Self- report techniques- RESEARCH METHODS

Question 1

Questionnaire

Answer 1

• Pre- set list of written questions to which a participant responds
• Assesses thoughts and feelings + individuals’ personality type
• Can be used to assess dependent variable

Question 2

Open questions

Answer 2

• Does not have a fixed range of answers
• Respondents/ Participants are free to answer in any way they wish
• Produce Qualitative data- that contains a wide range of different responses- may be difficult to analyse

Question 3

Closed questions

Answer 3

• Offers a fixed number of responses
• Produce Quantitative data (e.g on a scale from 1-10)- easy to analyse but may lack depth and detail
• Closed questions that produce Qualitative data but can be turned into Quantitive data (e.g counting ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses)

Question 4

Strength of Questionnaire (5)

Answer 4

• Cost- effective
• Gather large amounts of data quickly because they can be distributed to large numbers of people
• Can be completed without researcher present
• Data = straightforward to analyse- especially if closed questions
• Data lends itself to statistical analysis, comparisons between groups of people using graphs and charts

Question 5

Weakness of Questionnaire (5)

Answer 5

• Responses may not be truthful
• Respondents may be keen to present themselves in a positive light- may influence answers
• (Form of demand characteristic called) Social desirability bias
• Produce response bias- (e.g always ticking ‘yes’/ answering at same favoured end of rating scale)- Because complete it too quickly and fail to read questions properly

Question 6

Structured Interviews

Answer 6

• Made up of pre- determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order
• Conducted face- to- face in real time

Question 7

Unstructured Interviews

Answer 7

• Like a conversation
• No set questions
• Certain topic will be discussed, interaction is free- flowing
• Interviewee is encouraged to expand and elaborate answers

Question 8

Semi- structured Interviews

Answer 8

• E.g job interview
• List of questions worked out in advance
• Interviewers can ask follow- up questions based on previous answers

Question 9

Strength/ Weakness of Structured Interviews

Answer 9

• Straightforward to replicate due to standardised format
• Format reduces differences between interviews
• Not possible for interviewers to deviate from the topic or explain questions- limit richness of data + limit unexpected information

Question 10

Strength/ Weakness of Unstructured Interviews

Answer 10

• More flexibility
• Interviewer can follow up points, eliciting unexpected information
• May lead to an increased risk of interviewer bias
• Analysis of data- not straightforward
• Risk that interviewees may lie for social desirability

Question 11

Likert scale

Answer 11

• Respondent indicates their agreement
• Scale ranges from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree

Question 12

Rating Scale

Answer 12

• Gets respondents to identify a value that represents their strength of feeling about a particular topic

Question 13

Fixed- choice option

Answer 13

• Includes a list of possible options and respondents are required to indicate those that apply to them

Question 14

Designing interviews

Answer 14

• Interview schedule + questions interviewer intends to ask
• Standardised- reducing contaminating effect of interviewer bias
• Interview should be conducted in quiet room (one-to-one)- increase likelihood of opening up
• Start with neutral questions (get them relaxed and comfortable)
• Answers should be treated with strictest confidence

Question 15

Writing good questions- things to avoid

Answer 15

Overuse of jargon:
- Jargon- term that is only familiar to those within a specialised area/ field
- Makes it confusing/ unnecessary complex

Emotive language + Leading questions
- Find neutral alternative
- Guides respondent to a particular answer

Double- barrelled questions:
- Contains 2 questions in 1- issues is respondents may agree with one half of question and not the other

Double negatives:
- Difficult for respondents to decipher