surveys

social surveys

• a social survey involves the systematic collection of mainly quantitative data from a fairly large number of people

• social surveys usually obtain this information through questionaires , or less often, through structured interviews

longitudinal surveys

• same group of people over a long period of time

• such surveys provide us with a clearer image of changes in attitudes and behaviour over a number of years

• for example, a national child development study has followed the same 40,00 children all born in one week in march 1958

• follow up studies have surveyed the group at the ages of 16,23 and 33 in order to track the influence of class, education or family on their health

problems with longitudinal surveys

• respondents may drop out of the research or researchers may lose track of them which undermines the representativeness of the original sample

• the views of those who remain in the sample may also be significant as those who drop out which undermine the validity of the research

• there is a danger that the research team may get too friendly with the research group and consequently lose their ability to be objective

• they are expensive

more problems with longitudinal surveys

• there is a danger that the research team may get too friendly with the research group and consequently lose their ability to be objective

• they are expensive

social surveys

• a social survey is a method of obtaining large amounts of data , usually in a statistical form , from a large number of people by asking them questions about their lives, attitudes, opinions or behaviour

• it usually takes the form of a self-completion questionnaire or a structure interview

• whichever survey method is used, the social survey has for many years been the most widely used method for social research

• examples of large-scale surveys include the British crime survey and the general large scale social survey

• positivists advocate the use of survey method

• they are organised in a logical and systematic fashion via questionnaire design

interpretivist views on surveys

• they argue that social survey with their emphasis on scientific logic and statistical data give us little insight into how people see and understand their lives

• surveys are seen as artificial devices that produce artificial responses - approaching respondents like this creates a thoroughly unnatural situation , so whatever the results , they wont have much bearing on what respondents actually think , generally feel, normally experience , or really believe.