Self-report Flashcards
What are the two main methods if self report?
-Questionnaires
-Interviews
Questionnaire features
-Written method
-May be completed by participant, or may be completed by a researcher reading to participant and recording answers
-Do not always require the presence of the researcher
-Person completing questionnaire is a ‘respondent’
-They can be paper-based or electronic
Questionnaire advantages
-Can reach more people
-Less time consuming
-More standardised
-Data can be easily summarised by technology
-Confidential
-Lower social desirability bias
Questionnaire disadvantages
-Can’t always clarify a question meaning
-Harder to debrief
-Can’t always see reactions/reasoning
-May oak ecological validity
-Response rate
-Standard response set
Interview features
-Person being interviewed is an ‘interviewee’
-Involved direct verbal questioning of the interviewee by a researcher
-Can vary in structure: un/semi/structured
Interview advantages
-Can see body language
-Easier to debrief
-Build a report to increase honesty
-Different structures to suit research
-Combination of data types
Interview disadvantages
-More time consuming
-Less standardised
-Can’t reach as many people
-Have to summarise data by yourself
-Can be unreliable
-Confidentiality
-Social desirability bias
-May lack ecological validity
What are the two types of questions?
-Open questions
-Closed questions
Open questions
A participant responds to a set question, but can answer in any style. They are often used to assess reasoning behind answers, and must be more than a one word answer
Open Questions advantages
-Can tell you participant reasoning
-Doesn’t limit participant answers
-Elaborate on an answer
-Increased ecological validity
Open questions disadvantages
-Take longer to answer
-Answers vary, so harder to summarise
-Low retention rate
-May get irrelevant data
-Researcher bias
Closed questions
The answers are given to participants so that they may choose the most appropriate answer for them. Can easily be turned into qualitative data
Closed question advantages
-Quick and easy to answer
-Easy to interpret and display
-Easier to compare and analyse results
Closed question disadvantages
-Doesn’t give participant reasoning
-Limits participant answers
-Lacks ecological validity
-Only gives quantitative data
-Lacks detail
-Options may be open to interpretation
-Standard response set
Rating scales
Participant marking an appropriate point on a numerical scale to indicate the direction and strength of their attitude towards something
Rating scales advantages
-Easily converted to quantitative data
-Easy to analyse and compare
-Gives detail beyond a yes/no answer
Rating scale disadvantages
-Different interpretations of terms, from both respondent and researcher
-Only a set number of options
-Standard response set
-Doesn’t show participant reasoning
Likert scales
Comprise a number of statements, and participants indicate to what degree they agree/disagree with them
Semantic differentials
An attitude object is given (Eg: college) along side two polar opposites (good/bad) and the participant indicates how far they agree with each on a numerical scale.=
What are the three types of interview?
Structured, semi-structured, and unstructured
Structured interview
The interviewer asks the same questions to each interviewee, with closed questioned often being used
Structured interview advantages
-Highly standardised
-Know exactly what is happening
-Easier to compare answers
-High internal reliability
Structured interview disadvantages
-Low ecological validity/superficial
-Worse report
-Less comfortable atmosphere
-Restrictive, so may miss useful information
Semi-structured interview
There will be a pre-prepared set of questions, with other questions being developed in the interview based on interviewee responses
