QUESTIONNAIRE

S
Analyse how useful questionnaires are as a
research method.
Tasks for today!
1. Explain the difference between closed and open questionnaires?
2. ZOOM IN on Closed Questionnaires by conducting a
PERVERT analysis.
Practical
Ethical
Reliability
Validity
Example (of studies, Census, British Class Survey)
Representativeness (of sample used) This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Theoretical (Hawthorne effect, Pos/Int)

3. Read the document on Sue Sharpe’s study and answer the
questions below.
4. Go to slide 5. Read the exam question and first DESIRE
paragraph. Write the 2nd DESIRE.
 The Imposition Problem
◦ Positivist-based questionnaires, particularly highly structured questionnaires, risk what has been called the
imposition problem.
◦ This is when the researcher risks imposing their own views or framework on the people being researched.
◦ This is because they have already decided what the important issues are before the research and in drawing up the
questions to actually ask people.
◦ Therefore, questionnaires don’t really discover the way respondents see the world.
◦ Such researchers are therefore simply imposing their own structure on what they are investigating, possible
affecting the validity.
◦ This makes it difficult to develop hypotheses during research, and respondents cannot provide information
they haven’t been asked for.
◦ It is also impossible for respondents to express feelings and subtle shades of opinion in statistical form.

How much of a problem is this?

Does it matter?

Closed
Sometimes called structured or
Feedback
multiple-choice questionnaires,
these are highly structured, and
involve individuals being asked a
number of pre-set closed
questions with the choice of a
limited number of multiple-
Research Methods / Methods in
Advantages Disadvantages
Context
• They are quick to complete • The meaning of questions may not be
• They produce standardized data that are easy to classify clear to some respondents.
•
•
and produce in quantitative statistical form
They are reliable
They allow data to be collected to produce new theories
• Extra questions cannot be asked or added
to get the respondents to expand or
explain themselves more fully.
or to test existing hypotheses • The Imposition Problem
• They enable comparisons to be made between different
groups and populations. Since individuals are answering
the same questions, and using the same choices of
answers, their answers should show real differences
between people rather than differences arising because
of the way the questions were formulated or asked.

choice answers.
Open
Sometimes known as
unstructured questionnaires, are
less structured than pre-coded
questionnaires. Although they
will have pre-set questions, there
are no pre-set answers. This
allows individuals to write their
own answer.
• They produce more valid data, since the respondent is
using his or her own words to express what they really
mean rather than being given a pre-set choice of answers
reflecting what the researcher thinks is important.
• The imposition problem is less serious.
• It produces more detail and depth than pre-coded or
closed questionnaires.
• The range of possible answers often
makes it difficult to classify and quantify
the results of such questionnaires.
• The meaning of answers may be unclear
to the researcher.
• The variety of answers may make it
difficult to compare results with other
similar research.
 Research Methods / Methods in
Evaluate the view that what questionnaires gain in reliability and
Context
representativeness, they lose in validity. (20 Marks)
Theoretically, positivists would argue that questionnaires (especially closed-ended questionnaires) are a useful
method for studying society.
This is because they are reliable – they are able to be repeated. Positivists believe that reliability is important
because it makes findings more comparable. From this, they are able to generate trends. Moreover, some may be
able to repeat the study and, therefore, either corroborate or criticise the original findings. This makes the results
more scientific.
For example, closed ended questionnaires are pre-coded and thus gives results that are quantifiable. If asking a
closed question such as “Do you like school?” and giving pre-coded answerssayof? “Yes”, “No” or “Unsure”, the
e
researcher can work out trends and patterns quickly and easily. h this
wit
e
However, these structured questionnaires suffer especially
n t inufrom2.the imposition problem. By deciding upon the
answers to the questions beforehand, the researcher
u ciso imposing
IRE their own framework and viewpoint on
yo S
DE the way that the respondent sees the world and will not
ill not uncover
respondents. This lowers the validity as itwdoes
How of opinion.
allow for them to express subtle differences