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The BIG Idea Questionnaires Explore the advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires in social research. Discover the importance of accurate sampling when using questionnaires in social research. We are Learning to... In today’s lesson... GOOD learning … Be able to identify one or two advantages and one or two disadvantages of using when using questionnaires in sociological research. GREAT learning … Be able to identify two or three advantages and two or three disadvantages of using questionnaires in sociological research and suggest one reason why an accurate sample is important. EVEN BETTER … Be able to identify three or more advantages and three or more disadvantages of using questionnaires in sociological research and clearly explain why an accurate sample is important, using an example. 2

Social Surveys Either written questionnaires and structured interviews. Whichever method of survey we choose, our questions are either open-ended or closed-ended. Closed-Ended Questions Limited range of possible answers. Easy to analysis. Open-Ended Questions The respondent is allowed to give whatever answer they wish, in their own words. Higher validity. Harder to analyse.

Open Questions: The respondent is free to give whatever response they wish, in their own words. Closed Questions: The respondent must choose from a limited set of possible answers that the researcher has decided upon in advance. TASK: Choose a song/film/book you like. Come up with two closed questions and two open questions about it to investigate what other people think of it.

Formulating a Hypothesis Most surveys have a general aim or seek to test a specific hypothesis for the research. A hypothesis is more specific than an aim . It’s a statement that can be tested by collecting evidence to prove whether it’s true or false. Hypotheses give direction to research. Questionnaires and interviews are based around attempting to either prove or disprove the hypothesis. WRITE A HYPOTHESIS FOR YOUR RESEARCH

Operationalising Concepts Means turning a concept/theory which would usually be approached qualitatively into something which can be measured. How would you ‘operationalise’ the following: Social class Education Poverty Disability WRITE FIVE QUESTIONS TO TEST YOUR HYPOTHESIS, OPERATIONALISING ANY CONCEPTS YOU THINK YOU NEED TO.

The Pilot Study Is the same idea as a ‘prototype’ - it’s a study based on your research to test first. Pilot studies are used to indicate any problems which need to be dealt with or that may arise.. Pilot studies indicate issues which need to be altered, after the pilot study is carried out, it is then possible to finalise the research and then to carry it out.

DISADVANTAGES OF QUESTIONNAIRES Practical advantages Reliability Hypothesis Testing Detachment & Objectivity Representativeness Ethical Issues Practical Problems Response Rate Inflexibility Questionnaires as Snapshots Detachment Lying, Forgetting and ‘Right Answerism’ Imposing the Researcher’s Meanings

DISADVANTAGES OF QUESTIONNAIRES Practical Problems Response Rate Inflexibility Questionnaires as Snapshots Detachment Lying, Forgetting and ‘Right Answerism’ Imposing the Researcher’s Meanings P.187-189

What can we infer about UK Society from this Census data? The resident population of England and Wales on the 27 March 2011 was 56.1 million, a seven per cent (3.7 million) increase since 2001 with 55 per cent (2.1 million) of this increase being due to migration. One in six people were aged 65 or over (16 per cent, 9.2 million). In 2011, four out of every five (81 per cent, 45.5 million) residents of England and Wales described themselves as being in good or very good health. The number of residents who stated that their religion was Christian in 2011 was fewer than in 2001. The size of this group decreased 13 percentage points to 59 per cent (33.2 million) in 2011 from 72 per cent (37.3 million) in 2001. The size of the group who stated that they had no religious affiliation increased by 10 percentage points from 15 per cent (7.7 million) in 2001 to 25 per cent (14.1 million) in 2011. Of the 13 per cent (7.5 million) of residents of England and Wales on 27 March 2011 who were born outside of the UK, just over half (3.8 million) arrived in the last 10 years. The number of cars and vans available for use by households in England and Wales increased from 23.9 million to 27.3 million between 2001 and 2011. In 2001 there were on average 11 cars per 10 households whereas in 2011 there were 12 cars per 10 households. The proportion of households with access to no cars or one car declined over the decade whereas the proportion with two or more cars rose. London was the only region where the number of cars and vans was lower than the number of households. In 2011 there were more people with Level 4 or above qualifications, eg Bachelor’s degree (27 per cent, 12.4 million), than people with no qualifications (23 per cent, 10.3 million). P.190

The BIG Idea Questionnaires Explore the advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires in social research. Discover the importance of accurate sampling when using questionnaires in social research. We are Learning to... In today’s lesson... GOOD learning … Be able to identify one or two advantages and one or two disadvantages of using when using questionnaires in sociological research. GREAT learning … Be able to identify two or three advantages and two or three disadvantages of using questionnaires in sociological research and suggest one reason why an accurate sample is important. EVEN BETTER … Be able to identify three or more advantages and three or more disadvantages of using questionnaires in sociological research and clearly explain why an accurate sample is important, using an example. 11