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Section 3 Test 3 Trancript

The student is meeting with their advisor to discuss their research project investigating how people use local public services like parks and swimming pools. The advisor provides feedback on the student's plan to analyze official records from the local council and distribute questionnaires to collect additional data. They discuss setting an appropriate sample size, variables to examine, ways to increase questionnaire response rates, and types of questions to include. The advisor recommends the student get experience designing and distributing a questionnaire as it will be important for their final year dissertation.

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Nguyễn Thơ
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16 views3 pages

Section 3 Test 3 Trancript

The student is meeting with their advisor to discuss their research project investigating how people use local public services like parks and swimming pools. The advisor provides feedback on the student's plan to analyze official records from the local council and distribute questionnaires to collect additional data. They discuss setting an appropriate sample size, variables to examine, ways to increase questionnaire response rates, and types of questions to include. The advisor recommends the student get experience designing and distributing a questionnaire as it will be important for their final year dissertation.

Uploaded by

Nguyễn Thơ
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A: Hello, John. Come in and sit down.

You're here to discuss your research


project, are you?
B: Yes. I've more or less decided what to do, but I'd like your opinion.
A: Fine. You've chosen a topic?
B: Yes, I want to look at how people use public services in their local area.
Things like parks and swimming pools.
A: Right. Well, the kind of information you'll get is very useful for town
planning, of course. Do you have a special interest in public services?
B: Not really. It's just that I found a report in the college library about an
investigation that was done ten years ago, and I Thought it would be interesting
to do a parallel one.(21)
A: 10 years is a relatively short space of time. What do you expect to find?Do
you think things will be more or less the same as before?
B: I think there will be some differences. For example, I think the number of
people going to the library will have decreased. And I'd guess that older people
are using the sports center more often than they used to.(= changing the
habitants)(22)
A: Fine.So those are your hypotheses.Now, what sort of data are you going to
use?
B: I was thinking of using official records from the management or the local
council and analyzing them. They should be easy to obtain. I don't think that
sort of information would be confidential(=enough).(23)
A: Yes, you're probably right.There might not be as much information as you'd
like, but it would certainly be the easiest kind of data to work with. But have
you considered using a questionnaire as well?
B: It's okay to get data from more than one source?
A: Absolutely.It's a bonus. You've already done the module on questionnaire
design, haven't you? And it'll be good to get experience, because next year
you'll have to do something similar for your final dissertation on a bigger scale.
(24)
B: Okay.
A: And what are the variables you'll be looking at?Are you going to look at
people's level of education?Whether they have a degree, for example?
B: I hadn't planned to.Do you think I should?
A: Well, you might see some interesting patterns.
B: Okay.(25)And that'll tie in nicely with my plans to analyze the kind of work
people do.
A: What about the size of your sample? Have you got any thoughts on the
number of questionnaires you might send out?
B: The previous study surveyed 120 people. I don't think I can really analyze
more than 50, working by myself, so I should probably distribute about 80
questionnaires altogether to allow for wastage.Do you think that's enough?
A: Definitely. I know that your project guidelines recommend a minimum of
100, but that's an ideal number(26).And you're working by yourself. And
anyway, this assignment is mainly about giving you practice in research
methods.
B: Right.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A: …..and think of ways you can encourage people to actually complete the
questionnaire. For example, to make sure that your questions make sense, you
should try them out beforehand.
B: Okay, that's no problem.My friends will help(27E).
A: Good.Sometimes you get unpredicted responses and you have to rephrase a
question.
B: And I know that you usually get a better return if you deliver questionnaires
in person,but there will be too many. But I could enclose a stamped envelope
for the return post.(28D) It's a bit expensive, but I think it would be worth it.
A: Yes.Good. Some people say that another way of increasing returns is to
make the questionnaires anonymous. But usually people put their names on
anyway, so I don't think that would make much difference.
B: Okay.And can you give me a bit more advice about the questionnaire?
Would it be a good idea to have a short paragraph at the top explaining what I'm
doing and why?
A: Definitely(29C). And don't forget you'll need to get a bit of information
about your subjects, what age group they're in and perhaps how long they've
lived in the area(30B). So you'll need questions for that
B: Yes, I suppose that will mean it takes a bit longer to complete. But should I
give them my phone number in case there's anything they're not sure about?
A: I wouldn't if I were you.No.
B: Okay.And do I have to use open ended questions as well as closed questions?
I know the books say it's better to have a mixture.
A: Well, it depends.In this case, I'd stick to close questions. The results will be
much more manageable like that.
B: If I draft some questions tomorrow, would it be okay to bring them?

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