Questionnaires

Advantages
Practical can be used to collect large quantities of data from considerable number of people
over a relatively short period of time, at a relatively low cost. Crime Survey for
England and Wales had a sample size of 46000. It would be impossible to carry out
such a large survey and gather more qualitative information.
Easy to code It's easy to organise into different categories – relationship of variables can then be
examined.
Scientific Nature Standardised questions; individuals are responding to the same stimuli thus any
differences will be real differences between respondents. (Reliable)
Systematic nature means figures produced can be checked and compared by other
researchers. (Reliability)
Large Sample Sizes Large sample sizes means your sample is representative and thus your research's
generalizations will be more valid. Crime Survey for England and Wales had a
sample size of 46000.
Test existing hypothesis Bennet el al used questionnaire data to back up their claim that Britain did not have
the same class based cultural differences as those identified by Bourdieu in France.
Sensitive Questions If the data is collected without the respondents personal information s/he'll be
(anonymous) only) more likely to answer honestly, especially when dealing with sensitive topics.
(Validity)

Disadvantages
Problems with People may misunderstand the questions, people may interpret the questions
standardized questions differently. (Applies to answers too in closed Qs)(Validity). The word uptight for low
income black Americans, means a close relationship between friends, but for
mainstream America it means anxious and tense.
Limited by the Since all the questions are pre-determined and aimed at testing the hypothesis,
hypothesis information which the researcher didn't know or think was important is ignored.
(validity)
Problems with The process of breaking down a concept so that it can be quantified imposes
operationalizing socilogical constructs, categories and logic on the social world (Validity). Blauner
concepts sought to measure alienation among workers, he employed a concept that might
have had no reality in the social world he sought to understand. Indeed he
admitted, it is unlikely that 70% of workers were actually happy with their job, but
more likely 70% of people fit into his idea of job satisfaction.
Respondents may lie. 20% are said to not to have told the truth in the Crime Survey for England and
Wales. Even when respondents think they are being honest, they might not be.
(you may think youre not being racist but actually are.) La Pierre travelled to 251
establishments in the USA with 2 chinese people. They were refused service or
accommodation at only one of these places. But a few months later when they
were sent a letter only one said they would accept chinese customers.
Distance Distance between the researcher and the subject of the research,
particularly in the case of postal questionnaires. To a positivist this
approach encourages objectivity, but to an interpretive sociologist it
precludes the possibility of understanding the meaning and motives of the
subjects of research.