research methods: self-report design Flashcards
What are Likert scales?
The respondent indicates their agreement (or otherwise) with a statement using a scale of usually five points ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree
What are Rating scales?
Works similarly but gets respondents to identify a value that represents their strength of feeling about a particular topic
What is a fixed choice option?
Includes a list of possible options and respondents are required to indicate those that apply to them
What are the two things that need to be considered when writing a good question?
- Clarity
- Bias
How can questions have clarity?
They need to be written so the respondent understands what is being asked
What makes a question lack clarity?
- A double negative
- Double-barrelled questions
- No overuse of jargon
What is a double negative?
2 negative words in one sentence
What is an example of a double-barrelled question?
Do you suffer from sickness and headaches?
What is jargon?
Technical terms that only specialists would know should be avoided
How can questions avoid having bias?
By being careful how you phrase questions to avoid emotive language so should use more neutral words so that your attitudes towards a topic are unclear
How can a leading question lead to bias?
May lead the respondent to be more likely to give a particular answer
What else should be considered?
- Filler question
- Sequence of questions
How can filler questions help?
May help to include irrelevant questions on longer questionnaires to distract the respondent from the purpose of the study
How can the sequence of questions help?
It is best to start with easy questions, developing onto difficult or sensitive questions
