Quant- Social Surveys

Question 1

What are the 4 ways of administering a survey?

Answer 1

1- face to face (structured interview)
2- Telephone
3- Postal
4- Internet

Question 2

1- Face to face

Answer 2

> explain Qs and As
higher validity
X feel pressure to answer in a certain way- ‘interviewer effect’
X can’t conduct as many
X not representative
X not practical with time

Question 3

2- Telephone

Answer 3

> easier for both, location anywhere
more representative
feels more comfortable, less intimidates
X miscommunication
X cost,bill = not practical
X may not be the right person

Question 4

3- Postal

Answer 4

> practical, quicker, time effective
no time limit
more comfortable
cheaper
X ethical, consent
X practical, not cost effective
X delivery, process is longer
X easier to lie, less validity

Question 5

4- Internet

Answer 5

> large sample, more representative
repeatable, reliability
quicker, time, practical
X ethical, anyone can access
X less valid, anyone can lie about their age
X lower response rate, delete
X not representative

Question 6

What are the 4 main issues with response rate?

Answer 6

1- low response rate means the sample is not representative, only educated or interested people may respond
2- language difficulties- prevented from answering complicated questions- too complex
3- subject matter, 19% refusal to participate for RUSSELS study- incest, sensitive topic
4- BRYMAN, overweight study, fear criticism, feel judged

Question 7

How can the response rate be improved?

Answer 7

• use incentives (financial)
• avoid sensitive topics
• keep short, interesting Qs
• online, easily reply
• coloured ink
• originated from uni- status
• keep names anonymous

Question 8

What does operationalise mean?

Answer 8

To make abstract concepts measurable

Question 9

What are the issues with operationalism?

Answer 9

X hard to compare
X operationalise/measure in different ways
X create different categories as a way of measuring it
Interpretivists- individual meaning

Question 10

What are the issues of social surveys in terms of validity?

Answer 10

X screw you effect, Ps deliberately mess up the study
X social desirability, lie in fear of judgement
X closed Qs, tick an A that isn’t applicable
X 2001 consensus, 0.7% said their religion was ‘Jedi’
X The Scrounging Pireseans
X who actually answers the Q
X have people actually understood the question

Question 11

What are the strengths of social surveys?
Practical

Answer 11

> quick, cheap, easy to quantify
higher response rate from structured interviews

Question 12

What are the strengths of social surveys?
Ethical

Answer 12

Respondents can opt out and not answer questions

Question 13

What are the strengths of social surveys?
Reliability

Answer 13

Easily repeatable to check the results or compare in a longitudinal study

Question 14

What are the strengths of social surveys?
Validity

Answer 14

If anonymous, respondents are more likely to tell the truth
- in structured interviews you can explain Qs

Question 15

What are the strengths of social surveys?
Representativeness

Answer 15

Large sample size allows for generalisations

Question 16

What are the strengths of social surveys?
Theoretical

Answer 16

Positivists prefer as it is more scientific as you can test hypothesis, establish cause n effect
- also objective (detached) as there is limited personal contact with the researcher

Question 17

Examples of government surveys

Answer 17

• The census is a postal questionnaire sent to all households every 10 years and must be completed by law
• CSEW is a structured interview and questionnaire with approximately 50,000 people per year asking if they have been a victim of crime and their views on the criminal justice system

Question 18

Sociological research example
Yong n Willmott

Answer 18

Structured interviews
- extended families in East London
- 987 main sample, only 54 refused to be interviewed
- large sample meant they couldn’t interview all respondents
- interviewers asked standardised Qs ad circle the appropriate response
- each interview took between 10 to 30 mins

Question 19

Sociological research example
Sue Sharpe

Answer 19

Looked at female aspirations for y10 girls
- started using social survey before deciding it would not give her enough detail
- switched to unstructured interview

Question 20

Sociological research example
Shere Hites’ study

Answer 20

Love, passion and emotional violence
- sent out 100,000 questionnaires in the US
- only 4.5% were returned

Question 21

Sociological research example
Connor and Dewson

Answer 21

Posted almost 4,000 questionnaires
- students at 14 higher education institutions around the country
- ask about the decision of the WC students to attend uni