Using information from item B and elsewhere, examine the usefulness of questionnaires in sociological research.
Ciara Thomas- Sociology Essay
Using information from item B and elsewhere, examine the usefulness of questionnaires in sociological research.
“Item B: The first time we had this questionnaire, I thought it was a bit of a laugh. That’s the memory of it. I can’t remember if I answered in truthfully or not … it had a list of drugs and some of them I never heard of, and just the names just cracked me up” Source: Youth quoted in Parker, H., Aldrige, J. and Meashem, F. (1998) Illegal Leisure, London: Routledge. Pp. 46-7
There are many advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires and throughout this essay I am going to examine the usefulness of questionnaires in sociological research. I will compare the advantages and disadvantages and find out whether it is can be a useful method to use.
Questionnaires are written questions; these questions are given out to a number of respondents for a researcher to find out certain information. When the researcher sends out a questionnaire each one is written in the same order so that it is easier for the information to be collected and collated. Once the results have been collected and collated they can be analysed using computers and you can also use large samples and surveys. They are made for a purpose of gathering information for a survey or a statistical study. Most of the time questionnaires use quantitative data which means numbers and statistics are mainly used. This is positive because when we have numbers and statistics we are able to see different trends and patterns which is really helpful when trying to find out particular results. The most common type of questionnaire used for sociological research would be the self- completion questionnaire where it is given out for people to complete. When structured interviews are taken place it is normally by a researcher that is highly trained and this means that they guide the respondent through the question preventing any errors or misunderstandings that could be
Using information from item B and elsewhere, examine the usefulness of questionnaires in sociological research.
“Item B: The first time we had this questionnaire, I thought it was a bit of a laugh. That’s the memory of it. I can’t remember if I answered in truthfully or not … it had a list of drugs and some of them I never heard of, and just the names just cracked me up” Source: Youth quoted in Parker, H., Aldrige, J. and Meashem, F. (1998) Illegal Leisure, London: Routledge. Pp. 46-7
There are many advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires and throughout this essay I am going to examine the usefulness of questionnaires in sociological research. I will compare the advantages and disadvantages and find out whether it is can be a useful method to use.
Questionnaires are written questions; these questions are given out to a number of respondents for a researcher to find out certain information. When the researcher sends out a questionnaire each one is written in the same order so that it is easier for the information to be collected and collated. Once the results have been collected and collated they can be analysed using computers and you can also use large samples and surveys. They are made for a purpose of gathering information for a survey or a statistical study. Most of the time questionnaires use quantitative data which means numbers and statistics are mainly used. This is positive because when we have numbers and statistics we are able to see different trends and patterns which is really helpful when trying to find out particular results. The most common type of questionnaire used for sociological research would be the self- completion questionnaire where it is given out for people to complete. When structured interviews are taken place it is normally by a researcher that is highly trained and this means that they guide the respondent through the question preventing any errors or misunderstandings that could be