self report techniques

Question 1

what are self report techniques

Answer 1

the participant reveals personal information about themselves (e.g behaviours, emotions, beliefs, attitudes and memories) in response to a series of questions

Question 2

what are the two self reporting techniques

Answer 2

interview and questionnaire

Question 3

what is an interview

Answer 3

participants give information in response to direct questioning from the researcher

Question 4

what is a questionaire

Answer 4

participants give information in response to a set of questions that are sent to them. can be in the post or on an online form

Question 5

what are open questions

Answer 5

the question is phrased in a way that allows the participant to answer in any way they choose

Question 6

what type of data do open questions produce

Answer 6

qualitative data

Question 7

what is an advantage of open questions

Answer 7

participants have the freedom to choose their responses leading to more valid responses

Question 8

what is a disadvantage of open questions

Answer 8

qualitative data makes data analysis between larger numbers of participants responses much more difficult making it hard to spot patterns in response

Question 9

what are closed questions

Answer 9

the question is phrased in a way that limits participants responses to only few fixed options

Question 10

what type of data do closed questions produce

Answer 10

quantitative data

Question 11

what is an advantage of closed questions

Answer 11

allows easy data analysis between large numbers of participants responses, making it easier to spot patterns in the data set

Question 12

what is a disadvantage of closed questions

Answer 12

as the participants responses are limited to a fixed set, this can be argued to be less valid

Question 13

which questions do self report techniques include

Answer 13

a range of open and closed questions

Question 14

why is it important to avoid complex terminology when designing interviews and questionnaires

Answer 14

• stops researcher giving away hints when explaining what certain words mean
• if participants are embarrassed to ask, they may guess the meaning and answer incorrectly

Question 15

why is it important to reword questions when designing interviews and questionnaires

Answer 15

should be done so it doesnt change its meaning
- to compare responses with other pps

Question 16

why is it important to avoid leading questions when designing interviews and questionnaires

Answer 16

• cause bias
• questions should be written that doesnt suggest a “correct” way of responding

Question 17

why is it important to use pilot questions in a pilot interview/questionnaire

Answer 17

• can identify questions that are confusing, give the aim away, dont produce a useful response
• to allow time to change them before the main study

Question 18

what are filer questions used for

Answer 18

• theyre not linked to the research aim
• theyre used to build rapport with participants before challenging questions are given to them
• helps hide the aim away to reduce demand characteristics

Question 19

what are the types of interviews

Answer 19

structured
unstructured
semi structured

Question 20

what are structured interviews

Answer 20

the interviewer reads out a list of prepared questions from a written list

Question 21

what are the strengths of structured interviews

Answer 21

• the interviewer doesnt have to be highly trained to conduct the interview
• interview responses are easy to compare because of the same questions used

Question 22

what are the weaknesses of structured interviews

Answer 22

responses used by the participants can’t be followed up with additional questions that can provide more detail

Question 23

what is an unstructured interview

Answer 23

not a setlist of questions, an open conversation about a topic

Question 24

what are the strengths of unstructured interviews

Answer 24

• rapport is more likely, with the participant feeling more comfortable to answer
• interesting response can be followed up with additional questions

Question 25

what are the weaknesses of unstructured interviews

Answer 25

- highly trained interviewer to think up appropiate questions in the moment - every interview will be different making comparisons difficult

Question 26

what is a semi structured interview

Answer 26

combination of prepared questions with the ability to ask additional questions

Question 27

what are the strengths of semi structured interviews

Answer 27

- the interview response are easy to compare because of the same questions used - interviewer can ask follow up questions in response to interesting answers - rapport is more likely, the participant feeling more comfortable in their answers

Question 28

what are the weaknesses of semi structured interviews

Answer 28

highly trained interviewer to think up of appropiate questions in the moment

Question 29

what is an advantage of self report techniques

Answer 29

when the same set of questions are used they are very easy to replicate - closed questions allow data analysis - open questions allow participants to freely report their experience

Question 30

what is a disadvantage of self report techniques

Answer 30

suffer from bias such as social desirability bias. participants respond in a way that makes them look good in front of the researcher.

Question 31

what kinds of bias can be present in self reporting

Answer 31

social desirability bias demand characteristics researcher bias investigator effects

Question 32

what are the advantages of questionnaires

Answer 32

- they dont require a trained interviewer and can be distributed easily, colelcting a large amount of data using a cheap and easy process - when using closed questions researchers can compare many thousands of responses easily

Question 33

what are the disadvantages of questionaires

Answer 33

- questions the participants don't understand cant be rephrased - arent often taken seriously resulting in acqueise bias (the participants respond yes to every question.

Question 34

how can acqueise bias be tested for

Answer 34

by asking the same question again later but in reverse

Question 35

what are the advantages of interviews

Answer 35

- can rephrase questions that are difficult to understand - can build rapport making it more likely the participant will take the interview seriously

Question 36

what are the disadvantages of interviews

Answer 36

- requires an interviewer which significantly increases the cost per participant especially if the interviewer needs to be trained - interviewer effects, the personal characteristics of the interviewer can alter the response of the participant