Self-report techniques and designs

• Questionnaires

  Involves a pre-set list of written questions for PP to respond to which can be used to assess the DV of an experiment.

  There are two types of questions - open and closed.
• Open questions

  • don't have a fixed response and tend to gather qualitative data as PP must respond by writing their answer e.g. why do you like dogs?
  • rich in detail but hard to analyse
• Closed questions

  • offers a fixed numbers of responses and tends to gather quantitative data as the number of PPs that have circled a particular answer can be analysed e.g. do you like dogs - yes or no?
  • easy to analyse but lacks detail
• Designing closed questions

  • Likert scales - PP states how much they agree with the statement you have written, usually involves five points (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree)

  
  

  • Rating scales - similar but instead PP represents their own opinion on the topic (strongly agree may be '1' and strongly agree may be '5' but numbers in between aren't labelled)

  
  

  • Fixed choice option - researcher includes a list of possible options and PPs are required to indicate those which apply to them (e.g. why do you watch movies? 1. entertainment 2. amusement 3. education)
• Evaluating questionnaires

  Strengths:

  • cost-effective
  • quick gathering of data

  Weaknesses:

  • social desirability bias
  • response bias on Likert scales
  • acquiescence bias (PPs tend to agree with survey question statements rather than give their own personal, unbiased views)
• Interviews

  Tend to take place over phone or in person and the researcher will use a recording device so they are able to listen back to the interview to conduct a thematic analysis (identifying, analysing and reporting patterns within data).

  There are three types - structured, unstructured, and semi-structured.
• Structured interviews

  Using a predetermined set of questions that are in a fixed order, It is a face-to-face questionnaire
• Unstructured interviews

  Takes the form of a conversation, there are not set questions but only a general aim
• Semi-structured interviews

  Using a list of a predetermined set of questions but interviewers follow up questions when appropriate (this is the most common type - like a job interview)
• Designing interviews

  • interview schedule
  • standardised for each PP (reduces interviewer bias)
  • may include group interviews in clinical settings
  • often takes place between the interviewer and one interviewee
  • often a pseudonym is created to protect the interviewees identity in the recording
• Things to avoid when designing an interview

  • jargon
  • emotive language
  • leading questions
  • double-barrelled questions
  • double negatives
• Evaluating interviews

  Strengths:

  • structured interviews are easy to replicate
  • unstructured interviews are more likely to get a worldview of the interviewee

  Weaknesses:

  • structured interviews do not allow the researcher to elaborate on points
  • unstructured interviews must be difficult to analyse