Self-administered questionnaires
Which of the following is not a disadvantage of self-completion questionnaires compared to structured interviews?
The respondent can read the whole questionnaire before answering the first question
The researcher cannot ask many closed-ended questions
The researcher cannot probe or prompt respondents for more detail
The respondent may not answer all questions, resulting in missing data
The researcher cannot ask many closed-ended questions
Here we are dealing with the limitations of the self-completion questionnaire. It is true that ‘eliminating’ the interviewer eliminates interviewer bias but it is also true that no follow-up questions can be asked. It is equally true that respondents are very likely to read through the whole questionnaire before answering the first question (although web-based questionnaires can reduce this effect), which might tend to produce other responses than might have been given spontaneously. Partly because of this pre-reading, respondents may not answer all the questions, causing a coding problem later. However, far from being a disadvantage, researchers are encouraged to set closed-ended questions in this type of questionnaire because open-ended questions may cause problems of interpretation as well as proving too tedious to complete.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 223,224
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 223,224
The researcher cannot ask many closed-ended questions Here we are dealing with the limitations of the self-completion questionnaire. It is true that ‘eliminating’ the interviewer eliminates interviewer bias but it is also true that no follow-up questions can be asked. It is equally true that respondents are very likely to read through the whole questionnaire before answering the first question (although web-based questionnaires can reduce this effect), which might tend to produce other responses than might have been given spontaneously. Partly because of this pre-reading, respondents may not answer all the questions, causing a coding problem later. However, far from being a disadvantage, researchers are encouraged to set closed-ended questions in this type of questionnaire because open-ended questions may cause problems of interpretation as well as proving too tedious to complete.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 223,224
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 223,224
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Corti (1993) makes a distinction between two types of researcher-driven diary:A. Valid and reliable diaries
B. Quantitative and qualitative diaries
C. Structured and free-text diaries
D. Open or closed answer diaries
The ‘time-use’ diary can provide quantitative data about:
A. The amount of time respondents spend on certain activities every day
B. The subjective meanings that concepts of ‘time’ have for different people
C. The way respondents make sense of their life stories in narrative form
D. The historical significance of clocks, watches and other devices for measuring time
In order to identify response sets in a Likert scale, you could:
A. Pre-code all items consistently from 1-5
B. Reverse the scoring of pre-coded answers
C. Only include items about socially desirable behaviours
D. Include explicit instructions to respondents not to deceive you
When using a Likert scale with a long list of items, it is usually better to:
A. Arrange the answers horizontally, in abbreviated form
B. List the answers vertically, for each consecutive item
C. Omit any instructions about how to select an answer
D. List all questions on one page and all answers on another
One of the advantages of self-completion questionnaires over structured interviews is that:
A. They are quicker and cheaper to administer
B. They create interviewer effects
C. They have greater measurement validity
D. They are less prone to inter-coder variation
Why is it generally better to present fixed choice answers in vertical rather than horizontal form?
A. It takes up less space on the page
B. It encourages respondents to choose more than one answer
C. It allows questions to be spread over more than one page
D. It makes the layout of the questionnaire more clear and unambiguous
One advantage of using diaries in quantitative research is that:
A. There is a reduced risk of attrition, as respondents tend to be highly motivated
B. They are likely to elicit data about sensitive issues or deviant activities
C. They highlight the thoughts, feelings and experiences that are unique to each respondent
D. None of the above
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