Advanced Higher Modern Studies - Question 6 Exemplar

1

• Question Paper
• 2005
• Question 6

2

• Question Paper 2005,
• Question 6

6 (a) Outline the strengths and weaknesses of
this source for a researcher interested in
measuring public support for ID cards. (10)
6 (b) Suggest, giving reasons, one alternative
method by which the information could be
presented in order to make it easier for a
researcher to use. (5)
3

• Question 6
• 2005

Outline the strengths and weaknesses of
this source for a researcher interested in
measuring public support for ID cards. (10)
Key word this source means that you must
examine the source of the information very
carefully.

• You should focus on
• the fact that it is an opinion poll
• the fact that the opinion poll was carried out by
  MORI, an internationally respected polling
  company
• how the poll was conducted

4
Outline the strengths and weaknesses of
this source for a researcher interested in
measuring public support for ID cards. (10)

• Question 6
• 2005

• date on which the poll was carried out
• characteristics of the sample
• who has been sampled
• and who has been left out?
• size of the sample
• use of weighting
• use of rounding
• type of questions asked

5

• Question 6 2005

• Question asks you to describe and explain the
  strengths and weaknesses of this source of
  information.
• Your answer therefore must be balanced for full
  marks.
• This means that you must address both the
  strengths and the weaknesses.

6

• Question 6 2005

• If you do not, your answer will be marked out of
  6 marks and not 10.
• Your answer though does not have to be equally
  balanced.
• It is possible to achieve 6 marks for strengths
  and 4 marks for weaknesses or vice versa.

7

• Question 6 2005

• You will get a lot of credit for developing your
  points and for providing exemplification.
• Answers that simply list points will not receive
  a high mark.
• Answers that show a lack of knowledge or
  understanding of the issue will not achieve high
  marks.

8
Company used to carry out the opinion poll MORI

• Strengths

• is an internationally respected polling company
• has a lot of experience in carrying out opinion
  polls knows importance of sample size,
  characteristics of sample population etc. and has
  to stay in business so it has to maintain its
  credibility as a polling company.
• has to stay in business so it has to maintain its
  credibility as a polling company. used by many
  high profile companies such as market research,
  newspapers and political parties to gauge public
  opinion on many issues.
• is used by many high profile companies such as
  market research, newspapers and political parties
  to gauge public opinion on many issues.

9

• Question 6
• 2005
• Strengths

Company used weighting to choose the sample

• Weighting ensures that the sample of 1000 people
  aged 18 and over are representative of the whole
  population of the UK.
• Weighting takes into account the following
  characteristics of the UK population
• its age structure
• its gender structure
• socio-economic structure.

10

• Question 6 2005
• Weaknesses

• Many critics of opinion polls wonder how a
  sample of around 1000 people can be
  representative of the opinions of millions of
  people.

Size of sample - 1000
Use of computer rounding

• This will introduce statistical error into the
  final results reducing their level of accuracy.

11
Research method used advantages and
disadvantages

• Question 6 2005
• Strengths

• Advantages of telephone interviewing using RDD
  Random Digit Dialling.
• RDD provides a representative probability sample
  of all telephone users, unlike telephone surveys
  which rely on registered telephone number lists
  or directories. (Telephone interviewing has
  traditionally been regarded as unreliable because
  of the difficulty of obtaining an unbiased
  genuinely random sample from the phone book).
• ICM and Gallup argued that 94 of the population
  could now be contacted by phone. RDD can be used
  to contact ex-directory numbers.
• Good because people who are ex-directory can now
  be contacted mainly female, people living on
  their own no longer excluded from the sample.

12
Research method used advantages and
disadvantages

• Question 6 2005
• Strengths

• Advantages of telephone interviewing using RDD
  Random Digit Dialling.
• Telephone interviewing makes it easier and
  cheaper to get a wider sample in terms of
  geographical positioning avoids clustering which
  happens with postal surveys.
• Allows for more stringent checks to be carried
  out on those who are interviewing because they
  are all based in one central position rather than
  being spread throughout the country.

13

• Question 6
• 2005
• Weaknesses

Research method used advantages and
disadvantages

• Disadvantages of telephone interviewing using RDD
  Random Digit Dialling.
• 10 of the UK population do not have a telephone
  these people are also excluded from the survey
  mainly people in the lower socio-economic
  groups in society.
• Still the problem of obtaining a response-
  non-contacts and refusals.
• Still the problem of reliability of information
  received over the phone. People find it easier to
  make false comments on the phone. Is the person
  on the phone who they say they are?

14

• Question 6
• 2005
• Weaknesses

Reliability of opinion polls as a source of
information

• Opinion polls are inherently limited in their
  value as predictors because they only represent a
  snap-shot of public opinion at the time the
  survey is carried out and the results go to
  press.
• Opinion polls can only measure what people say.
  What people say and actually do are often not the
  same and so if used to predict how people might
  vote on the issue, opinion polls are not accurate.

15
Reliability of opinion polls as a source of
information

• Question 6
• 2005
• Weaknesses

• This poll was carried out between 18 and 23
  March 2004 but the results were not published
  until 23 April 2004.
• Some of the respondents may well have changed
  their mind on the issue during that time. Results
  therefore may not be an accurate reflection of
  public opinion.

16

• Question 6
• 2005
• Weaknesses

Reliability of opinion polls as a source of
information

• 1972, 1992 General Elections - opinion polls
  carried out during the election campaign came
  under criticism for high level of inaccuracy.
• Opinion polls since 1970 have predicted the
  wrong outcome in 5 out 7 elections.

17

• Question 6
• 2005
• Weaknesses

Reliability of opinion polls as a source of
information

• Some people are inclined to give politically
  correct answers to questions. This will
  inevitably increase the chances and size of error
  in the result.
• Many critics of opinion polls wonder how a
  sample of around 1000 people can be
  representative of the opinions of millions of
  people.

18
Type of questions asked in the opinion poll

• Question 6
• 2005

• Questions are examples of closed questions
  they give the respondent a choice of answers from
  a directed list. Gives standardised answers.

• Advantages

• Standardised answers make it possible to identify
  patterns and make comparisons between the
  different groups of people such as between males
  and females or between working-class and
  middle-class.
• Results can be replicated easily to check for
  reliability.
• Same questions can be repeated at a future date
  in order to make comparisons over time
  longitudinal study.
• Reduces possibility of interviewer bias.

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Type of questions asked in the opinion poll

• Question 6
• 2005

• Disadvantages

• With closed questions it is difficult for
  respondents to elaborate or develop their answers
  in depth. This means that the results may not be
  wholly valid in that they do not give a true
  picture of the respondents point of view.
• Difficult to make generalisations or assumptions
  based on the results.

20

• Key words information, presented, easier, a
  researcher.
• Consider how the information is presented by MORI
  e.g.
• The questions are written in bold.
• The standardised answers are listed underneath.
• The number who responded to each standardised
  answer is given beside it in s.
• How could this be improved upon?

• Question 6
• 2005

b) Suggest giving reasons, one alternative way
in which the information in the source could be
presented in order to make it easier for a
researcher to use.
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Primary data that is collected in statistical
form can be presented in a variety of graphical
ways.

• Presenting and
• Analysing Results

Presenting data in this way is very important
because it helps analysis.

• Question 6
• 2005

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• Presenting and
• Analysing Results

• Question 6
• 2005

23
There is a huge range of graphical
and cartographical techniques available

• Presenting and
• Analysing Results

The technique you use will depend on the type
of data collected

• Question 6
• 2005

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Whatever the technique chosen, it should be

• Presenting
• data

neat, colourful and annotated, in order to ensure
its impact and effectiveness.
25

• Presenting
• field data

So all diagrams must have
a labelled axis
a title
a key
and be referred to in the text
colour
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• Presentation
• Techniques

Results of Opinion Poll on Identity Cards

• A comparative bar graph is used to show the
  frequency or amount of a number of different
  categories or questions.
• The bars are drawn with a gap in between them,
  and they are coloured or shaded differently. This
  is because the categories are unconnected.

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• Presentation
• Techniques

Results of Question (i) To what extent, if at
all, are you in favour of, or opposed to, a
national identity card scheme?

• This method of presenting the results is called a
  histogram used when results are connected
  yes, no, dont know
• It has the same advantages as for a bar graph
  however in this example three histograms would
  have to be drawn
• one for each question
• a different colour could be used for each
  question.

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• Presentation
• Techniques

Results of Opinion Poll on Identity Cards
This is an example of a comparative bar graph on
its side. It has the same advantages as for the
vertical presentation.
Key
Yes
No
Dont know
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• Presentation
• Techniques

Results of Question (i) To what extent, if at
all, are you in favour of, or opposed to, a
national identity card scheme?
This is an example of a bar graph on its side. It
has the same advantages as for the vertical
presentation.
30

• Presentation techniques
• Pie charts

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• Presentation techniques
• Pie charts

• Advantages

• A pie chart is a good way of showing how a whole
  is divided up in this case the answers to the
  question.
• Each segment of the pie represents the possible
  answers to the question.
• The size of a segment represents the percentage
  support for that answer e.g. Dont know 1.
• The use of different colours for each segment
  makes it easier to distinguish between the
  different levels of support for each answer.

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• Presentation techniques
• Pie charts

• Good way of comparing and analysing the results
  for all three questions.

33

• Question 6(b)
• 2005

• No marks are given for the choice of alternative
  method of presentation.
• Marks are given for the explanation of method
  chosen e.g. why that method would be easier for a
  researcher.
• For full marks you would have to give at least
  two well developed points.