Preferred Method: Survey
There are various ways in which social research are carried out. Therefore, considering the researcher aims and objectives, the researcher is bound to select the best research approach in order to obtain highly accurate results. In this study, the researcher aims at evaluating the impact of the media on the youth. In this case, the researcher prefers the survey approach. There are two key reasons that this approach is deemed to be superior to the other available approaches in social science studies.
First, the focus of this study is to evaluate the impact of media on the youth. Therefore, the study is interested in seeking the youth opinion on how they view the effect of the media on them. In order to capture this effect, one will need a self-reported data. One of the tools that are widely used in surveys, as will be later discussed, is the questioner. Therefore, through the use of a questioner, it is possible to capture this data hence managing to capture the effect since the respondents give their account on the impact of the media on the respondent as guided by the questions. As such, this eliminates any misrepresentation of the respondent’s opinion since the data is given directly by the subject of interest thus it is not subject to any interpretation (Rea & Parker, 2012). In addition, the questioner will collect data oriented to a given purpose which is a key advantage over experiments approach and observation where the researcher interprets and gives meaning to human behavior. In addition, the data collected is primary data which is specific to a given objective. Therefore, it enables the survey approach to apply data specific to the study objective. As such, the trait gives survey approach an upper hand over secondary data analysis and other approaches that do not use primary data.
Second, surveys enable the researcher to focus on factual information or obtain opinions. In this case, the study is focused on evaluating the impact of media on the youth. Therefore, the study is seeking the opinion of the youth regarding what they see as the media effect on them. On the other hand, the survey can be used to test an existing fact about the effect of media on youth. In this case, this will involve basing the questioner on existing facts that relates to the effect of media on the youth. Therefore, such a study will focus on testing an existing theory as the hypothesis (Rea & Parker, 2012). However, for the study at hand, the paper is based on gathering the opinion. As such, through the use of surveys, the researcher can collect information hence developing an understanding of the impact of the media on the youth based on the numerous positions given by the respondents.
On the other hand, the effectiveness of the method is limited by the limitation of the tool used in data collection. Therefore, the disadvantages that characterize the use of questioner are the limitation of this method since the efficiency and accuracy of any research method is defined by the data used. The major limitation is due to the scope of data collected due to the focus of the questioner.
The Questioner
Definition
A questioner is defined as a data collection tool that is used for collecting and recording information about a given issue. The tool consists of a list of questions that have a defined purpose that is related to the objective of the study.
Features
The lists of questions that will be administered through the questioner are categorized into two namely open-ended the question and close ended question. In this case, the case will employ a mixed paradigm to examine the effect of the media on the youth. Therefore, this makes it suitable to have both the open-ended questions and closed-ended questions. The open-ended questions are meant to address the quantitative element by examining element such as "how many?" and "how often?" type of questions. Also, using Likert chart, it is possible to quantify respondent opinion since the questioner will be examining the extent of agreement with the statement proposed. On the other hand, the open-ended question gives the respondent the necessary room to express their mind within the confinement of the aims and objectives of the study. The combination enables the researcher to collect rich data that boost the overall outcome of the study.
Factors to Consider
Initial Considerations
In developing the questioner, there are various considerations that will adhere. First, it should be clear what type of information needs to be collected. As such, this will involve evaluating the objectives of the study and the research question to ensure that the data collected will be useful in realizing the intended effect of the study and answers the research question. As such, the question must be clear and precise and must be targeting a given issue. Also, one needs to evaluate the channel that will be used to administer the questioner. For this study, the questioner will be physically administered to the student population. Therefore, since the population is quite busy, fewer questions will be undertaken that maximizes on the little time available to administer the questioner to the student.
Question Sequence and Layout
In order for the questioner to be effective, the question must be orderly with questions that are addressing similar thematic areas grouped together. The questioner should apply a technique called the funneling technique. Using this technique, the questioner is structured in a way that it begins with simple questions with the aim of putting the respondent at ease (Harris, 2010).
Ethical Issues
Confidentiality
In order to boost the prospects of having honest responses, the researcher must assure the respondent that the information that is obtained will be used for research purposes and the privacy of this information is protected by the applicable laws. As such, this reassures the respondents that the identities and personal details will never be shared with another party and no data that is obtained from the study is linked to any respondent.
Awareness
The researcher is bound to disclose the purpose of the research to the respondent. In addition, the researcher must ensure that the respondent is fully aware and has understood the purpose of the data that is being sorted. Therefore, there must be an agreement in which the respondent agrees to be a subject in the research. This can be achieved by requesting the client to append his signature at the end of the survey as a show that he has fully understood the research and has willingly and knowingly provided the data.
Effect of Data collection Method and Applicable Analysis
The tools used will collect both quantified data and qualitative data. As such, this will enable the application of statistical techniques to analyze the quantified data. The qualitative data collected is used to examine convergence and divergence of the respondent thinking without being constrained. As such, it enables the researcher to evaluate the thoughts of the respondents without restricting using predetermined options. As a result, the researcher can identify the respondent’s patterns of thought. On the other hand, considering the data that cannot be collected, the researcher appreciates that questioner’s limits the amount of data collected since they just collect the data which the questioner focused thus may leave out other useful data since it is not captured in the questions asked.
References
Harris, D. F. (2010). Complete guide to writing questionnaires: How to get better information for better decisions. National School Public Relations Association.
Rea, L. M., & Parker, R. A. (2012). Designing and Conducting Survey Research A Comprehensive Guide. Hoboken: Wiley.
