Methods

Methods

1. Both use SDQ questionnaire developed by goodman to assess behaviour difficulties using parents and teachers

   • Denscombe: questionnaires are useful in gathering information to be analysed for data, and also for getting accurate information and attitudes etc.
   • Questionnaires are a bit 'hit and miss' as they is no formula that will banish criticisms. questionnaires can be time consuming, and people could possible ignore them, as they are not a face-to-face approach to research (Denscombe)
   • Desncombe says that it is appropriate to use a questionnaire for large scale research over a wide demographic area.
   • information from questionnaires can be fact or opinion, factual questionnaires do not require any form of opinion, andneeds to provide accurate and honest information.
   • A downside with this examination may be that the questionnaires are not returned, or that they are not returned within the correct timescale.
   • Denscombe: questionnaires provide standardised answers - fair test as they are all posed with the same questions, they provide pre coded answers, so it is easier to translate into statistical data.
     • Downsides of questionnaires: precoded answers can be limiting for respondents and they will be put off by this - they want to provide more specific information. these precoded answers could be biased towards what the researcher wants to find out. there is little opportunity for the researcher to check the truthness of the answers of the study: this is in paper A when they say that the parents do not always agree with the teachers.
   • advantage of using SDQ - it has already been tested and used before, there is no need to do a pilot study (Oppenheim, 1978)
     • survey research can be an opportunity for the researcher to specify exactly what they want to get, so that the data they receive from a questionnaire is narrowed down already, and so there is no need to labouriously go through tonnes of answers that are not relevant. (Bryman and Bell, 2007)
   • Ethical issues surrounding questionnaires include: invasion into the respondents life, they cannot be coerced into the questionnaire and their feelings towards the survey will be dependent on the types of questions and the sensitivity surrounding them.They are not passive data providers - they are the subjects of the research and data not the objects.
     • Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2003) Research methods in education. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
       • a participants involvement with a questionnaire is dependent on: types of questions, guarantees that they will be anonymised, they can withdraw if they wish, that the data will not harm them personally or anyone else.
       • The SDQ uses a rating scale which has benefits: it is very attractive and widely used in educational research, as there is a greater subtlety in this approach as you can say little or very little etc - offers different degrees of rating. also rating scales are not completely impersonal and void of opinion. they allow the researcher to fuse measurement with opinion and quality with quantity.
       • sensitive questions: some respondents might not want to disclose information about their life if the questions are too sensitive: eg something to do with their children or their child's school.(Cooper and Schindler, 1998) Cooper, D. R. and Schindler, P. S. (1998) Business research methods. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
         • avoid ambiguous questions, statements that are agree vs disagree, use different wording, non threatening, open questions, longer questions, familiar words, (sudman and bradburn, 1985) Sudman, S. and Bradburn, N. M. (1985) Asking questions. San Francisco, Calif. [u.a.]: Jossey-Bass.

2. Interview with parents (paper A)

   • Cohen book.
     • interviews are intersubjective, as they are the construction of knowledge between participants.
     • not just about collecting data but also about opinions and feelings towards an issue.
     • sample respondents' opinions as a 'door-step' interview.
     • group interviews can save time and generate a wider range of results.
   • denscombe
     • the group interviews can be focused and specific.
     • the moderator does not need to openly adopt a neutral role
     • you gain a collective view, not an individual one, which holds a special value over the aggregate view.
     • downsides to interviews: time consuming, non standardised data, may not be reliable - are they telling the truth, way of recording may change the informant's answers, invasion of privacy, if informants are wide spread the cost of travel etc of the interviewer will be higher.

3. using the children for data: first hand, Hoff, E. (2012) Research methods in child language. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.

   • to ensure that children aren't aware they are being tested, consider the following for recording their results:sample size, participants, recording device, tone, approach etc
   • child needs to feel safe and comfortable, as does the parent
   • advantages are: first hand information, raw data/ experience, detail, interpretation is free.