research methods- self-report techniques

Question 1

what are the two types of self-report technique?

Answer 1

-questionnaires
-interviews

Question 2

what are questionnaires?

Answer 2

-made up of a pre-set list of written questions (or items) to which a participant responds
-can be used as part of an experiment to assess the DV

Question 3

evaluate questionnaires

Answer 3

+can be distributed to lots of people
+straightforward to analyse
-responses may not always be truthful
-response bias

Question 4

ao3 of questionnaires: can be distributed to lots of people

Answer 4

-gather large amounts of data quickly and researcher need not be present when completed
-reduces effort involved and makes questionnaires cost-effective.

Question 5

ao3 of questionnaires: straightforward to analyse

Answer 5

-especially if coded, fixed-choice questions are used
-statistical data can easily be converted to graphs and charts for comparison

Question 6

ao3 of questionnaires: responses may not always be truthful

Answer 6

-respondents tend to present themselves in a positive light
-thus social desirability bias is possible.

Question 7

ao3 of questionnaires: response bias

Answer 7

-respondents may favour a particular kind of response, e.g. they always agree
-means that all respondents tend to reply in a similar way

Question 8

what is an interview?

Answer 8

face-to-face or online interaction between an interviewer and interviewee

Question 9

what’s a structured interview?

Answer 9

list of pre-determined questions asked in a fixed order

Question 10

evaluation of the structured interview

Answer 10

+easy to replicate
-interviewers cannot elaborate

Question 11

ao3 of structured interview: easy to replicate

Answer 11

-straightforward to replicate bc of standardised format
-format also reduces the differences between interviewers

Question 12

ao3 of structured interview: interviewers cannot elaborate

Answer 12

-interviewers cannot deviate from the topic or explain their q’s
-may limit the richness of the data collected

Question 13

what’s the unstructured interview?

Answer 13

-no set questions
-there’s a general topic to be discussed but interaction is free-flowing -interviewee is encouraged to elaborate

Question 14

evaluate unstructured interview

Answer 14

+greater flexibility
-increased risk of interviewer bias

Question 15

ao3 of unstructured interview: greater flexibility

Answer 15

-unlike a structured interview, points can be followed up as they arise
-more likely to gain invite into interviewee’s worldview and collected unexpected info

Question 16

ao3 of unstructured interview: increased risk of interviewer bias

Answer 16

-closer dialogue between interviewer and interviewee
-means more opportunity for unconscious cues

Question 17

what are semi-structured interviews?

Answer 17

list of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers ask further questions based on previous answers