2.3.3 Questionnaires

Question 1

What are questionaires?

Answer 1

• A list of predetermined questions.
• May be administered by hand, post or online.
• There is either closed or open questions.
• Mainly used for a macro level of analysis & generating quantitative data.

Question 2

What are advantages of questionaires?

Answer 2

Practical:
- Quick & cheap way of gathering large amount of data from a geographically dispersed sample.
Reliability:
- They’re standardised that can be used by any researcher & all respondents are asked the same questions.
Hypothesis testing:
- They’re useful for testing hypotheses about cause & effect relationships.

Question 3

What are disadvantages of Questionnaires?

Answer 3

Practical:
- Data tends to be limited & superficial.
Low response rate:
- Results may get distorted & will be unrepresentative.
Inflexible:
- If new areas of interest come up the research cannot be explored.
Snapshot picture:
- They only provide a picture of a social reality at only one point in time.
Right answerism:
- People try to give the right answers that they believe the sociologists want.

Question 4

What are advantages of postal questionnaires?

Answer 4

• Quicky, easy & cheap.
• Can be sent to large groups.
• Objective data.
• Extremely detached.
• Ethical as they’re fully anonymous.
• More representative.

Question 4

What are disadvantages of postal questionnaires?

Answer 4

• People in the household may accidentally answer.
• Dishonest answers.
• Low response rate.
• Answers may be misunderstood.
• Snapshot.

Question 5

What are disadvantages of using questionnaires in education research?

Answer 5

• Turning abstract ideas into a measurable form may be difficult.
• Schooks may not keep lists that reflect the researchers interest.
• Children may not actually know the answers to some questions.

Question 5

What are advantages of using questionnaires in education research?

Answer 5

• Useful for gathering large quantities of basic information quickly & cheaply.
• Schools are a good source of ready made sampling frames.
• Headteachers with authority may make it an obligation to pupil & teachers.