self report design

• questionnaires include open or closed questions. closed questions can be further divided into types. one type is a likert scale in which the participants indicates their agreement with a statement using a scale of usually five points. the scale may be strongly agree to strongly disagree. a second type is a rating scale where participants indentify a value that represents their strength or feeling about a particular topic. a last type is a fixed choice option which includes a list of possible options and participants are reqiured to indicate those that apply to them.
• interviews involve an interview schedule which is the list of questions that the interviewer intends to cover. it should be standardised to reduce interviewer bias. the interviewer will takes notes or record it for anaylsis after.
• interviews invlove a interviewer and a single participants or group interviews (done in especially in clinical settings). in single participant interviews, the interviewer should conduct it in a quiet room which will increase the likelihood that the interviewee will open up. to begin the interviewer may use neutral questions till build a rapport. the interviewee should be reminded throughout that their answers will be treated in strict confidence
• clarity is important when designing self reports as if the respondents misinterpret the questions, this will negatively impact the quality of information recieved. therefore, overuse of jargon, emotive language, leading questions and double barrelled questions should be avoided
• jargon refers to technical terms that are only familiar to those within a specialised field. the best questions are simple and easily understood
• emotive language is when the authors attitude towards topics is clear from the way the question is phrased. emotive language should be replaced with neutral alternatives. a leading question is when the researchers question guides the respondant toward a particular answer
• a double barrelled questions contains two questions in one; the issue being that respondants may agree with one hald of the questions but not the other. a double negative is also difficult for the respondant to decipher e.g. 'i am not unhappy in my job'