self-report techniques

• what is a questionnaire?

  a pre-set list of written questions, used most often to assess thoughts and feelings, in order to assess the dependent variable
• what is an open question?

  a question that has no fixed range of answers as it can be answered in any way, that produce qualitative data, which is very rich in detail, but can be tricky to analyse
• what is a closed question?

  a question that has a fixed number of responses, that produces both qualitative and quantitative data, which is easy to analyse, but not as rich in detail
• what are the types of closed question?

  1. likert scale
  2. rating scale
  3. fixed choice option
• what is a likert scale?

  a scale where respondents indicate their agreement or disagreement with a particular statement, usually with a scale of 5 points
• what is a rating scale?

  a scale where respondents identify with a value that represents the strengths of a feeling about a particular topic
• what is a fixed choice option?

  a scale where respondents tick whichever option most applies to them from a fixed number of options
• what are the strengths of questionnaires?

  1. can find lots of data very quickly -> cost effective
  2. doesn't take much effort as the researcher doesn't have to be there
  3. data is straightforward to analyse -> can do statistical analysis
• what are the weaknesses of questionnaires?

  1. people may not always tell the truth to look good -> social desirability bias
  2. people tend to reply in the same way throughout -> response bias
• what is an interview?

  a face to face interaction between an interviewer and an interviewee
• what are the types of interview?

  1. structured
  2. unstructured
  3. semi-structured
• what is a structured interview?

  essentially just questionnaires that are conducted face to face, as there a set of predetermined questions, with no deviation from them
• what is an unstructured interview?

  more like a conversation, as they're free-flowing, as the interviewer has a topic to discuss, but not a set of questions, so the interviewee is encouraged to expand and elaborate
• what is a semi-structured interview?

  involve a pre-set list of questions, but the interviewer is allowed to follow up certain trails of thoughts for more detail, and the interviewee can elaborate if they want to
• what are the dos and donts of interviews?

  1. should have an interview schedule (list of questions intended to cover)
  2. should be standardised so everyone gets same questions and experience, to reduce interviewer bias and them (intentionally or unintentionally) changing questions
  3. should decide to do single or group interviews, if doing single they should be in a quiet room away from others
  4. should establish rapport with interviewees with neutral questions to make them comfortable
  5. should remind interviewee of ethical issues
• what are the strengths of interviews?

  1. easy to replicate if structured as they're standardised
  2. lots of flexibility if unstructured -> deeper understanding
• what are the weaknesses of interviews?

  1. rigid if structured so no deviation from topic -> less information
  2. unstructured interviews can be tricky to analyse (information isn't always relevant)
  3. social desirability bias (people lie to look better)
• what is the criteria for writing good interview questions?

  1. avoid overuse of technical jargon (unnecessarily complex)
  2. avoid emotive language and leading questions (could impact answers as author's attitudes become clear)
  3. avoid double-barrelled questions and double negatives (confusing)