Questionnaires And Interviews

Question 1

Questionnaires

Answer 1

Can be used as a technique in research e.g. lab experiment or used alone as a research method

Non-experimental self-report

Question 2

Open questions

Answer 2

Give the participant the freedom to say what they want, without being restricted to a fixed answer

Question 3

Closed questions

Answer 3

Provide a fixed set of responses to choose from e.g. yes/no

Question 4

3 examples of closed questions

Answer 4

Likert scales

Semantic differential scales

Fixed choice option

Question 5

Likert scales

Answer 5

The respondent indicated their agreement with a statement using a scale

e.g. PE should be compulsory until the age of 18
1= strongly agree 5= strongly disagree

Question 6

Semantic differential scales

Answer 6

The respondent identifies a value which represents their strength of feeling

e.g. How important do you think exercise is?

Very important 5 4 3 2 1 Not important

Question 7

Fixed choice option

Answer 7

Includes a list of options that respondents choose

e.g. How often do you exercise?

• Never
• Once a year
• Once a month
• Once a day

Question 8

Quantitive data is

Answer 8

Numerical data

Averages

Differences

Question 9

Strengths of quantitative data

Answer 9

Quick and easy to analyse

Easier to establish trends

Question 10

Weaknesses of quantitative data

Answer 10

Lacks depth and detail

Limited range of responses

Question 11

Qualitative data is

Answer 11

Non-numerical data

Emotions

Opinions

Attuitudes

Beliefs

Question 12

Strengths of qualitative data

Answer 12

Rich in depth and detail

Provides new ideas

Question 13

Weaknesses of qualitative data

Answer 13

Difficult to analyse

Difficult to find patterns

Question 14

Evaluation of questionnaires

Answer 14

Closed questions produce quantitative data which is easier to analyse. However, in closed questions , respondents may be forced to select answers which do not represent their real thoughts and feelings which reduces validity.

Open questions produce qualitative data which may provide written answers which are in rich detail, allowing researchers to gain new ideas. Open questions can be difficult to analyse due to the large number of possible answers. This can make it hard to draw conclusions.

Questionnaires are easy to repeat, meaning that data can be collected from high numbers of people.

Leading questions may cause respondents to answer in a particular way, affecting validity.

Question 15

Interviews

Answer 15

Researcher asks questions in real time, via phone/face to face.

Usually, the researcher will have a pre-determined set of questions.

Question 16

Structured interview

Answer 16

Set of questions is prepared pre-interview and the interviewer does not divert from this the whole time

Question 17

Semi-structured interview

Answer 17

Some questions are pre-determined, some will be developed on the spot

Question 18

Unstructured interview

Answer 18

Don’t go in with questions prepared, just ideas and topics that want to talk about

Question 19

Strengths of interviews

Answer 19

Required less interviewing skill, therefore can be done by non-professional interviewers

Easier to analyse as the answers are pre-determined

Can easily be repeated because the questions are standardised

In depth qualitative data can be collected

Quantitive data can be statistically analysed

Question 20

Weaknesses of interviews

Answer 20

Interviewer bias may be an issue as the interviewer may lead the participants when asking them to develop their responses

Reliability may be affected by the same interviewer behaving differently on different occasions

More difficult to analyse the data as there will be lots more of it

Different questions may be interpreted in different ways by different participants