AS SOCIOLOGY UNIT 2 - METHODS - Questionnaires (NOTES) includes advantages and disadvantages...

1. QUESTIONNAIRES
Questionnaires ask respondents to provide answers to pre-set questions.
ADVANTAGES OF QUESTIONNAIRES
 Isn’t affected by practical issues of time and money. They are quick and cheap means
of gathering large quantities of data from large numbers of people.
 Can be widely spread geographically (postal questionnaires)
 SUPPORT: DEWSON AND CONNOR: posted nearly 4000 questionnaires to students at
universities around the country. Shows can achieve representativeness, different
cultures and b/g of different regions.
 No need to recruit and train interviewers/ observers. Reduces costs and MONEY.
 Data is easy to quantify, particularly where closed ended q’s are used. Processed
quickly by comp. Doesn’t take a lot of TIME.
 Reliable, representative…
 Allow comparisons to be made, between societies and times. Can compare results of
different societies if same q’s used.
POSITIVISM, INTERPRETIVISM VIEWS
Positivists – favour questionnaires because achieve main positivist goals of reliability,
generalisability and representativeness.
- Standardised q’s produce reliable data because other researchers can replicate the
questionnaire. This is good because can be checked again to make sure accurate etc.
- Allow us to produce quan data through pre-coded q’s and establish causal
relationships.
- Often large scale, thus more representative (use DEWSON AND CONNOR)
Interpretivists – reject use of questionnaires because of lack of validity (one that gives a
true picture).
(THEORETICAL) RELIABILITY
Give reliability – because same questionnaire can be used, and because with postal
questionnaires, there is no research present to influence answers. Interviews can
influence as they are present.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Useful for testing hypotheses about cause and effect relationships.
DETACHMENT AND OBJECTIVITY
Objective (unbiased) form of research because detached without researcher influence.
Personal involvement kept to a min.

2. (THEORETICAL) REPRESENTATIVENESS
Can collect info from large # of people, so results stand better chance of being
representative of whole population. Allows generalisations of population bc of
representative sample. (Contrast) Participant observation study only a small # of people.
ETHICAL ISSUES
Fewer ethical issues such as consent. Under no obligation to answer questionnaire.
Should make sure not to have negative effects on respondents. For example if q on
crime then should avoid police intervention etc through guaranteeing anonymity and
confidentiality.
Covert research?
DISADVANTAGES OF QUESTIONNAIRES
PRACTICAL ISSUES
- Data tends to be limited and superficial. They need to be fairly brief, since people
unlikely to respond to long, time consuming questionnaire. This then limits
amount of info that can be obtained.
- Even if cheap, might have to offer incentives (rewards) to persuade to complete.
This will add to the cost and increase MONEY.
- Postal questionnaires – Might not have been completed by person addressed to.
RESPONSE RATE
- Very low response rates can be problem. STUDY TO SUPPORT: HITE’S study –
sent out 100,000 questionnaires but only 4.5% responded. It was on love,
passion and emotional violence, low response rate could have been because it
was personal info that people were reluctant to share. For higher response rate,
could have follow up questionnaires or collect by hand, but this increases
MONEY (transport…)
- Also, has to be suitable for all groups well educated, less educated etc. shouldn’t
have complex language unless only targeting well educated individuals.
- Not really representative, busy people may not respond and unemployed old
may do. This will not make it representative as won’t have a range of different
people. T.f can’t make accurate generalisations if unrepresentative.
INFLEXIBLE
SNAPSHOTS
Give picture of only one moment in time, experiences can change straight away after
it is sent back. Not fully valid picture. Participant observations can achieve valid as
will be there to see experiences.

3. DETACHMENT
Interpretivist sociologists (CICOUREL) argue questionnaire data lack validity, don’t
give true picture. Can only gain validity (true accurate picture) by getting close to
subjects of study. Should enable us to put ourselves in subjects place and see world
through their eyes (VERSTEHEN) No direct contact between researcher and… (q) tf,
no opp to clarify what questions mean or deal with misunderstandings. No way of
knowing if respondent interpreted in same way as researcher. (For example, can be
language differences which leads to misunderstandings etc.)
LYING, FORGETTING, RIGHT ANSWERISM
Could lie to please researcher, may think that they have to give respectable answers
rather than the truth (right answerism). Observational methods don’t have this
problem as observer can see for themselves what they are like, how they behave,
what they are actually like rather than what they say theyre like (questionnaires).
METHODS IN CONTEXT
(Questionnaires to investigate edu)
OPERATIONALISATION OF CONCEPTS
Defining sociological concepts in such a way that they can be studied/measured.
Operationalising concepts can be difficult when creating questionnaires for pupils.
For example: could be difficult to turn terms such as deferred gratification in to
language that pupils will understand. Because they won’t fully understand it could
result in answers that are based on misunderstandings.
SAMPLING AND SAMPLE FRAMES
Schools keep lists of pupils, staff and parents. These can provide accurate sampling
frames (list of people from which a sample for a social survey is selected). This can
provide accurate sample frames for educational research such as parental attitudes
to education and subject and university choice. And also provide representative
sample. However, researchers may only want to study particular ethnic group, but
school may not keep lists of pupils by ethnicity and so there wouldn’t be a sample
frame available.
ACCESS AND RESPONSE RATE (PRACTICAL ISSUES)
Schools may be reluctant to allow sociologists to distribute q’s bc of disruption it can
cause. Or they may reject topic of research for example questionnaire about under
age sexual activity. However, there could also be high response rates if head allows
for time to be taken out of lessons so questionnaires can be completed. Higher
response rate = more representative tf more accurate generalisations. As well as
this, could make it COMPULSORY. There could be low response rate if parents and
teachers are busy.

4. PRACTICAL ISSUES
 RUTTER – Used questionnaires to collect large quantities of data from 12
London secondary schools. Able to identify patterns between achievement,
attendance, behaviour with school and class size. Easy because quick and
cheap to do and can tf study larger sample, whereas interviews/ observations
not, difficult for large samples as a lot of time and money (transport etc.)
However, data limited. Provided correlations between size and achievement,
but not explanations.
 As well as this some children may have learning difficulties, can’t read etc.
(low response, misunderstandings, not accurate)
 Questionnaires will have to be brief for children, get bored. Limits info.
ANONYMITY AND DETACHMENT
- Depends if reassured of anonymity. This reassurance can be difficult
because of the detachment from the researcher, may not trust as no
rapport built. Interpretivists emphasise importance of rapport and so
reject questionnaires. Bc of lac of rapport, pupils may be reluctant to give
truthful answers on bullying, sensitive issues which they may feel like isn’t
norm opinion etc.
- Because it seems like an official, formal document (like a test) some
pupils in anti-school subcultures may refuse to answer or take seriously
because of what it looks like and they’re against educational authority
school.