Questionnaires

Question 1

What is a Questionnaire?

Answer 1

A questionnaire is a set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, hence using closed questions. This is typically in the form of a self-competition questionnaire whereby they are filled in by respondents without guidance from the researcher.

Question 2

Practical - Strengths

Answer 2

• Questionnaires are a relatively fast and cheap research method that can gain a large amount of data over a shorter period of time. This is because the self-completion allows for questionnaires to be distributed to a large sample and multiple answers can be gained at one point in time. There is little to no interference between the interviewer and the participants which reduces both the time and cost that the questionnaires take. Therefore, questionnaires are practically advantageous.
• Data can be collected relatively quickly because the researcher would not need to be present when the questionnaires were completed. This is useful for large populations when interviews would be impractical.

Question 3

Practical - Weaknesses

Answer 3

• Due to the reliance on self-completion, there may be issues with questionnaires relating to a low response rate. This is because individuals may not feel obliged to complete the questionnaires and so a limited amount of people’s responses are required. This means that self-completion questions are practically flawed.

Question 4

Ethics - Strengths

Answer 4

• Allow for high levels of anonymity and confidentiality because participants do not have to express any information regarding themselves when completing the questionnaire.
• They should include an introduction that explains to the participants the purpose and aims of the questionnaire which ensures that no participants are deceived regarding the true aims.
• Questionnaires should be accompanied with a form of consent in order to participants to sign and agree if they wish to complete the questionnaire. This means that questionnaires have good ethical considerations as it is relatively easy to gain informed consent.

Question 5

Theoretical - Strengths

Answer 5

• This research method is favoured by positivists due to the creation of quantitative data. This is because self-completion questionnaires allow for the researcher to remain detached from the respondents. This means that questionnaires are a valid research method which positivist theory supports.

Question 6

Theoretical - Weaknesses

Answer 6

• Questionnaires are criticised by interpretivists because the creation of quantitative data fails to provide in-depth information regarding respondents.

Question 7

Reliability - Strengths

Answer 7

• Questionnaires are reliable because the set let of closed questions with predetermined answers helps to provide a standardised procedure. For example, how many questions there are and what order they appear in. Therefore, questionnaires are reliable in order to test for consistency of results.

Question 8

Representativeness - Strengths

Answer 8

• Due to practical benefits of questionnaires, it is easy to gain a large amount of data in a shorter period of time. This means that representativeness is likely to be improved because the sample is more likely to consist of a variety of people with different characteristics.
• For example, Higgins (1998) conducted a study involving a questionnaire that aimed to examine young people’s views on smoking. This consisted of 3,500 secondary school children in England who completed questionnaires covering their attitudes to smoking, and their awareness of the Department of Health’s anti-smoking campaign and promotions and advertising in the media. This is a large sample size which can ensure representativeness.

Question 9

Representativeness - Weaknesses

Answer 9

• Depending on the sampling method used, it can be difficult to gain a representative questionnaire. This is because they may be typically distributed within a particular environment whereby characteristics may be similar such as students in school. This lacks representativeness because interviewers are unable to apply the findings to people outside of the sampling frame.

Question 10

Validity - Strengths

Answer 10

• Questionnaires typically use closed questions as a way of gathering information which provides quantitative data. This improves validity because the analysis does not involve any interpretation of answers and is therefore free from subjectivity.
• Questionnaires can include open questions in order to gain a greater insight into respondents related to the topic area. This helps to ensure greater levels of validity.
• As questionnaires can ensure confidentiality, this helps to provide higher levels of validity. For example, in McCarry’s study of same domestic violence, the data was collected anonymously meaning that respondents had less incentive to withhold or overstate information. Therefore, validity of questionnaires is enhanced by respondent anonymity.

Question 11

Validity - Weaknesses

Answer 11

• Validity can be compromised because self-completion questionnaires allow for no interference from the interviewer. This means that there is a possibility that ambiguity relating to the wording of questions can cause misinterpretation by respondents which challenges validity.
• Questionnaires provide quantitative data through closed questions. This means that they are low in validity because they fail to provide in-depth answers in the form of quantitative data.