Investigation methodology


Richard Hudson's theory about names and how every name carries a different social message, he says that if you call someone by their first name then you see them as someone you know well and your social equal and if you refer to them using a title such as 'Mr' 'Dr' or 'Professor' then you show that they're a stranger.


I am going to investigate whether names do carry different social messages in our culture & whether calling people by the incorrect title affects our positive face needs?


To investigate this I will design a questionnaire to give to people on how they feel when they are referred to in different ways for example, how a person feels when they are called a title which makes them seem less educated, for example Dr instead of Mr.


The use of a questionnaire can provide me with large amounts of data in a reasonably small space of time


Questionnaire design
- I will use a mix of open and closed questions to gain all relevant information
- before my main questionnaire is sent out I will run a small scale pilot study
- I will start the questionnaire with shorter, easier questions and develop it into the longer, more difficult ones
- I will ensure that all my questions are concisely and accurately worded to provide reliable results


Ethicality
-  I will let people remain anonymous and tell them that their results will be published in my investigation. I will ensure them that details such as their name and address will remain confidential.


Reliability
- I will keep my questions worded in a simple, readable way
- I will make sure that my questionnaire looks neat and well presented to improve the chances of the person thinking that the results they're giving is important
- I will give out my real questionnaire soon after my pilot one to ensure nothing changes
- I will ensure when reading answers that similar questions provide me with similar answers, if they are different then I might have to disregard the results of that questionnaire
- I will have to make sure that my questions provide results which, although qualitative, give measurable results for me to discuss in my report


comparability