quantitavite research methods

Question 1

features

Answer 1

• involves the collection and analysis of data
• this means it tends to deal with numerical data
• usually involves large sample sizes
• results are often presented in charts or tables

Question 2

surveys and questionnaires

Answer 2

• surveys are often used interchangeably with questionnaires but can be done without the knowledge of the sample group
• surveys can be online
• questionnaires are a fixed set of questions that the research subject answers, these are more likely to be short response questions
• questionnaires can be sent and returned by post

Question 3

advantages and disadvantages of surveys and questionnaires

Answer 3

advantages
- easy to use
- high likelihood of response
- scale
- low cost

disadvantages
- potential for low response rate
- responses are limited

Question 4

structured interviews

Answer 4

• generally carried out face to face
• the same set question are asked of many different respondents
• answers are generally short but not necessarily just yes or no

Question 5

advantages and disadvantages of structured interviews

Answer 5

advantages
- reliable
- produce quantitative data
- high response rate

disadvantages
- interviewer influence
- potential for misunderstanding
- time consuming

Question 6

official statistics

Answer 6

• gathered for governmental or associated bodies
• large amounts of quantitative data are gathered from very large samples
• often repeated at regular intervals

Question 7

advantages and disadvantages of official statistics

Answer 7

advantages
- provide free source of information
- good at identifying trends
- allows comparisons

disadvantages
- collected for government
- may change over time
- show government positively