self report techniques

• self report technique? 


  any method in which a person asked to state or explain their feelings opinions behaviours and experiences to a topic
• structured interviews ? 


  made up of pre-determined questions asked in a fixed order and conducted face to face in real time
• unstructured interviews? 


  no set questions, general aim that a certain topic will be discussed and interaction tends to be free flowing
• semi-structured interviews ? 


  list of questions that have been worked out but interviewees also free to ask follow up questions based on previous answers
• questionnaires - open questions?

  no fixed range of answers and respondents free to answer in any way they wish. produce qualitative data so difficult to analyse as produces wide range of answers
• questionnaires - closed questions?

  offers fixed number of responses, quantitative data produced, easy to analyse but lack depth and detail
• strength of questionnaires? 


  cost effective and gather large amounts of data quickly. questionnaire can be completed without researcher present. data produced is straightforward to analyse
• limitation of questionnaires? 


  responses not always truthful as may be keen to present themselves in positive light so influences their answers and this is social desirability bias. response bias as may answer to quickly or not read questions properly.
• strength and weakness of structured interviews ?

  strength - straightforward to replicate due to standardised format. also reduces differences between interviewers

  weakness - not possible for interviewers to deviate form topic or explain their questions so limits richness of data as well as limit unexpected info
• strength and weakness of unstructured interviews ?

  strength - more flexibility, gains more insight

  weakness - increased risk of interviewer bias, analysis of data isn't straightforward. interviewees may lie for reasons of social desirability