Questionnaires - They are very simple to create and you can target a large percentage of people fast, you can always target the questions for your topic area that you are trying to cover. But, many people will not do the questionnaire as they cant be bothered with it, or they might just tick any box to get it out the way so it may not be the most reliable method
Interviews - Although they involve time as you need to set up a meeting and ideally meet face to face they are one of the best methods to gather high quality detailed information on the topic area that you are looking to cover. You can also pick up on peoples body language to see if there are any other information that you can pick up
Focus groups - Just like interviews they take a lot of time and effort to set up but once a focus group has been set up weather this is a meeting or a online group the different options on something are key to developing a well rounded research project
Debates - Within a debating atmosphere people will get very good ideas by countering other peoples. Certain topics which some people would think of others wouldn't. A wide range of ideas and opinions can be gathered from debating
Blogs - If a good blog has been set up then many people can post many good ideas. They are not restricted by questions set and they are free to speak their mind. Also, they generally have a larger time span to answer to then questionnaires for example so people cache back to them and post ideas whenever they want.
Surveys - If you can target them at the right people they can be highly successful. They can be a cheap way of getting answers quickly and if they are worded correctly you can get the answers you desire.
I personally think questionnaires are a useful source. They are very cost effective when compared to face-to-face interviews, this assists studies involving large sample sizes and large geographic areas. Written questionnaires become even more cost effective as the number of research questions increases.
Another reason I like questionnaires is that everyone is familiar with them. Nearly everyone has had some experience completing questionnaires and they generally do not make people apprehensive.
Experiments take place in a controlled environment and therefore are great for getting reliable and valid data. Being able to control certain factors means that you are only measuring what you want to measure thus making the data high in validity. Also the fact there is high controls means that the data would be replicable and therefore testable. having reliable data means that if someone was to conduct the same research they are likely to get the same results. There are negatives to conducting experiments such as them being low in ecological validity due to them usually being carried out in an artificial environment. Also they are most expensive than other research methods. However in comparison to questionnaires for example they provide more reliable data and have more control over what you are measuring. Experiments are very effective when studying smaller amounts of people and on a higher budget.
Questionnaires - They are very simple to create and you can target a large percentage of people fast, you can always target the questions for your topic area that you are trying to cover. But, many people will not do the questionnaire as they cant be bothered with it, or they might just tick any box to get it out the way so it may not be the most reliable method
ReplyDeleteInterviews - Although they involve time as you need to set up a meeting and ideally meet face to face they are one of the best methods to gather high quality detailed information on the topic area that you are looking to cover. You can also pick up on peoples body language to see if there are any other information that you can pick up
Focus groups - Just like interviews they take a lot of time and effort to set up but once a focus group has been set up weather this is a meeting or a online group the different options on something are key to developing a well rounded research project
Debates - Within a debating atmosphere people will get very good ideas by countering other peoples. Certain topics which some people would think of others wouldn't. A wide range of ideas and opinions can be gathered from debating
ReplyDeleteBlogs - If a good blog has been set up then many people can post many good ideas. They are not restricted by questions set and they are free to speak their mind. Also, they generally have a larger time span to answer to then questionnaires for example so people cache back to them and post ideas whenever they want.
ReplyDeleteSurveys - If you can target them at the right people they can be highly successful. They can be a cheap way of getting answers quickly and if they are worded correctly you can get the answers you desire.
ReplyDeleteI personally think questionnaires are a useful source. They are very cost effective when compared to face-to-face interviews, this assists studies involving large sample sizes and large geographic areas. Written questionnaires become even more cost effective as the number of research questions increases.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason I like questionnaires is that everyone is familiar with them. Nearly everyone has had some experience completing questionnaires and they generally do not make people apprehensive.
Experiments take place in a controlled environment and therefore are great for getting reliable and valid data. Being able to control certain factors means that you are only measuring what you want to measure thus making the data high in validity. Also the fact there is high controls means that the data would be replicable and therefore testable. having reliable data means that if someone was to conduct the same research they are likely to get the same results.
ReplyDeleteThere are negatives to conducting experiments such as them being low in ecological validity due to them usually being carried out in an artificial environment. Also they are most expensive than other research methods.
However in comparison to questionnaires for example they provide more reliable data and have more control over what you are measuring.
Experiments are very effective when studying smaller amounts of people and on a higher budget.