Self-report method

Question 1

define self-report technique

Answer 1

any method in which a person is asked to state or explain their own feelings, opinions, behaviours and/or experiences related to a given topic

Question 2

define questionnaire

Answer 2

A set of written questions used to asses a person’s thoughts and/or experiences

Question 3

define interview

Answer 3

A ‘live’ encounter where the interviewer asks a set of questions to assess an interviewee;s thoughts and/or experiences.
The questions may be pre-set (structured) or may develop as the interview goes along (unstructures)

Question 4

What are the types of questions in questionnaires

Answer 4

open and closed

Question 5

what is meant by open question

Answer 5

• an open question does not have a fixed range of answers.
• They produce qualitative data that is rich in detail

Question 6

What is meant by closed question

Answer 6

• question which has a fixed number of responses e.g. yes/no
• this produces qualitative data that lacks detail and can be turned into quantitative data

Question 7

what are the strengths of questionnaires

Answer 7

• cost effective - can gather large amounts of data quickly
• straightfoward data to analyse

Question 8

what are the limitations of questionnaires

Answer 8

• respondants may not be truthful due to demand characteristics - social desirability bias which reduces the validity of the data
• acquiescence bias - where participants reply in a similar way for all the questions because they fail to take time to care about the questionnaire

Question 9

What are the types of interviews

Answer 9

• structures
• unstructured
• semi-structured

Question 10

define structured interviews

Answer 10

• they are made up of a pre-determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order

a face-to-face questionnaire

Question 11

define unstructured interviews

Answer 11

• these work like a conversation, there are no set questions.
• The interviewer has a general aim that a certain topic will be discussed
• The interviewee is encouraged to elaborate on their answers

Question 12

Evaluate structured interviews

Answer 12

• easy to replicate - increases reliability
• not possible to deviate from or elaborate on topics

Question 13

evaluate unstructured interviews

Answer 13

• much more flexibility so insight can be gleaned from follow-up questions
• analysis of data is difficult
• a skilled interviewer is required to determine if the participant is lying due to social desirablility bias

Question 14

what are the common errors in writting questionnaires and interviews

Answer 14

• overuse of jargon
• emotive language and leading questions
• double-barrelled questions and double negatives