self report

• what are the 2 main ways of obtaining information through self report?

  questionnaires and interviews
• what is a questionnaire?

  -involve participants recording their own answers to questions

  -they are used as part of a survey or as part of a psychological test
• what are closed questions?

  -responses are limited and provided by the researcher, such as yes or no responses
• what is a strength of closed questions?

  -easy to mark and this makes the analysis of responses quick and easy, is also easy for the participants to participate
• what is a weakness of closed questions?

  -they limit the person's responses and so the replies lack detail
• what are open questions?

  -allow the person to give the answer they wish they are not limited by the alternative answers provided by the researcher
• what is a strength of open questions?

  -answers given are detailed and are more likely to reflect what the person thinks
• what is a weakness of open questions?

  -they are subjective and harder to quantify and analyse
• what type of questions should be avoided?

  1. leading questions- they suggest a particular response which is not appropriate
  2. double barrelled questions- may cause problems because they are asking 2 different things
  3. emotional questions- problematic since they may arouse particular feelings
• how can bias be reduced?

  -it can be avoided by using well written questions which ask for information in an objective way and minimises the chance of social desirability

  -the type of sample chosen is important in reducing bias
• what are the strengths of using questionnaires?

  1. quick and inexpensive
  2. large amounts of data can be collected
• what are the weaknesses of using questionnaires?

  1. participants may distort from the truth in order to look good when answering the questions
  2. leading or biased questions will produce bias findings
• what is an interview?

  -similar to questionnaires but normally face to face with the answers given verbally

  -interviews can be structured or unstructured

  -in a structured interview all participants answer a predetermined set of questions
• design of the interview:

  -it is important to think about how the interview should be designed

  -the use of clear questions and making the first few questions easy to answer
• recording of the interview:

  -if the interviewer is having to write down the answers, then this may affect their ability to listen and understand the interviewee
• effect of the interviewer:

  -the answers of the interviewee may be affected because of the presence of the interviewer and their reactions

  -it is therefore important that the interviewer is aware of their body language
• questioning skills:

  -asking the appropriate question in response to what the interviewee says needs to be given thought, especially where the interviewer might have to follow up many questions
• what is a strength of structured interviews?

  -focuses on what the interviewer wants to ask so it is usually quick and relatively inexpensive
• what is a weakness of structured interviews?

  -lack of flexibility as participants can only answer the set questions so information can be missed
• what is an unstructured interview?

  -the interviewer allows the respondent more freedom to discuss what they want

  -the interviewer will create questions as they go along
• what are the strengths of unstructured interviews?

  1. answers can be developed- the interviewer has the opportunity to ask additional questions
  2. can be used in sensitive areas
• what are the weaknesses of unstructured interviews?

  1. difficult to replicate or compare because each interview will be different
  2. because the data collected is qualitative, it is left up to the researcher to analyse the data and this might lead to biased interpretation of that data