self-report techniques

Question 1

self-report techniques

Answer 1

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

Question 2

questionnaires

Answer 2

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

Question 3

open questions

Answer 3

don’t have a fixed range of answers, participants free to answer in any way they wish (tends to produce qualitative data)

Question 4

closed questions

Answer 4

offer a fixed range of answers and produce quantitative data

Question 5

interview

Answer 5

a live encounter, where the interviewer asks a set of questions to assess the interviewee’s thoughts and/or experiences

Question 6

structured interviews

Answer 6

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

Question 7

unstructured interviews

Answer 7

like a conversation, no set questions

Question 8

semi-structured interviews

Answer 8

list of questions in advance, but follow-up questions allowed where appropriate

Question 9

questionnaires- strengths

Answer 9

• cost-effective (gather large amounts of data quickly, distributed to large amounts of people so more volume of data)
• reduces effort. can be completed without researcher present (postal)

Question 10

closed questions- strengths

Answer 10

data produced straightforward to analyse. lends itself to statistical analysis, comparisons between groups of people can be made w/ graphs/charts

Question 11

questionnaires- limitations

Answer 11

• social desirability bias. responses may not be truthful so respondents can present themselves in a positive light.
• response bias, e.g. answering the same favoured end of a rating scale. acquiescence bias= tendency to agree with items on a questionnaire regardless of content of question

Question 12

structured interviews- strengths

Answer 12

• standardised format means straightforward to replicate

- standardised format reduces differences between interviewers

Question 13

structured interviews- weaknesses

Answer 13

less depth/detail in data as not possible for interviewers to deviate from topic or elaborate points

Question 14

unstructured interviews- strengths

Answer 14

more flexibility than structured. interviewer can gain greater insight into interviewee’s worldview, follow up points, etc.

Question 15

unstructured interviews- weaknesses

Answer 15

• analysis of data not straightforward. drawing firm conclusions difficult.
• social desirability bias