research methods: self reports

Question 1

What is involved in Self Report? (3 marks)

Answer 1

Participants give information to the researcher to provide details
on thoughts/feelings/behaviour (1)
• It involves the participants responding to questions in a
questionnaire or interview (2)
.
The questions in the questionnaire can be open questions (which
allow participants to respond in detail) or closed questions (which
require a one word response). The questions in the interview can
be structured or unstructured. (3)

Question 2

Briefly describe what a questionnaire is

Answer 2

Questionnaires form part of surveys, which involves asking a large sample of people for information
on a specific topic.
Involves a pre-set list of written questions or items to which the participant responds
The purpose of surveys is to get a good representation of the target population using a large sample
therefore making it able to generalise results to the rest of the population.

Question 3

strength of questionnaires:

Answer 3

(They can tackle sensitive issues such as homosexuality
AV
(or contextualise to scenario if the issue being
SO(
investigated is sensitive) - as Ppts data can remain
anonymous, by the researcher not asking for their name
This means ppts answers may be more likely to be honest nc
as ppts may be happier to disclose sensitive information
share
when they are anonymous. Increasing the internal
validity. (unlike an interview, where the researcher is
present and the ppt may not feel comfortable answering
sensitive questions truthfully face to face, reducing the

atttude
internal validity).
tene
voice
Affeet ppts
behava
sway investigater
behaves

Reduction of investigator effects as the researcher does
not have to be present whilst the ppts completes the
questionnaire. Thereforeresearcher’s response to the
participant’s answer is not visible and their
characteristics will not influence the participant’s
Unswers. (unlike an interview, where the researcher has
to be present, therefore this increases the internal validity
of the questionnaire).

Can be given to a large quantity of people as the
researcher does not have to be present when the ppts
complete the questionnaire. Increasing the
‹genéralisability of the findings. (unlike an interview,
where the researcher has to be present for each
interview, limiting the amount of people the research can
be conducted on, therefore increasing the external
validity of questionnaires)

Question 4

weakness of questionnaires:

Answer 4

A weakness of questionnaires is that they could lead to
social desirability bias - this is where people may lie to
present themselves in the best possible light. (E.g
asking a mother is her child aggressive - they will say
no, contextualise to scenario here, what is the ppt likely
to lie about?). Therefore lowering the internal validity
of the research. Whereas in an interview the researcher
is present and it often takes place face to face which
may reduce the participants socially desirable responses
as they may find it more difficult to lie face to face.
However, this could be minimised by making the
questionnaire anonymous.

A further weakness is misinterpretation of questions.
For example a ppt may not understand a question and
as the researcher is not present, they cannot ask for
clarification meaning they could leave the question or
give invalid information. Moreover, the researcher
could misinterpret/not understand the ppts answer and
again cannot ask for clarification, lowering the internal
validity. (Unlike in an interview, where the researcher is
present so the ppt/researcher can ask for clarification,
increasing the internal validity).

Question 5

open questions:

Answer 5

These are questions which Ppts
can answer using their own
words. They can express their
views of their own behaviour
and responses tend to include
greater detait

Question 6

what type of data is gained from open questions?

Answer 6

QUALITATIVE DATA

Question 7

closed questions:

Answer 7

These are questions which
mean that Ppts responses
are fixed for example yes’
‘no’ or rating scales.

Question 8

what type of data gained from a closed question?

Answer 8

QUANTITATIVE DATA

Question 9

strength of open questions:

Answer 9

Provides in-depth, rich detailed data
which provides greater understanding of
the content/behaviour in question
(context).

Question 10

strength of closed questions:

Answer 10

Easier to analyse and collate the data
allowing comparisons to be made
between groups of people enabling
conclusions to be made about behaviour
(context).

Question 11

weakness of open questions:

Answer 11

Open to researcher bias as participant’s
responses (context) will be open to the
subjective interpretation of the researcher.

Question 12

weakness of closed questions:

Answer 12

Lacks depth and insight into behaviour
(context) in question, therefore the answers
could lack validity.

Could be open to response bias where ppts
reply in a similar way, e.g. always ticking
‘ves’
or answering at the same favoured end
of a rating scale, lowering internal validity.

Question 13

There are 6 things to consider when designing a questionnaire:

Answer 13

1.
Decide on what type of data you want from your questionnaire (e.g qualitative or quantitative data or both!)

2. Decide on the questions you will need to ask to gain that type of data e.g. open or closed questions. If closed
   will you use Likert, rating or fixed option scales. These should be unambiguous and easy to understand to
   increase completion rates.

3.
Questions:
a.
When writing open questions start with describe, explain….
b. When writing closed questions start with ‘how often, how many, rate yourself on a scale of…..

4.
Include some distractor questions so that Ppts don’t pick up on clues and change their behaviour (demand
characteristics)

5.
Decide on the order of the questions - start off with easy questions to put Ppts at ease.

6.
Carry out a pilot study to identify and resolve any problems with the questionnaire

Question 14

Briefly describe what an interview is:

Answer 14

method for asking questions - in a face to face nature, sometimes it can also be over the phone or
computer such as through skype. (1 mark) There are two types of interview structured and unstructured (2nd
mark)

Question 15

Structured interview A01

Answer 15

All of the questions áre pre-set before the interviews are carried out.
> Less likely to deviate from the topic ->
>
Every interviewee will be asked the same questions in exactly the same order
>
The interviewer cannot ask any extra questions based on information provided

Question 16

strengths of structured interviews

Answer 16

All participants get the fame questions meaning that it is
possible to compare responses and identify trends and
patterns much moré easily about (contextualise e.g.
refer to the behaviour being studied from scenario)
UNLIKE unstructured interview where Ppt get different
questions, therefore it’s hard to make comparisons.

Question 17

weakness of structured interviews

Answer 17

The researcher cannot deviate from the pre-set questions
meaning they cannot follow up on new lines of enquiry. This
may mean they do not get a full understanding of behaviour
(contextualise e.g. refer to the behaviour being studied from
ent
scenario) UNLIKE in an unstructured interview where
questions can be developed based on reposes from
previous questions.

Question 18

unstructured interview ao1

Answer 18

May contain á topic area for discussion but no set questions so each interviewee gets different
questions.
De .g. Institutionalisation
Deden ppts get diffaret Q’s.
> The questions are based on the responses of the interviewee so the interviewer can discuss
interesting points made by the interviewee.
>
The questions that are asked are more likely to be open questions

Question 19

strength of unstructured interview

Answer 19

The -researcher can allow the person to go into more
depth with their responses as questions are based on
the responses of the interviewer. This means that they
can gain & fuller understanding of the Ppt behaviour
(contextualise e.g. refer to the behaviour being
studied from scenario UNLIKE a structured interview
where participants only answer a set list of questions
where there is no deviation, increasing the internal
validity of an unstructured interview.

Question 20

weakness of unstructured

Answer 20

can be hard to identify patterns and trends as all participants
are asked different questions (contextualise: What will the
questions investigate?) making the responses harder to
analyse and make comparisons between Ppts UNLIKE a
structured interview where all Ppts answer the same
questions

.
Much more difficult to replicate an unstructured interview as
each ppt is asked different questions (contextualise: What will
the questions be investigating?) based upon their responses
UNLIKE a structured interview which has a standardised set of
questions and can be repeated many times. This lowers the
reliability of an unstructured interview.

Question 21

strengths of interviews

Answer 21

As the researcher is present during an interview, the ppts can ask for clarification if they do not understand
question or the researcher could ask for clarification if they do not understand a response, therefore
improving the internal validity of the research, unlike in a questionnaire where the researcher is not present
and therefore clarification cannot be established, lowering the internal validity.

Question 22

weakness of interviews:

Answer 22

Prone to investigator effects. As the researcher needs to be present, their behaviours (for example how they
respond to a ppt’s answer; contextualise) or appearance (for example their gender; contextualise) could
influence the participants to respond in a certain way, therefore affecting the outcome of the study and
lowering the internal validity. Unlike a questionnaire, where the researcher does not need to be present and
therefore less prone to investigator effects.

interviews are more time consuming and expensive as the questions are asked face to face and so require a
1:1 with a researcher unlike a questionnaire which are less time consuming and expensive as they can be
given to lots of Ppts to complete and does not take as much time as the researcher does not need to be
present.

Question 23

There are 5 things to consider when designing an interview - Remember to justify your choices:

Answer 23

1.
Will the interview be structured or unstructured?
2.
Choice of open or closed questions
a.
Writing questions When writing closed questions you could start with: How many .…? How often..?
b.
When writing open questions you could start with : Describe …. give an example of
3.
Decide on the appearance of the interviewer so that it is the same for all participants to reduce the
chance of investigator effects (where the researcher’s behaviour or appearance
intentionally/unintentionally affects the behaviour of the ppt or the outcome of the study). The
interviewer should be trained to speak in a neutral tone, to ask the questions in a similar way to all
ppts, to have an appropriate appearance and accent for the interview. You should also consider the
gender of the researcher e.g. male interviewer for male participants to avoid investigator effects.
4
How will the interview be recorded (will the interviewer make notes or video/record the interview?) If
the interview is recorded it may avoid the interviewer missing information or the participant feeling
anxious.
5.
Will you include an additional interviewer to increase inter-rater reliability? Interviewers record
independently and compare results at the end of the interview and compare results.
6.
Conduct a pilot study to ensure problems with the wording of questions are identified and resolved
before the final study.

Question 24

Investigator effects - DEFINE - 2M

Answer 24

When the researcher’s behaviour/characteristics
either conscrously or unconsciotisly influences the
outcome of the researck (1) For example, the
researcher’s gender or tone of voice may influence
how the participant responds in the self report (1).”

Question 25

investigator effects can be controlled by…

Answer 25

Train experimenters to use a
neutral tone of voice in the way
they greet ppts or ask questions
Ensure the researcher is the same
Can be
gender as the participants
controlled
by–•
Provide a standardised script for
the researchers to use so that
e
they are asking questions or
giving instructions in the same
Way
IF the researcher is aware of the
Impact
aims of the study, get another
interviewer to conduct the self
enseat
report who is unaware of the
aims. (DOUBLE BLIND)

Question 26

How might the researcher’s presence effect the participant response
in a questionnaire?

Answer 26

The researcher might be smiling more or have a happier tone of voice when giving instructions to one
group more than another group. This may mean participants rate their mood more positively.
Or if the researcher knows the aims of the study they may be happier and more positive with the music
group than the control group, this may lead the music group to record their mood more positively.

Question 27

how to test the reliability of a self report?

Answer 27

Test re-test
•chech
Out ine he way
Test re-test can be used to assess the reliability of any piece of research e.g.
an experiment, a questionnaire, a controlled observation. > Cantext!
1.
Participants are given a questionnaire of interview (context) to
complete
Scerano AOr
2.
The same participants are then asked the same questions (context)
after a time delay e.g. two weeks.
Relabonship.
3.
Compare the data on a scattergraph to describe the correlation.
Then correlate the results from each questionnaire or interview
4.
using stats test.
A strong positive correlation of above +0.8 shows high reliability

Question 28

Operationalising:

Answer 28

Definition: Operation alising means to be specific and clear when defining questions in
questionnaires or interviews. (1) so that they are easier to measure (2)

Question 29

Improving reliability of self-report methods:

Answer 29

Questionnaires - Make sure all questions aré clear and
understandable - this can be checked for with (a pilot study.

Interviews - using set questions will improve reliability.

Question 30

two ways to asses validity of self reports?

Answer 30

face validity and concurrent validity

Question 31

face validity:

Answer 31

The quickest most superficial way of assessing for validity. This involves an
independent psychologist in the same field looking to see if the questions
in the questionnaire or interview (CONTEXT) looks like they measure what
they intend measure (contextualise: refer to scenario, what are they
measuring?) at first sight/face value.

Question 32

concurrent validity:

Answer 32

A way of assessing validity by comparing the results of the new
questionnaire/interview (context) with the results of another similar pre-
existing questionnaire/interview (context) that has already established its
validity. If results from both tests are similar then we can assume the test
is valid. Correlation of the two results from the questionnaire/interview
should exceed +0.8.

Question 33

IMPROVING THE VALIDITY OF SELF-REPORTS

Answer 33

Lie test - sets of nearly identical questions to test response
consistency (“I never regret the things I say” might appear in the
same test as “I’ve never said anything I later wished I could take
back”
> Same fer all ppt
The use of standardised procedures across all participants (reduces chances
of researcher bias).
Allow ppts to remain anonymity.
» avoid social desirability
Avoid leading questions to ensure ppt are not encouraged to
respond in a particular way.