Questionnaires

Question 1

What is the imposition problem?

Answer 1

The key problems/concerns with questionnaires are the imposition problem and validity. The imposition problem refers to the risk that the researcher might impose their own views and framework on the people being questioned. The researcher has already decided what the important questions are as part of their research preparation, so only a limited number and type of questions are available.

Question 2

What is the link between validity and questionnaires?

Answer 2

Problems of validity arise because people may not answer the questions honestly. They may give the answer that they think the research expects or answers that are seen as socially acceptable. They might also misinterpret the wording of questions and give a different response to the one that is intended.

Question 3

What are the different types of questionnaires?

Answer 3

There are a number of different types of questionnaires, all with different strengths and weaknesses. They include:
- Structured questionnaires
- Open-ended questionnaires
- Postal, online and online self-completion questionnaires

Question 4

What are structured questionnaires?

Answer 4

These involve a number of pre-set, closed questions with the choice of a limited number of multiple-choice answers. Structured questionnaires are the preferred choice of positivists.

Question 5

Advantages of structured questionnaires

Answer 5

• They are quick and cheap to complete and process
• They produce easy to classify quantitative data
• They have high reliability, as they are easy to repeat and check findings
• The data collected may produce new theories or test existing hypotheses
• They are objective because the researcher remains detached from and less involved with the respondents
• There are a few ethical problems because people can choose not to answer

Question 6

Disadvantages of structured questionnaires

Answer 6

• There may be problems related to literacy, as some people may not be able to read or fully understand the questions
• The meaning of the questions might be ambiguous or unclear
• Extra questions cannot be added and respondents cannot expand in their answers
• Interpretivists claim that they impose meanings and frameworks and a choice of answers which may not apply to the respondent (the imposition problem

Question 7

What are open-ended questionnaires?

Answer 7

Open-ended questionnaires will still have a number of pre-set questions but without any pre-set choice of answers. Open questions allow respondents to write their own answer or dictate them to the interviewer.

Question 8

Advantages of open-ended questionnaires

Answer 8

• They produce data that is more valid because respondents can use their own words to express what they mean, so the imposition problem is less of an issue
• They produce data that are more detailed and in-depth than structured questions, so they are preferred by interpretivists

Question 9

Disadvantages of open-ended questionnaires

Answer 9

• Because they produce a wider range of answers, it is more difficult to classify and quantify the results or to compare them with similar data
• The meaning of the answers may be unclear

Question 10

What are postal/self completion questionnaires?

Answer 10

This kind of questionnaire can be structured or unstructured. Responsibility for completing and returning the questionnaire lies with the respondent.

Question 11

Advantages of postal/self completion questionnaires

Answer 11

• They are relatively cheap compared to having to pay interviewers, particularly when the sample size is large or covers a wide geographical area
• A larger representative sample can be obtained
• Results can be obtained quickly.
  People can reply in their own time and can, therefore, think more deeply about their answers
• There is no possibility of interviewer bias, so they remain objective (and, therefore, preferred by positivists)
• People can choose to reply or not, so informed consent is less of a problem

Question 12

Disadvantages of postal/self completion questionnaires

Answer 12

• There is a high non-response rate – people don’t reply
• Those who do reply may be unrepresentative of the wider population. For example, they might have a higher level of education or be more interested in the topic, thus reducing the validity of results
• People might not give honest answers for a number of reasons, such as dishonesty or forgetfulness
• There is no way of telling that the right person completes the questionnaire – they might have asked someone else to do it