The Social Approach: How science works 2009

Multiple choice questions: Questionnaires, qualitative and quantitative dataBeware some of these questions may have more than one correct answer.

1. Personal data questions generally should come...

a. First in a questionnaireb. Middle of the questionnairec. Last in a questionnaired. On the front of the questionnaire

2. A likert scale question is a type of closed question which asks participants to...

a. Mark how they feel or what they think about an issue by indicating their position between two polar opposites such as secure at one end of the scale and insecure at the other end.

b. Indicate the extent to which they agree which a statement by circling or ticking a box where the options range from strongly disagree to strongly agree

c. give a detailed answer in their own words

d. order a series of items in terms, of how important they are to them

3. A semantic differential is a type of closed question which assesses attitudes, opinions an feelings by asking participants to...

a. Mark how they feel or what they think about an issue by indicating their position between two polar opposites such as secure at one end of the scale and insecure at the other end.

b. Indicate the extent to which they agree which a statement by circling or ticking a box where the options range from strongly disagree to strongly agree

c. give a detailed answer in their own words

d. order a series of items in terms, of how important they are to them

4. The use of standardised instructions is important as this improves the...

a. subjectivity of the results

b. reliability of the results

c. external validity of the results

d. analysis of the results

5. Ethical considerations relating to questionnaires include

The Social Approach: How science works 2009

a. ensuring that participants do not have to waste their time asking irrelevant questions

b. ensuring that the participants understands that he or she has the right to withdraw and knows how to contact the researcher in case he or she changes his or her mind

c. ensuring that data is stored securely, that participants confidentiality is maintained and that data is not used for any purpose other than the current research

d. all of the above

6. It is important that questionnaires are not too long as this could jeopardise...

a. the validity of the responses given

b. the reliability of the responses given

c. the objectivity of the responses given

d. the ethics of the study

7. A frequent problem with closed questionnaires that students do not consider carefully enough the full range of answers that a participant may give and this means Pps are often forced to give answers which do not reflect their experiences. This limits the ...

a. the validity of the study

b. the reliability of the study

c. the objectivity of the study

d. the ethics of the study

8. Questionnaires can be subject to demand characteristics. This is because...

a. It is hard to design questions which do not give away what the study is about

b. it is not ethical to ‘hide’ critical questions away amidst lots of irrelevant items

c. participants are always told the exact aim and hypothesis in questionnaire studies

d. the researcher is usually with the participant when they fill the questionnaire in

9. Questionnaire are deemed to have fairly high reliability because...

a. they ask a wide range of questions which allow the researcher to access a lot of information

b. they can be given to a large number of people

c. they can be administered under controlled conditions and following a standardised format which means that they can be replicated

The Social Approach: How science works 2009

d. participants are often allowed the opportunity to express their thoughts, feeling and opinions in their own words and this provides rich and detailed information.

10. The validity of questionnaires including fixed responses (closed) questions may be dubious unless...

a. a large number of questionnaires are issued

b. the researcher conducts a pilot study first and asks for feedback on the range of alternative answers provided

c. the researcher conducts a focus group first where potential participants can discuss the general research aims and give their ideas about how the questions and answers should be phrased

d. the results can be replicated

11. Qualitative data is analysed by...

a. examining the participants responses very carefully and searching for themes and relationships between the themes.

b. calculating percentages, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion

c. drawing flow charts and other diagrams

d. constructing tables and graphs

12. Quantitative data is analysed by...

a. examining the participants responses very carefully and searching for themes and relationships between the themes.

b. calculating percentages, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion

c. drawing flow charts and other diagrams

d. constructing tables and graphs

13. A strength of qualitative data is that ...

a. It is easy to replicate

b. It is easy to analyse

c. It is not constrained by the researcher’s expectations

d. it is not affected by leading questions

The Social Approach: How science works 2009

14. A weakness of qualitative data is that...

a. it can be considered unscientific because the focus is on the construction of meaning and this is individual to both the participant and to the researcher

b. it can be considered subjective as the researcher selects quotes which support emergent themes

c. it is not easy to replicate and thus reliability may be hard to establish

d. it is very detailed and some of the things participants say might be meaningless

15. A strength of quantitative data is that it is...

a. easy to analyse

b. easy to replicate

c. generally valid

d. generalisable

Answers: 1. C, 2. B, 3. A, 4. B, 5. D, 6. A , 7. A, 8. A and B, 9. C, 10. B and C, 11. A and C, 12. B and D, 13. C, 14. A, B and C, 15. A and B