help!.. sociology project?

Question

I am doing a questionnaire aimed at teenage girls. It is designed to find out how their body images are affected by the media. But I cant ask people i know because they wouldnt reply truthfully if they knew i would use the information. What can I do..How can i write the questions in a way that they feel as if they can be truthful whilst still finding out about things like eating disorders.

Answer 1

Ask about people they see on TV or movies. Their positive and negative opinions will mimic their self-image. However, you will have to have lots of questions to overcome personal bias about particular people. For example:
--Who do you think is a better role model, Tyra Banks or Queen Latifa? (super thin vs. robust)
--Who would you be more likely to confide in, Terri Hatcher or Lauren Graham? (super thin vs. average size)
--Who do you think is healthier, Oprah Winfrey or Sarah Jessica Parker? (someone who is known to struggle with her weight vs. someone who doesn't appear to do so)
--Who would you rather spend time with, the Olson twins or Rachel Ray? (girls who may have eating disorders vs. a woman who revels in good food)
And so on.

Answer 2

I don't mean to be dismissive, but I'd suggest your best resource here is your teacher or research advisor. They can work much more closely with you on the specific questions you're investigating, the population you're targeting, and your research methods. For (I'm assuming) undergraduate projects, I'd say you're right to go with a questionnaire format, that best utilizes your time and potentially gets the greatest number and most reliable responses. A good distribution method is to take the questionnaire you're using into classrooms and distribute it yourself or have the teacher distribute it for you.

Answer 3

First and foremost make it a private survey. If you want to spend a little bit of money, you could hand out the surveys with self addressed stamped envelopes. Do not require the people to put any private information, like their names. Have them fill out the surveys and send them to you without putting their name or address on the envelope. Go from there. Good luck.