Questionnaire

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Questionnaire

Guidelines for administrators

Ideas about content, wording and design of the questionnaire were developed through a number of pilot focus groups both with non-sample young people and those attending the eight schools in our research sites. Comparison with other studies was ensured by adapting questions from a number of existing studies, including the European Values Study (Ashford, S. and Timms, N. (1992) What Europe Thinks: Study of Western European Values, Dartmouth: Aldershot); the West of Scotland 11-16 Study (Sweeting, H.West, P. (1995) ‘Family life and health in adolescence: A role for culture in the health inequalities debate?’ Social Science and Medicine, 40(2) 163 175); and the ESRC 11-16 Adolescent Identities Study (Banks et al. (1992) Careers and identities, Buckingham: Open University Press).

The questionnaire was administered to 1800 young people in eight different schools and in the extra sites. Young people were given the same set of instructions across all sites and encouraged to request help from the researchers present as needed. Confidentiality was emphasised as was the fact that responses would not be fed back to teachers or carers on an individual level.

The majority of queries on the questionnaire were on the meaning of a few questions: ‘euthanasia’, ‘pornography’, and ‘cloning’. The questionnaire included an evaluation and the comments made were, on the whole, favourable. Some young people, however, felt it was too personal: ‘Too personal at the start (demographic questions) I don’t like being asked to give information about my family and friends’. A word search at the end of the questionnaire was also popular and a good time filler for those who completed early. Respondents were offered the opportunity to register interest in participating further in the research. Some questions were adapted for the Northern Ireland context.