Self-report techniques

• Questionnaires are made up of pre-set list of written questions to which a participant responds. They can be used as part of an experiment to assess the DV.
• Questionnaires: strengths

  • can be distributed to lots of people so can gather large amounts of data quickly and researcher doesn't need to be present when it is completed. This reduces the effort involved and makes them cost-effective
  • straightforward to analyse particularly if closed questions are used. Statistical data can easily be converted to graphs and charts for comparison.
• Questionnaires: limitations

  • no guarantee that responses are truthful as respondents tend to present themselves in a positive light which makes social desirability possible
  • response bias as respondents may favour a particular type of response e.g. always agreeing. This means that respondents tend to reply in a similar way.
• Interviews: face-to-face or online interaction between an interviewer and an interviewee.
• Structured interview - list of pre-determined questions asked in a fixed order
• Structured interview

  strength - easy to replicate due to the standardised format. The format also reduces differences between interviewers.

  limitation - interviewers cannot elaborate, meaning they can't deviate from the topic or explain their questions. This may limit the quality of data collected.
• Unstructured interview - no set questions, there is a general topic to be discussed but the interaction is free-flowing and the interviewee is encouraged to elaborate
• Unstructured interviews:

  strength: greater flexibility as unlike a structured interview, points can be followed up as they arise. This means that they are more likely to gain insight and collect unexpected information

  limitation: increased risk of interviewer bias as there is a closer dialogue between the interviewer and the interviewee. Therefore there is more opportunity for unconscious cues.
• Closed questions - respondent has limited choices

  • data produced tends to be quantitative

  + easier to analyse as can produce graphs and charts for comparison making it easier to draw conclusions

  _ responses are restricted as they may feel forced into an answer that may not represent their true feelings. this would reduce the validity of the findings.
• Open questions - respondent provides own answers expressed in words

  • data produced tends to be qualitative

  + responses aren't restricted, answers are more likely to provide detailed, unexpected information which are more likely to have more external validity than statistics.

  _ difficult to analyse as there is a wider variety of answers than produced by closed questions. May be forced to reduce data to statistics