The Role of Theory inQuestionnaire DesignAn Example Using Bourdieu
Dr. Alice Sullivan, Director British Cohort Study 1970, Centre for Longitudinal Studies, IOE, University of London
Outline
• Uses of theory in research• Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction• Developing a questionnaire to measure
cultural capital
Carrying out original survey workPros and Cons
• Hard work and smaller sample size• Allows conceptual work, developing measures
rather than using proxies
What is theory?
Picture Map
What is theory?
Post-hoc story telling Theory as embellishment
Assessing theory
• Clarity: is it comprehensible?• Substance/Testability: does it have any
implications?• Insight: does it help to explain interesting
phenomena?• Usefulness: does it help to generate and guide
research?
Clarity
“I think that…what Spitzer says about Proust’s style is something I could say about my own writing. He says, firstly, that what is complex can only be said in a complex way; secondly, that reality is not only complex, but also structured…if you want to hold the world in all its complexity and at the same time order and articulate it…you have to use heavily articulated sentences that can be practically reconstructed like Latin sentences…”(Bourdieu 1990 ‘In Other Words’ p.51-52).
Research Question
• How to explain social class differentials in education attainment?
Theory
“By doing away with giving explicitly to everyone what it implicitly demands of everyone, the educational system demands of everyone alike that they have what it does not give. This consists mainly of linguistic and cultural competence and that relationship of familiarity with culture which can only be produced by family upbringing when it transmits the dominant culture.”(Bourdieu 1977 ‘Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction’: 494)
Cultural reproduction in a nutshell
Parents’ Social Class
Parents’ Cultural Capital
Child’s Cultural Capital
Child’s Educational Attainment
Occupational Outcome
Hypotheses and mechanisms
H1. Cultural capital should (fully) mediate the effect of social class on educational attainment
– But what forms of culture constitute capital?– And what are the mechanisms?
Operationalising ‘cultural capital’
• “…linguistic and cultural competence, and that relationship of familiarity with culture which can only be produced by family upbringing when it transmits the dominant culture”(Bourdieu 1977)
• Bourdieu uses parental education as a proxy• Some authors use high culture participation – e.g. attendance
at galleries, museums, etc.• Appropriate operationalisation depends on research
questions and context.• To determine which elements of culture constitute capital
requires empirical investigation.
Breaking down the concept
1. Activitiesi. Reading: type and amountii. Television: type of programmesiii. Music: listening and playingiv. Art galleries, theatre, concert attendance
2. Cultural knowledge: test score3. Language: test scores
Parents’ cultural capital
• Books in the home• Broadsheet newspaper• Type of music listened to• Radio stations listened to• Activities:
– Going to art galleries or museums– Reading novels– Reading non-fiction– Going to see plays– Going to concerts– Playing a musical instrument– Evening or daytime classes
Parents’ cultural capital …
Which of the following have you heard your parents discuss? (Often, sometimes, never)1. Art2. Politics3. Books4. Science5. Current Affairs
Cultural knowledge test format
Famous people
Each of the following names is a person you may have heard of. For each person listed, which do you associate him or her with most out of the following categories: politics, music, novels, art or science? If you do not know, do not guess, just tick “don’t know”.
Politics
Music
Novels
Art
Science Don’t know
Example:
Tony Blair
(a) Albert Einstein
331
1 2 3 4 5 6
Figure 1: Cultural Knowledge Frequencies
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Alb
ert
Ein
stein
Galil
eo
Marie
Curie
Louis
Past
eur
Ste
phe
n H
aw
king
Charles
Dic
kens
Jane
Aust
en
Virgin
ia W
oolf
Gra
ham
Gre
ene
Mart
in A
mis
Bill
Clin
ton
John
F. K
enn
edy
Mahat
ma G
andh
i
Gord
on B
row
n
Karl M
arx
Wolfg
ang M
oza
rt
Rach
manin
ov
Joha
nnes
Bra
hms
Mile
s D
avi
s
Georg
e G
ers
hw
in
Vin
cent va
n G
ogh
Pablo
Pic
asso
Cla
ude
Monet
Rem
bra
ndt
Andy
Warh
ol
Science Novels Politics Music Art
Co
rrect
Resp
on
se
Total
Non-graduate parents
Graduate parents
Comprehension Test
Underline the word that correctly completes the sentence. If you do not know which word is correct, just move on to the next question. Example:
You (fill, milk, boil, match, paint) water to make tea.
Piloted active vocabulary tests
1. Open-ended sentence completion test.
Question: The admiral went……….(add ten words)
Answer: The admiral went to China six times when he was in the navy.
Taken from Lawton (1968) Social Class, Language and Education.
Piloted active vocabulary test 2
Write a short essay on one of the following topics:
• Home• School• My life in 10 years time
Final active vocabulary testSynonyms are words that mean the same or approximately the same as each other. For example: happy and cheerful are synonyms.For each of the following questions think of as many synonyms as you can for each word (stop at five for each word). Here are two examples:Disgusting repellent Big: enormous nasty gigantic vile huge unpleasant massive obscene obese
Question 1: Small Question 4: SadQuestion 2: Stupid Question 5: OddQuestion 3: Angry
Findings
• Cultural knowledge and language mediated the effect of cultural participation
• Social class still powerful, even after controlling for all these variables.
References• Sullivan, A. 2002. ‘Bourdieu and Education: How Useful is
Bourdieu’s Theory for Researchers?’ Netherlands Journal of Social Sciences. 38(2) 144-166.
• Sullivan, A. 2001. ‘Cultural Capital and Educational Attainment’ Sociology. 35(4) 893-912.