Self Report Flashcards
features of questionnaires
written method of gaining data
don’t always need researcher present
participant = respondent
features of interviews
participant = interviewee
verbal method of gaining data
can be structured/semi-structured/unstructured
Open questions
leaves blank under question so can answer in their own way
produce qualitative data
closer questions
have to choose most appropriate answer for them
can be turned to quantitative data
advantages of closed questions
easy to analyse
quick to complete
disadvantages of closed questions
cant gain understanding
limits peoples responses
options may be open to interpretation
standard response set
advantages of open questions
can gain understanding
can answer honestly
increased ecological validity
disadvantages of open questions
hard to analyse
hard to compare
time consuming
may have irrelevant data
researcher bias
What do rating scales relate to
attitudes/emotions/feelings
What do rating scales involve
making a mark at an appropriate point on a numerical dimension to indicate direction and strength of their attitude
advantages of rating scales
can be easily converted to quantitative data
simple to analyse and compare
more detail than yes/no
disadvantages of rating scales
different interpretations of terms
set no of options
standard response set
doesn’t tell you why
example of a rating scale
how much do you like dogs?
1(really dislike) 2(dislike) 3(like) 4(really like)
Features of likert scale
Give a statement and then options of if they strongly agree/agree/ undecided/ disagree/ strongly disagree
what are semantic differentials
attitude object given and have to indicate between 2 opposite adjectives where they place their feelings
strengths of unstructured interviews
high ecological validity
high construct validity (answers more honest if comfortable)
lots of data
weaknesses of unstructured interviews
might miss key info
might have irrelevant info
hard to compare
low internal reliability
strengths of semi structured interviews
more trustworthy
high ecological validity
some data easy to comoare
weaknesses of semi structured interviews
reliability not as high
harder to compare
strengths of structured interviews
easy to compare
get all info needed
standardised
weaknesses of structured interviews
low rapport
low ecological validity
restrictive
advantages of questionnaires
can remain anonymous
quick and easy
can get lots of responses
disadvantages of questionnaires
hard to gain lots of info/detail
lacks ecological validity
may lie- low validity
advantages of interviews
can gain deep info/understanding
can get to know person
read body language/tone of voice
qualitative and quantitative
disadvantages of interviews
not ethical to ask personal questions
time consuming
confidentiality
lacks ecological validity
how to avoid lying (leading questions)
ask neutral questions
how to avoid socially desirable answers
keep it anonymous
why not ask forced choice questions
answers may not represent true feelings
why ask smokescreen questions
so they don’t find out real aim - demand characteristics
how to avoid standard response set
use open questions or make some positive and some negative
nominal data
headcount of categories
ordinal data
data can be put in ranked order
interval/ratio
ordinal data that takes into account spread between results
what’s an unstructured interview
contains topic area but no fixed questions
what’s structured interviews
fixed questions
