Self-Report (Questionnaires/Interviews)

• What are closed questions?

  Set number of responses for participant to select from. Gives quantitative answer.
• What are open questions?

  The participant can give any answer they wish. Gives qualitative answer.
• What is a likert scale?

  Participant expresses level of agreement with a statement. Gives quantitative answer.
• What is a semantic differential scale?

  Participant selects point on rating scale that was to opposite ends with no middle/neutral. Gives quantitative answer.
• What are the strengths of interviews?

  +Used to assess psychological variables like attitudes that are easier to see than through observing

  +Respondents are more likely to reveal personal information so the data is more valid
• What are the weaknesses of interviews?

  -No guarantee participant is telling the truth

  -Chance of social desirability

  -Different participants may interpret questions in different ways
• What are structured interviews?

  Interviewer has a pre-determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order. This can be a mixture of open and closed questions.
• What are semi-structured interviews?

  Interviewer begins with some pre-determined questions but they can develop more questions based on the answer given by the participant. This allows for insightful information and can be open or closed questions.
• What are the strengths of structured interviews?

  +Easier to carry out due to fixed order of questions

  +Easier to replicate

  +Requires no interviewer training
• What are the weaknesses of structured interviews?

  -Not flexible as a fixed schedule must be followed

  -More formal and less conversational so difficult to but participants at ease
• What are the strengths of semi-structured interviews?

  +Very flexible and provides new insights

  +More informal and conversational to make the participant more comfortable

  +Helps sway the participant away from irrelevant responses
• What are the weaknesses of semi-structured interviews?

  -Lack a standardised procedure

  -Makes replication more difficult

  -Require interviewing skills

  -Time consuming
• What are the strengths of questionnaires?

  +They are quick and cheap to use

  +They are easy to analyse statistically

  +Anonymity can be used to encourage honesty
• What are the weaknesses of questionnaires?

  -Social desirability bias may occur

  -Limited flexibility as the questions are fixed

  -Lack of researcher may mean questions are misinterpreted
• What is a unstructured interview?

  Open-ended questions are used in a conversational way.
• What is a strength of unstructured interviews?

  Allows deeper exploration of certain topics.
• What is a weakness of unstructured interviews?

  They are harder to replicate and analyse.