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