self-report techniques

• what are the 2 self-report techniques

  1. questionnaires
  2. interviews
• questionnaires


  a set of written questions designed to collect information that participants fill in themselves
• interviews

  a set of questions is asked by an interviewer to an interviewee to assess their thoughts or experiences. Interviews can either be structured or unstructured.
• questionnaires may either contain closed or open questions
• closed questions


  questions where there are fixed choices of responses. They generate quantitative data.
• strength of close questions

  provide easy to analyse data which makes it easy to compare with other data.
• limitation of closed questions

  they lack depth and detail and can be limiting in allowance for response – participants may be forced to choose answers that don’t represent their true thoughts.
• open questions

  questions where there is no fixed response and participants can give any answer they like. They generate qualitative data.
• strength of open questions

  provide rich in depth and detail responses and are useful for sensitive topics as participants can elaborate on their answers
• limitation of open questions

  they are difficult to convert to statistical data and more difficult to analyse.
• construction of questionnaires

  ·       Clarity – the questions should be phrased in a way that avoids ambiguity and is clear to the respondent

  ·       Bias – avoid leading questions and try to reduce social desirability bias

  ·       Analysis – closed questions give easier to analyse data but responders may be forced to select answers that don’t represent their true thoughts. Open questions are more revealing but difficult to analyse.
• strengths of questionnaires

  ·       Cost-effective

  ·       Gathers large amounts of data quickly

  ·       Easy to analyse

  ·       Responses can be anonymous meaning participants are more likely to be open and reveal personal information
• limitations of questionnaires

  ·       Takes a long time to design

  ·       Less detail than interviews with limited answers.

  ·       Sample bias
• structured interviews

  The questions are fixed in structured interviews – the interview reads out a set of predetermined questions and records the response.
• strength of structured interviews

  they can be standardised and easily replicable. Also, comparisons can be made between participants easily due to standardisation. It is easy to analyse
• limitation of structured interviews

  interviewer bias can be presented through aspects such as body language, listening skills and interpreter bias. Also, the interviewer must stick to the pre-determined questions and there is a lack of flexibility.
• unstructured interviews

  Unstructured interviews have no fixed questions, just general aims. It is more like a conversation.
• strength of unstructured interviews

  more qualitative data and detailed information is collected. The interviewer will receive more information that is not predetermined by questions.
• limitation of unstructured interviews

  the analysis of data is difficult. Also, the interviewer needs to be trained and skilled.
• construction and design of interviews

  ·       Recording information – can be done by writing down answers, using a video recorder or audio recorder

  ·       Ethical issues – informed consent is needed from the participant for the researcher to obtain and keep the data.

  ·       Location – a quiet room away from other people is the most appropriate as this location is likely to get the participant to feel comfortable and open up

  ·       Neutral questions – usually started with to make the participant feel relaxed and help establish a rapport.