Questionaires and self report data

Question 1

Questionnaires

Definition A01

Answer 1

• Designed to gather a large amount of data by accessing a large sample
• Ask people to give responses about themselves or own ideas- self report data
• May require information from ppts about their attitudes, opinions or lifestyles

Question 2

Questionnaires

Evaluation A03
Reliability

Answer 2

Strengths-
The same questions are asked of all the participants using a set procedure with little variation in how people are asked for information. This means that questionnaires can be replicated easily and accurately to gather similar data to check for reliability.

Question 3

Questionnaires

Evaluation A03
Validity

Answer 3

Strength-
It can remove researcher bias if carried out by post as the researcher isn’t present, and so can’t impact their responses. This improves the validity of the method as it suggest the responses given are likely to be highly representative of the participants true attitudes and beliefs

Question 4

Questionnaires

Evaluation A03
Validity

Answer 4

Weakness-
Despite following a set procedure, the way in which questionnaires are administered can vary. For instance, if done in different locations, situations or time frames, these changes may influence the participants responses. The extraneous variables could skew the data, not accurately measuring the attitudes of the individuals, decreasing the validity of of the method.

Question 5

Questionnaires

Evaluation A03
Restricted data

Answer 5

Weakness-
Open ended questions in questionnaires are often still restricted in the length of the answers allowed, so the detail and depth of the qualitative data can be limited. This can reduce validity as what respondents attempt to convey may not compare across as they intended in such a restricted space, meaning true responses weren’t gathered

Question 6

Self report data

Evaluation-A03 Validity

Answer 6

Strength-
Data is direct, and so not likely to be affected by subjectivity by a research in terms of their views or the way the question is asked. The data is often high in objectivity, gathering quantitative data from closed questions and scales, and although qualitative data is gathered, validity is still high as people are giving data about themselves, so is likely to be accurate.

Question 7

Self report data

Evaluation-A03 Supporting research

Answer 7

Strength-
Cohrs et al (2012) tested whether peer reported data differs from self report data. They found peers rated people for prejudice in a similar way to how the person rated about themselves. Therefore it was concluded self report data is reasonably reliable.

Question 8

Self report data

Evaluation-A03 Validity

Answer 8

Weakness-
Validity can be compromised as people can be biased when reporting their own feelings, behaviours and views. They may wish to come across in a certain way to the researcher, or answer how they believe they should answer. This social desirability means that peoples responses don’t always align with their true view, reducing validity. It may be suggested as a multi modal approach is adopted to reduce this effect and improve validity

Question 9

Self report data

Evaluation-A03 Validity

Answer 9

Weakness-
People can be in different moods or have different ideas about their behaviour one day compared to another. This therefore means that although the data gathered is valid for the day they were asked, it may not be true for everyday and all situations