3RM Flashcards
(20 cards)
Practical strengths of postal Qs
Produces a geographically dispersed sample
Can be completed in own time, no pressure
Avoids Hawthorne effect\ social desirability
Practical weaknesses of postal Qs
Low response rate as it could be ignored
Researcher isn’t present, can’t clarify ambiguous questions or check for psych harm
Could be a biased sample, busy people who work may not have time to fill it out
Ethical strength of postal Qs
All include informed consent and right to withdraw
Ethical weaknesses of postal Qs
Cannot check for psych harm
Closed questions have no Vershthen
Theoretical strength of postal Qs
Collects quantitative data, preferred by positivists
Theoretical weaknesses of postal Qs
Rejected by interpretivists, needs qualitative
Practical strengths of open question Qs
No prior knowledge on topic needed from researcher, less time consuming
Gets a depth of understanding of answers
Practical limitations of open questions Qs
Could be leading or ambiguous
Assumes good literacy skills
Practical strengths of closed question Qs
Quick to make and complete
Makes it easier to spot trends, Durkheim, makes researchers job easier as gathering results don’t take as long
Ethical strengths of closed questions Qs
Less likely if a sensitive subject to cause psych harm
Theoretical strength of closed question Qs
Produces quantitative data, makes statistical analysis easier to compare
Preferred by positivist, scientific and objective
Practical limitations of closed question Qs
Answers are predetermined, affects validity could lie
Cant elaborate on answers, no depth or detail
Ethical limitation of closed question Qs
No Vershten, cannot sympathise about any sensitive subjects
Theoretical limitation of closed question Qs
Rejected by interpretvists, low validity
Practical strengths of face to face Qs
Bigger respond rate, not being as easy to ignore
No sample frame is needed
Can easily clarify ambiguous questions
Ethical strengths of face to face Qs
Can observe to spot emotional distress
Theoretical strength of face to face Qs
Preferred to interpretivists, high in validity, qualitative
Practical limitation of face to face Qs
Researchers may have a selection bias, they can select who they want
Hawthorne effect
Could lead to social desirability
Ethical limitations of face to face Qs
May put participants under pressure, could cause psych harm if it’s a distressing topic
Theoretical limitation of face to face Qs
Rejected by positivists, data lacks replicability/reliability as it’s qualitative data
