Questionnaires

• Close-ended questions


  no chance to elaborate the answers,

  have pre set questions and answers
• (quantitative) structured questionnaires

  Pre-set questions and answers, often completed by self via email, post or face-to-face
• Favoured by Positivists as they use methods/approaches that generate data that can be generalised to the wider population (macro), and are reliable as they argue society should be studied scientifically. They attempt to establish social facts. Produces quantitative data.
• Government Document


  • Census
• Census


  • Wide-ranging, compulsory and well-funded
  • Completed every ten years and sent to all households in the UK
  • Same set of questions used each time, allowing results to be quickly and easily analysed, permitting comparisons about trends and patterns
  • Household questionnaire asks about accommodation, relationships, demographics, migration, culture, health, qualifications, employment, etc.
  • Provides information the government needs to develop policies, plan public services, and allocate funding
• Census 2011


  • First to post out all household questionnaires based on a national address register
  • First to offer choice to complete online or on paper
  • Completed questionnaires from communal establishments collected by special enumerators
  • Everyone legally obliged to complete, risking a fine of up to £1,000 for non-compliance
• Government Document


  • Crime Survey of England & Wales (CSEW)
• CSEW


  • Annually invites around 50,000 households to participate
  • Measures crime by asking members of the public about their experiences over the last 12 months, including unreported crimes
  • Uses stratified sampling to select households
  • Around three quarters respond each year, allowing comparisons
  • Includes questions on emerging crimes like fraud and online crimes
  • Can ask sensitive or traumatic questions about crime experiences
• S.Hite Report


  • Women and Love
• S.Hite Report


  • Aimed to explore people's sexual behaviour and relationships, focusing on satisfaction with marriage
  • Used a self-completed, posted questionnaire to ensure anonymity and privacy for sensitive topic
  • Sent out 100,000 questionnaires but had a low response rate of under 5%, though this was still a high number of participants