Task 6B - Tools of inquiry

FOCUS GROUPS:

Focus groups are similar to interviews but have different dynamics because of the interaction between  participants.

POSITIVES:

-interaction and though stimulation can lead to people expressing opinions on topics they may not have thought about on their own
- can collect a good range of different people's opinions
- easier to organise than lots of separate interviews
- supportive environment for people who don't like to talk on their own

NEGATIVES:
- difficult to manage and potentially less control
- necessary to plan (seating plan) and think about how to show direction
- some people may remain more quiet and withhold opinions so important to try to encourage everyone to have an input

How would using a focus group develop your line of inquiry within the workplace? Are there any downsides of using this tool? 

SURVEYS AND QUESTIONNAIRES:

Possible to gather a wide range of results in this way. You can take representational results and with random sampling collect more quantitative results. 

POSITIVES:
- ability to gather information from a wide range of sources
- large numbers of people can answer surveys/questionnaires
- ease of use for participants
- efficient in producing quantitative data 


NEGATIVES:

- limited in terms of depth of inquiry (can't ask more specific questions)

Important to carefully compose the questions to ensure participants fully understand and can provide accurate answers. 

Questionnaire checking should be done as soon as the completed questionnaire is returned. Check to ensure all the questions have been answered correctly. Add a reference number to the form that you should put in your data file to enable crosschecking. Ensure that you are recording data anonymously and observing the status of confidentiality to your respondents. Questionnaires are likely to produce quantitative data that can be statistically analysed, so be accurate when organising the responses. Reader 6 

How have other researchers analysed questionnaires? Can you find examples?
Try locating a questionnaire that has been used in a professional capacity and analyse its success or failure as a research tool. Can it be compared to what you need for your own questionnaire?