self report techniques Flashcards
what are questionnaires?
made up of pre-set list of questions for participant to respond to
can be used as part of experiment to assess DV
Positive evaluation of questionnaires
+ can be distributed to lots of people so reduces effort and cost
+ respondents may be willing to open up, less chance of social desirability bias than interviews
negative evaluation of questionnaires?
- responses may not always be truthful, wait to be presented positively, social desirability bias
- response bias as they may favour a particular response (like agreeing)
what are interviews?
face to face interaction between an interviewer and interviewee
what are structured interviews?
list of pre-determined questions asked in a fixed order
evaluation of structured interviews?
+ easy to replicate because standardised format
- interviewees cannot elborate so cant deviate from topic
what are unstructured interviews?
no set questions
general topic to discuss but interaction is free flowing and interviewee encouraged to elaborate
evaluation of unstructured interview?
+ greater flexibility becuase points can be followed up
- difficult to replicate as they arent standardised, increase interviewer bias
what are semi structured interviews?
list of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers are free to ask follow up questions when appropriate
what are closed questions?
respondent has limited choices
data is quantitative
evaluation of closed questions?
+ easier to analyse, can produce comparison charts, easier conclusions
- respondents restricted so answer may not represent true feelings, may reduce validity
what are open questions?
respondents provide their own answers expressed in words
data is qualitative
evaluation of open questions?
+ respondents not restricted and answers more detailed, more validity than stats
- difficult to analyse, quantitative data, forced to reduce data to statistics
