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Originally Posted by Dante Hicks
Parents who really didn't care about their kids though, the sort of people whose kids end up on local authority "at risk registers" wouldn't be willing (or able) to participate in this sort of study. I know this is just an example, but among the socially excluded (/poor) you've got a very real chance that either:
i) The guardian is functionally illiterate or has issues which would make it very difficult / unlikely they'd complete a study.
ii) The guardian will be tremendously suspicious of any sort of survey at all - let alone one coming from authority figures. They might be fearful of some immigration issue, or some benefit claim and no matter how many times you explain that you're not from the government they won't necessarily believe you.
iii) They simply won't co-operate, or if it's incentivised will co-operate in unhelpful ways - get someone else to fill out the form with meanignless answers or just say to the researcher what ever they think they want to hear.
Obviously that's one nitpick and I'm sure you can think of ways around it, but there's always problems with selection bias in these things, and to avoid that usually increases the cost of social research dramatically.
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I'd originally planned for this study to be completed using a computer. As such re:
i) Option for blind Guardians could be used for the illiterate (i.e. it would read the question out and the person just hits enter / the big red button when they want to enter a box).
ii) That was always a worry. Im not sure how, other than being as reassuring as you can be, you'd get past this.
iii) Photo's of the participants (Guardian and child's pictures linked) in the study would be taken and the questionnaire would be completed "on-site". That means only the correct Guardian could complete the questionnaire.
The questionnaire would possibly be completed in either the Doctor's surgery or alternatively in an office (to show it's not to get information about specific people for "The Big Bad Government").
I appreciate that conducting this sort of research properly would be expensive. Personally i think 10million would probably do the job. Considering the Government doesnt mind pissing away 11billion on a ****ed up NHS IT system and that if this information is properly collected you would know how properly to direct resources i think it would be money well spent.