Reseach methods - Questionnaires Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is the aim of questionnaires and what data do they collect?
Explore attitudes, opinions, emotion, + classification info such as age, gender, etc
Gathers self report data, risk of social desirability bias
What types of questions are used in questionnaires?
Open and closed questions
Can obtain quantitative + qualitative data
How are questionnaires distributed?
Post, email, handed out in person
Means questionnaire is fixed + has no flexibility
How can we ensure that the questionnaire is valid?
Conduct a pilot questionnaire - Questionnaire is given to small sample, researcher checks questions are clear + ppts understand, then they assess answers to see if it collects relevant data for study
What should the language of a questionnaire be?
Appropriate to the vocab of the group being studied
How are questionnaires more useful than interviews?
Data can be collected quickly without researcher being there
Useful for large populations when interviews would be impractical
What is a problem with questionnaires?
People may lie due to social desirability bias
How do closed questions structure answers?
By allowing only answers that fit into categories that have been decided in advance by the researcher
Collects nominal data + quantitative data
What are closed questions prone to?
Response bias, which is the tendency to stick to 1 response through the questionnaire
Can be avoided by using distractor questions or reverse scoring
What do open questions allow?
People to express what they think in own wirds
Can see reasons why people gave answers + behaviour, however cant spot trends + interpretations may be subjective + risk of research bias
