveys and their Question Structure Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

Define ‘social surveys’.

A

The systematic collection of data from a sample of people to represent a wider population via questionnaires or interviews.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Identify the 3 possible aims of social surveys.

A

1) To gain factual information
2) To understand people’s attitudes and opinions
3) To test theories and provide explanations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are the 2 types of social survey?

A

1) Cross-sectional

2) Longitudinal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Define ‘cross-sectional surveys’.

A

Provides information about one particular period of time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Define ‘longitudinal surveys’.

A

Information gathered over a longer period of time that allows for changes in behaviour or attitude to be traced .

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Define ‘pilot study’.

A

A preliminary, small-scale study that is conducted in order to help a researcher decide how best to carry out a large-scale research project.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What 4 main things do pilot studies test for?

A

1) Usefulness of information gathered from large-scale study
2) Quality/accuracy of research
3) Accuracy of representativeness of sample
4) Unforeseen problems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What 3 issues might arise in conducting a pilot study?

A

1) Funding
2) Can’t guarantee info
3) Inaccurate predictions such as predicting there to be no harm in small-scale study and then there is in large-scale

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Define ‘response rate’.

A

The number of people who answered the survey divided by the number of people in the sample.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Why might an individual not respond to a survey?

A

They may not want to or don’t have the time.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Suggest a way in which you could increase the response rate of a survey.

A

Bribing ppts with a reward, such as entering a prize draw of a £500 gift voucher.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the problem with a low response rate?

A

A once representative sample will decrease in representativeness because there is a lower amount to generalise to the wider population.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Why is it important that results of surveys are representative?

A

If they are not then the results may be discredited because there are not enough people to represent the wider population.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Why is it important that a concept such as ‘ill health’ is operationalised in a question?

A

Because the ppt may not understand what the question is asking exactly and so specifying what ill health means increases validity of answers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Define ‘leading questions’.

A

A question that prompts or encourages a specific answer.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Give an example of a leading question.

A

“Don’t you agree that living a healthy lifestyle is important?”

17
Q

Suggest a problem of leading questions.

A

The question encourages the respondent to answer in a particular way and so a survey on student satisfaction at a college may use leading questions (with the inclusion of acquiescence bias) to get students to answer in ways that shows they have high satisfaction.

18
Q

Define ‘ambiguous questions’.

A

A question in which the meaning is unclear due to its cryptic/vague wording.

19
Q

Give an example of an ambiguous question.

A

“How good is your health?”

20
Q

Suggest a problem of ambiguous questions.

A

Due to its unspecific nature the question can be interpreted in different ways and so reliability can be reduced because all respondents may not have understood and so it is hard to compare results due to those different interpretations.

21
Q

Define ‘recall questions’.

A

A question that asks respondents to recall the past.

22
Q

Give an example of a recall question.

A

“In the last 5 years, how many instances of poor health have you experienced?”

23
Q

Suggest a problem of recall questions.

A

Respondents may misremember events leading to an under/overestimation and so reducing the validity of their answers.

24
Q

Define ‘closed questions’.

A

A question that has a predetermined answer that produces quantitative data.

25
Q

Give an example of a close question.

A

“What is 2+2?”

26
Q

Evaluate the reliability of closed questions.

A

P - High
E - Same predetermined answers for every respondent
E - Easy to make comparisons between quantitative data

27
Q

Evaluate the validity of closed questions.

A

P - Low
E - Deciding the answers for respondents restricts what they can say
E - Doesn’t allow the depth for what their true opinion may be

28
Q

Evaluate the representativeness of closed questions.

A

P - High
E - Results are easy to compare
E - Easily generalisable

29
Q

Give 2 strengths of closed questions.

A

1) More likely to be answered

2) No researcher bias due to objectivity

30
Q

Give 2 weaknesses of closed questions.

A

1) Restricts what people can say

2) Respondent may not agree with the answers available

31
Q

Define ‘open questions’.

A

A question that has no set answer and is open to many responses that produces qualitative data.

32
Q

Give an example of an open question.

A

“What is the meaning of life?”

33
Q

Evaluate the reliability of open questions.

A

P - Low
E - Unlikely to get the same answers
E - Hard to compare

34
Q

Evaluate the validity of open questions.

A

P - High
E - Qualitative data is gathered
E - Allows for an in-depth analysis of respondents attitudes and opinions

35
Q

Evaluate the representativeness of open questions.

A

P - Low
E - Less easy to make comparisons
E - Can’t be seen in a generalisable way if not everyone gave the same response

36
Q

Give 2 strengths of open questions.

A

1) Allows of detail

2) Answers are more truthful as none are predetermined

37
Q

Give 2 weaknesses of open questions.

A

1) People are less likely to fill it in because it may take longer
2) Analysis of answers are open to subjectivity by researcher