Research Methods - Questionnaires

Method in Context Education

We can identify 5 main groups within education. What are they?

• Office Staff

  Parents

  Taxi Escorts

  Dining Room

  Pupils

• Pupils

  Teachers

  Parents

  Classrooms

  Schools

• Pupils

  Friendship groups

  Departments

  Classroom

  Environment

Pick the PRACTICAL ADVANTAGES of questionnaires

• Speed - they can be quick to deliver and complete

• Staff - no need to employ anyone to conduct face to face

• Can be processed quickly

Positives favour questionnaires, why?

• Easier to collect

• Detached and Objective (unbiased)

• They give a large amount of validity

Why are questionnaires suitable for asking sensitive questions?

• They can be annonymous

• They can avoid the issue

• Participants are under no obligation to fill in

• It can be reworded so not to offend

Questionnaires are inflexible. What does that mean for the researcher?

• They are stuck with the answers they have been given

• They can add more questions to get the answers they want

• Second/third questionnaires can be sent out to 'fill in the gaps'

Interpretivists feel that questionnaires are not _____________

Problems with questionnaires being valid come into effect when respondents do not...

• answer fully

• lie

• complete it fully

• return on time

Questionnaires are seen as snapshots. What does this mean?

• The answers all become the same

• There is a clear pattern of thought throughout

• Different groups will answer the same

• They give a picture of social reality at the moment it is filled in

Looking at Methods in Context - Education

What reason may be given for reluctance to distribute questionnaires?

• Object to the subject being researched

• Disruption to lessons

• Too much admin e.g. photocopying

• The issues around collating them all at the end

Questionnaires are very useful for gathering large quantities of basic factual education information quickly and cheaply.

However, it may fail to what?

• Show patterns of behaviour

• Give clear examples for questions asked

• Show patterns of behaviour but not explain these correlations

• Explain who each person is