When it comes to どちら (dochira) and どっち (docchi), I would prefer どっち in more casual conversation, but どちら sounds better when talking about more than one thing. I mainly use dochira in a question about which cities or even languages, but I like using docchi when asking about, say, when the subject is already stated.
Dochira is also good when asking what is good and for reason, but docchi is not so much.
It's a little hard for me to describe, but here is the best I can describe:
Docchi: casual/formal. Good for many things except asking the following:
1: Which is better, ______or_____?
2: Which is more_______? (few cases are acceptable.)
3: Which is more _______, ______or _____?
Dochira: kind of equal in social meaning to docchi, but not quite. Goes for all of the above cases, including:
1: Out of _______, _______, and _______, which is more _______? (Only one for this)
It was hard for me to describe its function, but I hope this helps.