self report design

    Cards (15)

    • questionnaire construction is where writing good questions and writing good questionnaires comes into place
    • social desirability bias is where participants give answers that make them look more attractive or nice and more generous
    • writing good questions - there are 3 key principles that researchers need to ensure are addressed:
      1. clarity
      2. bias
      3. analysis
    • writing good questions - clarity
      • questions need to be written so reader understands what is being asked
      • should be no ambiguity (something has two possible meanings)
      • further issue that needs to be controlled is double barrelled questions
    • writing good questions - bias
      • any bias may lead respondent to be more likely to give particular answer (leading questions)
      • social desirability bias - any bias will lead to reduction in validity
    • writing good questions - analysis
      • question needs to be written so answers are easy to analyse - type of question can affect this
      • open questions - have no set response and give greater detail and new insights - produce qualitative data which is harder to analyse
      • closed questions - set range of possible answers - can be easier to analyse and produce quantitative data but not truly reflecting thoughts of those questioned.
    • in order to write good questionnaires the following should be considered:
      • filler questions
      • sequence for the questions
      • sampling technique
      • pilot study
    • filler questions are irrelevant questions which help to distract participants from main purpose of study ruding demand characterstics
    • sequence for questions - best to start questions and save those that could make participants anxious/defensive until they have relaxed
    • sampling technique is the means of how participants are selected
      • questionnaires should often use stratified sampling
    • pilot studies are smaller trails of research meaning questionnaire can be refined based on any difficulties encountered before main study takes place
    • designing the interview includes:
      • recording the interview
      • effect of the interviewer
      • questioning skills in unstructured interview
    • whilst recording the interview, interviewer may take notes throughout to document - may interfere with listening
      • may make respondent feel sense of evaluation because interviewer may not write everything down so they may not feel valuable
      • instead may use audio or video recorder
    • whilst designing the interview, take into consideration the effect of the interviewer
      • presence of interviewer who is interested to answers may increase amount of info provided - interviewer needs to be aware of behaviours:
      • non verbal communication - head nodding and leaning forward conveys interest encouraging participant to speak
      • listening skills - understanding how and when to speak and ensuring they dont stop/interrupt and use encouraging comments to show listening.
    • questioning skills in an unstructured interview
      • important to be aware of questions already asked and avoid repeating them
      • avoid probing too much and asking 'why' too often
      • better to ask more focused questions - for interviewer and analysis of answers