Method assessment
Advantages:
The method is of some worth, since it represents a “scientific means of investigation,
often the only one available, of the subjective realm of social life – opinions, attitudes,
satisfactions, aspirations, beliefs, knowledge, interests, etc. at an individual and a group
level” (Vlăsceanu, 1993). Investigation is supple, offering the possibility of application in
various fields and situations, it has the quality of speed in gathering information, it can
span a large population segment, and is permeable to the approach of multiple topics.
The investigation leads to obtaining information that make possible the extension of the
results obtained by researching a part of the population, to the entire population (with a
certain error margin), yielding a “profile”.
Disadvantages:
Possible errors can intervene while actually doing an investigation, either owing to the
faulty work method, lack of cooperation from the subjects, or the nature of the
investigated field (subjective issues and players) that does not follow a clear linear model.
In investigation errors may also spring from the choice of sample (unrepresentative or
irrelevantly stratified). This is why it is recommended to associate collective investigation
with personal one. Correlation and completion of data tend to result in a reduction in
errors. Another limit refers to the content of the questionnaire and its length. Fatigue may
lead to decrease in interest, and standard, superficial, stereotyped, conformistic answers.
It is often said that social investigation merely states a fact – that it is descriptive –
explanatory in a certain phase of the phenomenon under investigation. Psychological
investigation goes beyond the limit, since it considers the person a bearer of a certain
social development and experience. The recourse to recollection and experimental study
allows the researcher to foresee subsequent lines of development. However, compared to
social investigation carried out by a complex team, the individual psychologist who
carries out an investigation must reunite all qualities of a team.
Bibliography
Cerghit, I. (1997). Metode de învăţă mânt. (ed. a III-a). Bucure şti, EDP.
De Singly, Francois; Blanchet, Alain; Gotman, Anne; Kaufmann, Jean (1998). Ancheta şi
metodele ei: Chestionarul, Interviul de producere a datelor, Interviul
comprehensiv. Bucureşti, Editura Polirom.