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NAB Review Dec 09. What are the advantages of conducting a pilot study?. Helps to sharpen the focus of the study. Checks the feasibility. Improves the design of the survey. Avoids time and money being wasted on inadequately designed surveys.
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What are the advantages of conducting a pilot study? • Helps to sharpen the focus of the study. • Checks the feasibility. • Improves the design of the survey. • Avoids time and money being wasted on inadequately designed surveys. • Questions tested to make sure they make sense to respondents. • Helps to develop research skills of those taking part.
Advantages of using surveys as research method • Surveys are cheap and quick to conduct compared to some other methods of research. • Pre-coded, standardised questions make it possible to analyse surveys quickly and accurately on a computer. • As questions are standardised, it is possible to identify patterns and make comparisons between different groups. • If the sample is successful, it is possible to make general statements about the population as a whole, rather than just the group being studied.
Disadvantages of using surveys as research method • If the sample is large, analysis might be time-consuming, producing results which are already out-of-date. • Statistics give no indication of individual’s meanings. • Premature closure of questions mean that people have not been able to express themselves fully; the answer that they wanted to give may not be there. • It might be argued that no questions are truly standardised. People may attach a different meaning to the same question or interpret it in totally different ways. • It is difficult to check whether people are answering honestly. • If the sampling is less than random or if the response rate is low, the findings will be less reliable.
To what extent can valid and reliable conclusions be drawn…? • Source is Times newspaper – political heavyweight; partisanship. • Only England and Wales included. • Decade of decline – source of these figures unclear. • One third of school children … source unclear. • However, BCS cited as source - reliable • Figures were up to date – but time lag/effect of dating. • Figures show trend over time.
What further information? • Figures for Scotland/Northern Ireland. • Could include successes or figures from amnesty. • Other factors which might have affected crime rates. • Comparisons with previous knife amnesties/attempts to control knife crime.