QUESTIONAIRE CONSTRUCTION

• Questionnaire


  A type of self-report which involves participants answering a range of questions designed to collect their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, attributes and opinions
• Uses of questionnaires in psychological research

  • To understand how people feel about issues such as immigration, social media, the cost of living
  • To measure psychometric properties such as IQ, depression, empathy, decision-making
  • Conducting a large-scale survey to assess the extent to which people are, for example, likely to vote, consult a doctor about a specific issue, use green energy
• Closed questions


  Questionnaire questions that offer limited options for the participant's response
• Closed questions


  • 'Do you agree that young people are more anxious than previous generations?' - Yes/No
  • 'Which of the following words best describes you?' a) Sociable b)Shy c) Reclusive d) Hostile
• Likert scale


  A scale used in closed questions to offer participants more of a range of possible responses
• Quantitative data


  Data generated from closed questions, such as the number of 'yes' responses, the number of times a participant ticked a particular option, or the total score calculated from scaled questions
• Open questions


  Questionnaire questions that offer freedom of response
• Open questions


  • 'Tell me about one time when you felt anxious'
  • 'How do you think other people would describe you?'
• Qualitative data


  Data generated from open questions, such as the transcript of an interview, the themes which have emerged during a conversation or interview, and the thoughts, ideas and feelings of the participant
• Lie scale


  Statements included in a questionnaire to test the truth of the participant's responses, to spot where participants have fallen into the temptation of just ticking all the nth or random boxes
• Lie scale


  • 'I have never done anything which I then later wish I could take back'
• Often in the exam, questions surrounding questionnaires are based on two areas: whether the data is quantitative or qualitative, or how to stop or reduce social desirability from participants answering the questions
• Structured interview


  An interview where the interviewer has a series of closed questions which they read to the participant and either write down or record the participants answers
• Unstructured interview


  An interview where the interviewer has a topic of interest that they discuss with the participant, and they are able to adapt questions and follow areas of interest that may arise in answers
• Semi-structured interview


  An interview where the interviewer combines both structured and unstructured techniques, allowing them to have set questions to ask the participant but also being able to follow areas of interest as they may arise