Questionnaires & in context

Advantages of questionnaires

Practical - Quick & cheap means of gathering large amounts of data from large numbers of people, Connor & Dewson; posted nearly 4000 questionnaires to students at 14 higher education institutions, asking w/c about the factors influencing their descisions to go to uni.
There is no need to recruit & train interviewers or observers to collect the data because respondents complete & return the questionnaires themselves.
The data is easy to quantify, particularly if pre-coded close questions are used, they can be processed by the computer to reveal the relationships between different variables.
Reliability - If research is repeated, a questionnaire identical to the original one is used, so respondents are asked the same questions with the same order & choice of answers.
They allow us to find comparisons/differences in patterns between respondents over time/in different societies because they use the same questions.
Hypothesis testing - It is easier to find cause-and-effect relationships between different variables, e.g, low achievement in education is higher in large families.
Detachment & objectivity - The sociologists personal involvement with repondents is at a miminum.
Representativeness - Larger research population means it's easier to make generalisations.
They pose less ethical issues than other methods, researchers don't need consent.

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Pratical - The information tends to be limited & fairly brief because individuals are unlikely to complete a long, time-consuming questionnaire. You may have to offer incentives, e.g, entry into a prize draw, to get respondents to answer, adding to the costs.
The researcher cannot know if the potential respondent recieved the questionnaire, or if a returned questionnaire was actually completed by the person to whom it was adressed.
Low response rate - Hite; study of 'love, passion & emotional violence' in America only recieved 4.5% of the 100,000 questionnaires sent out. Questionnaires may only be completed if follow-up ones are posted, which adds to costs & time.
Some questionnaires are layed out in a faulty way, e.g, complex language may only lead to them being filled out by the educated. Those who actually respond may provide biased results because they are likely to be umemployed, interested/ have strong views on the topic, therefore few generalisations can be made.
Detatchment - Cicourel; they lack validity because they do not provide a true picture of the respondent, we cannot achieve true 'verstehen'. Also there is little way to clear up misunderstandings, the researcher & respondent may interpret questions differently.
Shipman; researchers may prune & bend data if the respondents meanings don't fit theirs. Closed-ended questions may not fit respondents views, providing invalid data.

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Operationalisation of concepts - Students may not be able to grasp difficult sociological terminology, e.g, cultural capital or deferred gratification. It will lead to an over-simplification of questions to the point that they cease to have sociological value.
Sampling frames - Schools rountinely keep lists of pupils, staff & parents so they can provide a representative sample. However, schools may not keep lists that follow sociologist's interest, e.g, dviding pupils by ethnicity or social class, it may be confidential information.
Giving questionnaires to pupils in schools makes it easier to research parents, as they're harder to locate, students can give it to them when they get home.
Younger pupils are more open to peer pressure & it is difficult to stop them discussing answers with their classmates.
Access and response rate - Schools may be reluctant to give out questionnaires because they distrupt lessons, or they may object to the researchers chosen topic, e.g, under-age sexual activity.
However, the response rate is still higher in schools because once the headteacher has given consent to take time off lessons, teachers & pupils may be under pressure to co-operate. Sociologists can then produce representative data & generalisations can be drawn.

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Also teachers, students & pupils are accustomed to completing questionnaires issued by the school, however teachers may be too busy to complete it reducing the response rate.
Pratical issues - Useful for gathering large quantities of basic factual educational info quickly & cheap. However, information may be limited & superficial not explaining any correlations.
Children have a shorter attention span than adults so the questionnaires need to be brief, it limits the amount of information that can be gathered.
Children's life experiences are narrower & their recall is different from adults, primary school children in particular may not 'know the answers'.
Teachers may adjust their answers in the questionnaire because they are able to see the researchers intentions.
Anonymity & detachment - Anonymity can make it easier to answer questions about sensitive questions, e.g, bullying, they will be able to go in depth & provide valid data.
Without the researcher being there pupils cannot be assured their anonymity is assured.
Interpretivists; without a rapport,young people may be less likely to give full, honest responses. Questionnaires are formal documents so those in anti-school subcultures etc...may associate it with teacher authority & refuse to take it seriously.
Anonymity means teachers may be more honest about sensitive topics & their attitudes.

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