Self-Report

Question 1

Types of Self Report

Answer 1

• Questionaires

- Interviews

Question 2

What is Self Report?

Answer 2

Participants tell you how they are feeling or what they are thinking

Question 3

What are closed questions?

Answer 3

• Tick a box questions

- Gives quantitive data

Question 4

Strengths of Closed Questions…

Answer 4

Easy to analyse

Easier for respondents to answer

Question 5

Weaknesses of Closed Questions…

Answer 5

Doesn’t give much depth or explanation why they’ve chosen that

Question 6

What are Open Questions?

Answer 6

Allows participants to write an answer to the question

Question 7

Strengths of Open Questions…

Answer 7

-Gives detail and an explanation why they’ve chosen that answer

Question 8

Weaknesses of Open Questions….

Answer 8

• Harder to compare as they all write different things

- Respondents might not want to answer it as it requires effort

Question 9

What is a Likert Scale…

Answer 9

Another data collection used in questionnaires with a 1-5 scale which participants rate their behaviour or feelings

Question 10

Strengths of a Likert Scale…

Answer 10

-Greater level of understanding and feelings (make results more reliable)

Question 11

Weaknesses of a Likert Scale…

Answer 11

• Subjective (the numbers may mean something different things to different people)
• Socially desirability Bias (portray themselves positively)

Question 12

What is Response Bias

Answer 12

• People answer incorrectly or falsely to questions

- E.G. picking the same option all the way down

Question 13

How to deal with Response Bias …

Answer 13

Can reverse the questions to see who’s response bias(improves reliability)

Question 14

What is the Split half method?

Answer 14

Ask similar questions to see if participants answer similarly to before- check reliability

Question 15

What are semantic differentials?

Answer 15

• Asks people to place themselves on a line between two extremes
• often used to measure attitudes
• the extremes can be reversed to catch people out who aren’t reading the questions properly

Question 16

What are the types of interviews…

Answer 16

• Face to face
• Over the telephone
• Structured (plan what to ask)
• Unstructured (don’t plan what to ask)
• Semi-structured (plan what to ask then may ask other things)

Question 17

What are leading questions ?

Answer 17

Forcing respondents to give particular reply- researchers not usually aware of this (decrease validity- not their true feelings)

Question 18

Strengths of Self Report…

Answer 18

• Allow participants to give views rather than inferring from observation
• Can study large samples easily and quickly
• Examine large number of variables
• Ask people to reveal behaviour and feelings experienced in real life situations (ecological validity)

Question 19

Weaknesses of Self Report…

Answer 19

• Social Desirability Bias
• Questions might not be clear (validity issues)
• Response rates can be low
• Leading questions
• Quantitive data doesn’t give a lot of information about the reasons
• Qualitative data hard to analyse
• Reliability and validity issues.

Question 20

How to Improve reliability …

Answer 20

• Make sure questions aren’t ambitious and clarify exactly what they’re saying
• In interviews, train interviewers to ensure they ask things in the same way

Question 21

How to Improve validity…

Answer 21

• Avoid leading questions
• Concurrent validity- doing two things that measure the same thing to compare the results - if they’re similar its measured
• Open questions could be added to allow respondents to expand on their answers
• Confidentiality allows them to be more truthful

Question 22

Strengths of Structured Interviews…

Answer 22

• Standardised format- All participants are asked the same questions
• Interviewer is present to avoid misinterpretation of the question

Question 23

Weaknesses of Structured Interviews…

Answer 23

• Interviewer bias (may alter tone of voice) decrease validity
• Respondents may be Social desirability bias in-front of the interviewer
• Lack flexibility, can’t expand on their response

Question 24

Strengths of Unstructured Interviews…

Answer 24

-More flexible as questions can be adapted and changed depending on the respondents’ answers.

Question 25

Weaknesses of Unstructured Interviews..

Answer 25

• Produces more qualitative data - harder to analyse

- Harder to replicate

Question 26

What are the ethical issues ?

Answer 26

• Informed consent- likely as they’re filling in the survey or being interviewed
• Any deception must be debriefed afterwards
• Questions must not cause harm
• Must be confidential