Self-Report Techniques

Question 1

What are the two types of self-report techniques?

Answer 1

• questionnaire

- interview

Question 2

What is a questionnaire?

Answer 2

Made up of a pre-set list of written questions (or items) to which a participant responds

Question 3

Why can questionnaires be used as part of an experiment?

Answer 3

To assess the DV

Question 4

Strengths of questionnaires:

Answer 4

• Easily distributed to a large sample = cost-effective
• Can be completed without the researcher present
• Data produced usually straightforward to analyse.
• Less chance of social desirability bias compared to an interview

Question 5

Limitations of questionnaires:

Answer 5

• Responses given may not be truthful (social desirability bias)
• Response bias = may favour a particular kind of response

Question 6

What is an interview?

Answer 6

Face-to-face interaction between an interviewer and interviewee where the interviewer asks a set of questions to assess an interviewee’s thoughts and/or experiences. Questions may be predetermined or develop as the interview goes on.

Question 7

What are the three different types of interviews?

Answer 7

• Structured interview
• Unstructured interview
• Semi-structured interview

Question 8

What is a structured interview?

Answer 8

List of pre-determined questions in a fixed order

Question 9

Strengths of the structured interview:

Answer 9

-Easy to replicate = standardised = reduces differences between interviewers

Question 10

Limitations of the structured interview:

Answer 10

-Interviewees cannot elaborate = can be a source of frustration

Question 11

What is the unstructured interview?

Answer 11

No set of questions, a general topic to be discussed but interaction is free-flowing and the interviewees are encouraged to elaborate

Question 12

Strength of an unstructured interview:

Answer 12

Greater flexibility = more insight

Question 13

Limitations of an unstructured interview:

Answer 13

• Difficult to replicate = risk of interviewer bias

- Analysis of data can be time-consuming and complex, making conclusions difficult.

Question 14

What is a semi-structured interview?

Answer 14

List of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers are free to ask follow-up questions when appropriate