1.

Social surveys
Type
Structured/formal interviews involves asking standardised questions (mainly closed) to a large number of people. The researcher asks the question and then records the answers. Can be conducted face to face or over the phone e.g. British Crime Survey (BCS) - sample size 40,000 victims, face to face. .

Specific advantages (theoretical points made by positivists)

The response rates are usually higher than other survey methods - 60 to 85%. BCS response rate 75%. This pushes up the reliability and representativeness of the findings. (Theoretical) There is no confusion over the meaning of the questions or how to answer them - explained by the interviewer if necessary. This helps to ensure that the survey is completed fully, increasing validity & reliability. (Theoretical) Interviewers can be trained up quickly and relatively inexpensively just have to follow set procedures. (Practical) Fairly quick and cheap to carry out compared with informal interviews. (Practical)

Specific disadvantages (theoretical points made by interpretivists)

This method can suffer from interviewer bias. The way questions are phrased and the interviewers body/facial mannerisms can all distort results, lowering validity & reliability. PP bias may result where research is carried out in schools - informal communication channels may lower validity as pps begin to talk about the interviewers and their questions. (Theoretical) More expensive than other survey methods. In the BCS a big expense is the laptops used in the CAPI system. Also interviewers have to be paid. (Practical) Structured Interviews can take longer than other survey methods. Extra time should be given to studying young students, as they may not understand questions due to their less developed linguistic and intellectual abilities. (Practical) Mailed questionnaires can receive low response rates (25 to 50%). If questionnaires are long teachers may be unwilling to complete them as they are often overworked. Parents of working class students are less likely to return questionnaires than middle class parents. This can destroy the representativeness of a sample. Reliability is also lowered. (Theoretical) With mailed questionnaires there is no one there to explain the questions or instructions for completion. This can result in the questionnaires being incomplete or spoiled, reducing the validity and reliability of the findings. This might be a problem when studying parental attitudes towards education where the parents are illiterate or whose first language is not English. (Theoretical) Cannot be sure a respondent has received a questionnaire and cannot guarantee the questionnaire was completed by the person to whom it was addressed. (Practical)

Mailed questionnaires a type of written or self completion questionnaire which is sent out via the post or email. The respondent then fills in the questionnaire and mails it back, normally in the pre paid envelope or electronically. e.g. Conor and Dewson postal questionnaire on factors influencing the decision of working class students to go to university sample size 4000. Other types of written questionnaire: administered on the spot e.g. in a school classroom.

Can cover large geographical areas. For example, a sociologist interested in student attitudes to subject choice could gain views from a spread of schools across the whole country. Reliability increases as a consequence. (Theoretical) The researcher is detached and objective and therefore bias is minimal which increases the reliability of the findings. (Theoretical) Mailed questionnaires give pps time to give thought to their answers, increasing the validity of the findings. (Theoretical) Written questionnaires carried out in schools often have high response rates because Head teachers have given their consent and allocated time in the day for them to be completed. Teachers and students are also used to completing questionnaires issued by the school. This pushes up representativeness and reliability. (Theoretical) Questionnaires allow for anonymity and detachment e.g. students may be willing to fill in questionnaires on bullying as their anonymity offers them protection. (Theoretical) Quick and cheap compared to other research methods. Costs are also reduced in comparison to other research methods because there are no interviewers to pay. Rutter was able to gather a range of data e.g. on achievement and class size in 12 inner London schools very quickly. (Practical)

General THEORETICAL advantages (common to all types of quantitative survey)

Positivists favour all types of survey method for the following reasons: Large sample sizes are possible. For example, the sample size of the BCS is 40,000. This pushes up representativeness and reliability and allows generalisations to be made from the sample population. Chubb and Moe were able to generalise about parents views on the ways schools should be run following their large scale survey into parental attitudes towards schooling. Results are verifiable and reliable because the questions are standardised. Quantifiable the use of largely closed ended questions makes it possible to produce statistics and establish relationships and correlations. Comparisons can be made between social groups, time periods, and across societies when considering educational achievement. Bowles and Gintis established a correlation between personality traits valued by employers (e.g. obedience) and high exam grades following their questionnaire of high school students. Sullivan established through a questionnaire a correlation between childrens cultural capital (e.g. exposure to sophisticated TV and books) and good GCSE exam performance.

General THEORETICAL disadvantages (common to all types of quantitative survey)

Interpretivists (anti-positivists) do not favour all types of survey method for the following reasons: People may lie as no rapport is built up with the researcher. School pupils may also see the researcher as an authority figure, too much like a teacher. People may also forget or not know (especially surveys carried on young pupils) answers to questions. Some may give answers they think researchers might want to hear (right answerism). All this lowers validity. Closed questions can produce shallow answers as the questions limit what the respondent can say. This can result in a lack of depth, insight, meanings and feelings, validity is also lowered. E.g. Rutter was unable to find out the reasons why class size shaped exam achievement in his correlational survey. Surveys impose the researchers meanings, lowering validity. For example deciding what questions are important. Furthermore due to the large use of closed questions surveys result in premature closure, the results are pre-defined and the answer the respondent is looking for may not be present. For example Chubb and Moe may have chosen questions and categories of answer to produce a set of results which suited their New Right viewpoint. There is a lack of flexibility in that the questions are pre-defined and so the researcher has no room to follow up interesting avenues that may open up during the research, this lowers validity.

They are useful for testing hypotheses about cause and effect relationships. For example, the relationship between material deprivation and educational achievement. From this social laws and predictions can be made. General ethical issues that all survey methods should follow: Gain informed consent and ensure pps remain anonymous (personal data should not be kept about children unless vital to research). Right to withdraw. Make sure questions are not too intrusive or sensitive. Protection from harm students should not be questioned for too long as they may cause distress.

General Practical problems of all survey methods

Operationalising sociological concepts so they are understandable to the public can be difficult. For example, turning concepts such as deferred gratification or cultural capital into language that pupils will understand is problematic. This is especially the case with younger pupils or those with learning difficulties. Access problems - schools may be reluctant to allow surveys to be done in schools because of the disruption it causes. Having to keep questionnaires short surveys carried out on young pupils need to be kept short because of short attention spans, this limits the information that can be gathered. Surveys are often perceived as formal and official documents some school students, e.g. anti-school students may refuse to co-operate or take a survey seriously

Sample questions a) Explain what is meant by a hypothesis (2 marks). b) Explain the difference between a questionnaire and a structured interview (4 marks). c) Suggest two practical disadvantages of using structured interviews in sociological research (4 marks). d) Examine the reasons why some sociologists choose not to use questionnaires when conducting research (20 marks). Using material from Item B and elsewhere, assess the strengths and limitations of questionnaires for the study of parental attitudes towards education (20 marks).

Further reading Pages 180-183, 186-197, 234-235 in Webb R et al. (2008) AQA AS level Sociology, Napier press.