Self-report design

    Cards (12)

    • A well-designed questionnaire or interview should use clear, unbiased, and relevant questions. Poorly worded questions can lead to misunderstandings and biased responses.
    • Common issues in question design:
      • overuse of jargon
      • emotive language
      • leading questions
      • double-barreled questions
      • double negatives
    • A leading question is a question that suggests a particular answer.
    • Double-barreled questions ask two things at once. The issue is that the respondent may agree with one half of the question and disagree with the other.
      • Example: "Do you enjoy studying psychology and find it useful?" (A person may enjoy it but not find it useful)
    • Jargon is the use of technical terms that are only familiar to those within a specialised field or area, so participants may not understand.
    • Emotive language is language that is designed to evoke a particular emotion in the reader. This makes the author's attitude towards a particular topic clear, influencing the respondent's answer.
    • Double negatives are negative statements containing two negative elements.
      • For example: "I am not unhappy in my job" (agree/disagree)
    • Open questions are questions for which there is no fixed choice of response and respondents can answer in any way they wish.
    • Closed questions are questions in which there is a fixed choice of responses determined โ€‹by the researcher.
      The different types include:
      • Likert scales
      • Rating scales
      • Fixed choice options
    • Likert scales measure agreement or disagreement with a statement. The scale usually has five points, ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.
      • Example: "I enjoy studying psychology." (Strongly Agree โ€“ Agree โ€“ Neutral โ€“ Disagree โ€“ Strongly Disagree)
      • โœ… Allows refined responses.
      • โŒ Subjective interpretation of scale points.
    • Rating scales get participants to rate their feelings about a particular topic on a scale of 1-10.
      • Example: "How stressed do you feel before an exam? (1 = Not stressed, 10 = Extremely stressed)"
      • โœ… Easy to analyse and compare.
      • โŒ Different people may interpret the scale differently.
    • A fixed choice option item includes a list of possible options and respondents are required to indicate those that apply to them.
      • Example: "Which of the following best describes your study habits?" (I study every day, I study once or twice a week, I only study before exams, I rarely study)
      • โœ… Easy to analyse
      • โŒ Limited response options