Questionnaires

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Questionnaires

Advantages

  • Quick and cheap means of gathering data
  • There is no need to train interviewers or observers to collect data
  • Usually easy to quantify
  • Reliable method of collecting data
  • Can be used to test hypothesis about cause-and-effect relationships
  • They are a detached and objective method
  • They can be a representative measure of the people that are being tested
  • Pose few ethical problems due to no obligation to answer all questions

Disadvantages

  • Limited and superficial data due to them being brief
  • May need to offer incentives to persuade respondents to complete the form
  • Cannot be sure whether the potential respondent has actually received the questionnaire
  • Cannot be sure whether it has been completed by the person who it was addressed to
  • Low response rates usually happen with postal questionnaires
  • A very inflexible method
  • Act as snapshots as they only represent the respondent at the time when they answer the questionnaire
  • Detachment - this means there can be no clarification on obscure answers
  • Can be invalid

Evaluation

Questionnaires are lists of written questions, usually closed-ended and often posted. They can gather data on late numbers cheaply and quickly. Positivists favour them because they are reliable and objective. However, low response rates can make findings unrepresentative. Interpretivists claim they lack validity: they are inflexible, superficial snapshots and don't give a true account of respondents' meanings.

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