Questionnaires and interviews

What are questionnaires used for?

• Reaching a large number of people.

• Reaching a widely dispersed group of people.

What different types of questionnaires are there?

• Closed questionnaires have a series of questions with a choice of answers.

• Open questionnaires leave a space for the respondents’ response.

What are the advantages of closed questionnaires?

Easy to produce statistical data and to analyse the answers.

What are the disadvantages of closed questionnaires?

There’s no opportunity for respondents to clarify concepts or qualify views.

What are the advantages of open-ended questionnaires?

Provides more in depth data and is better for discovering complex meanings, feelings, or motives.

What are the disadvantages of open-ended questionnaires?

Answers need to be interpreted to understand the data, making it less objective. It’s also difficult and time-consuming to produce statistical data from the results.

What are the different way questionnaires can be administered?

• Face-to-face,

• post,

• over the phone,

• through the internet.

What are the advantages of administering questionnaires face to face?

Relatively high response rate and interviewer can clarify questions.

What are the disadvantages of administering questionnaires face to face?

The interviewer may influence responses and it’s time-consuming so potentially expensive.

What are the advantages of administering questionnaires over telephone?

It’s relatively cheap and easy to access.

What are the disadvantages of administering questionnaires over telephone?

The response rate may be low and it’s limited to those with telephones.

What are the advantages of administering questionnaires postally?

Relatively cheap and easy to access.

What are the disadvantages of administering questionnaires postally?

The response rate tends to be low and those who do respond may be atypical.

What are the advantages of administering questionnaires over the internet?

Very inexpensive and quick to send to a widely dispersed sample.

What are the disadvantages of administering questionnaires over the internet?

The response rate is likely to be low and is limited to those with internet access.

What are the practical advantages of questionnaires?

• It’s relatively easy to collect large amounts of data from a sizeable sample.

• Access to subjects can be relatively easy.

• Can be easy to analyse data with computer programs.

What are ethical advantages of questionnaires?

• It can be easy to keep respondents’ identity secret.

• Easy for respondents to decline so unlikely to negatively affect them.

What are theoretical advantages of questionnaires?

• Positivists favour this method as data from fixed-choice questions is easily analysed statistically.

• It can be reused an repeated.

• Ability to use large samples means it’s more likely to be representative.

What are theoretical disadvantages of questionnaires?

• Questions may be interpreted differently by different individuals.

• It’s difficult to develop new hypotheses because you only get the information that you ask for.

• Validity can be undermined if respondents lie or have faulty memory.

What research used questionnaires in an educational context?

Sullivan (2001) collected data from 465 pupils in 4 schools using questionnaires. She asked about the involvement of children in cultural activities and the parents’ own educational achievement.

What are practical advantages of using questionnaires in an educational context?

• The existence of sampling frames, such as lists of pupils, makes it easy to choose random samples.

• It’s relatively easy to access large numbers of respondents concentrated in particular places.

• Likely to be a high response rate once the school gives consent.

What are practical disadvantages of using questionnaires in an educational context?

• Researchers are limited on what they can ask children with poor literacy skills.

• Schools may not let researchers ask questions on sensitive topics.

What are ethical disadvantages of using questionnaires in an educational context?

• Anonymity of students must be maintained.

• Schools must be kept anonymous as to not damage their reputation.

• There may be the problem of not being able to get truly informed consent from young children.

What are theoretical disadvantages of using questionnaires in an educational context?

• The influence of peer groups might influence answers.

• Children may be prone to making up answers ‘for a laugh’.

• Parents and teachers may tend to provide socially acceptable answers.

What are the different degrees of structure interviews can have?

• Structured interviews include pre-set questions that are asked in the same order without variation.

• Partly structured interviews include a list of topics to be covered or there are some fixed questions.

• Unstructured interviews have no or few fixed questions, it’s more like a conversation.

What are advantages of structured interviews?

They’re easy to replicate and compare results, and there’s less chance of interviewer bias.

What are disadvantages of structured interviews?

There’s no opportunity to probe deeper and less chance of discovering new hypotheses.

What are advantages of partly structured interviews?

Provides some opportunity for respondents to lead the interview while ensuring main topics are covered.

What are disadvantages of partly structured interviews?

They lack the specific advantages of both structured and unstructured interviews.

What are advantages of unstructured interviews?

They allow respondents to direct the interview and provide more opportunity for developing new hypotheses.

What are disadvantages of unstructured interviews?

They’re hard to replicate, time-consuming, and it’s difficult to compare interviews.

What is coding?

In order to produce statistics from open-ended questions, the researcher has to devise a set of categories.

What are the different types of interview style?

• Non-directive interviewing is when the researcher offers no opinions of their own and doesn’t express approval/disapproval of responses.

• Aggressive interviewing is when the statements of the interviewees are challenged.

• Ann Oakley (1981) proposed collaborative interviewing, where the researcher befriends, advises, and tries to help the interviewee.

What factors can result in interviewer bias?

• The social characteristics of the interviewer, for example their ethnicity.

• The interviewer consciously or unconsciously directing the interviewee.

• Misunderstanding of what the interviewee is trying to say.

What are the different types of interview?

Individual and group interviews.

What are the advantages of individual interviews?

It prevents respondents being influenced by other interviewees and is less time-consuming.

What are the disadvantages of individual interviews?

There’s no opportunity to observe the interaction of different people.

What are the advantages of group interviews?

The interviewer can observe interaction, and it encourages deeper thought about topics. It’s also closer to real life.

What are the disadvantages of group interviews?

Respondents may be influenced by the desire to conform to the views of others.

What are advantages of interviews?

• Practical and flexible.

• Positivists like how large samples can be used, statistical data can be produced with coding, and research can be replicated.

• Interpretivists like how concepts can be clarified and there’s more opportunity for respondents to express ideas in their own way.

What research used questionnaires in an educational context?

Willis (1977) used group interviews with ‘the lads’ who formed an anti-school subculture to understand their attitudes toward school.

What are practical issues with the use of interviews in an educational context?

• Interviewing children requires consent from parents and teachers.

• Interviewers may be required to undergo a DBS check.

• Questions need to be phrased in a way children will understand.

What are ethical issues with the use of interviews in an educational context?

• Must be designed to not cause distress or fatigue.

• The confidentiality needs to be assured.

• Interviewers are in a difficult moral position if they hear something they feel they need to report.

What are theoretical issues with the use of interviews in an educational context?

• Interviewees may see the interviewer as an authority figure and therefore be unwilling to give full answers.

• In group interviews, respondents are likely to be influenced by peer group pressure.

• Responses of teachers may be influenced by the considerable professional scrutiny they are under.