Self report Flashcards
Self report
A way psychologists can collect data by asking people about their behaviour, thoughts, feelings and attitudes
2 main self report techniques
Questionnaires
Interviews
Questionnaires
Written methods of gaining data, composed of sets of questions
Questionnaire answerer name
Respondent
When would questionnaires be used?
If researcher wishes to gain quantitative data from a large sample of participants fairly quickly
Advantages of using questionnaires
Respondent can answer anonymously so more likely to be truthful
Quicker to complete, usually more closed Qs
Large amount of data can be collected faster
Ps may consider questions more carefully and not be self conscious of judgment
Disadvantages of using questionnaires
People may not return or submit the test = low response rate
Interviewer not present so no one there to further explain the question if they misunderstand it
Interviews
Usually a face to face meeting where the interviewer asks interviewee questions to answer(direct verbal questionning)
Answer can be taped then transcribed or notes made during it
3 types of interviews
Structured
Semi structured
Unstructured
Structured interview
Interviewer asks same question to every interviewee in the same order. Often uses closed questions
Strengths of structured interview
Easier to gather quantitative data because questions are closed and same for every interviewee = easier to analyse and compare
Weaknesses of structured interview
Being asked questions this way is unnatural so low ecological validity
Participant may not feel free to expand so limited data
Semi structured interview
Interviewer has set of pre prepared questions to ask and may develop extra follow up questions dependant on responses given
Semi structured interview strengths
Interviewee feels slightly more comfortable to go into detail since interviewer seems more interested = more personalised
Both qualitative and quantitative data collected
Semi structured interview weaknesses
Gives some qualitative data which can be harder to analyse and compare against each participant
Unstructured interview
Researcher has topics to discuss but these aren’t in order for each interviewee, and more Qs developed dependant on answers
More conversational
Unstructured interview strengths
Lots of detailed data because interviewees given a lot of room to talk, descriptive of thought processes etc
Feels like a regular conversation so higher ecological validity
Unstructured interview weaknesses
Very difficult to analyse the detailed and qualitative data
Hard to make trends and compare amongst interviewees
When would an interview be used?
Gain in depth qualitative data from representatives of a narrow target population
Interviews strengths
Cam ask follow up questions based on responses given
Get more detailed answers as a result as participants may feel more compelled to answer in more detail
Build a rapport (understanding of feelings) with interviewee, being in person with them
Interviews weaknesses
May not answer questions truthfully if shy or to appear more socially desirable in case of embarrassing question
More time consuming
More difficult to analyse questions
Types of question
Open question
Closed question
Open questions
Asks participants to describe/ explain why or what they think about something
Aim is to find person’s emotions by collecting qualitative data
Open questions advantages
Provides more rich and detailed data
Doesn’t force participants to choose a specific option in a closed question that might not be accurate to them
Open questions disadvantages
Time consuming for completions and analysis
Responses may not be open to what the researcher desired if the question is too vague or misunderstanding
Different structures of ‘questions’ in questionnaires particularly
Rating scales
Likert scales
Semantic differentials
Rating scale
When given a numerical scale (and what number = positive etc) and respondent asked to mark their attitude to something or degree they feel a certain emotion
Is rating scale a closed or open question?
Closed because participants choose which number represents them
Although may leave room to specify why they chose this
Rating scale advantages
More detailed than yes/no since it can show degree of something
Gives quantitive data which can be compared amongst Ps
Easily repeated
Rating scale disadvantage
Tendency for Ps to choose the middle scale/ neutral
Standard response set where Ps choose same answer each time = low construct validity
No middle option causes forced choice
No qualitative data
Forced choice
When Ps have to choose an option not accurate to their own beliefs because an accurate option was not present
Usually in rating/likert scales when a neutral option is not there
Likert scale
A STATEMENT (not question) is written down and a scale of agreement levels are below, and Ps tick to what extent they agree with the statement
Sometimes a number correlates to the word
How do likert scales control for standard response set?
Half of the statements have a positive attitude to attitude object eg saying agree = favourable
And the other half of statements have negative attitude eg saying agree = unfavourable
To catch out people who give these or force Ps to think I carefully
How many boxes should be used in likert scales?
An odd number of 5 or over
Because this includes a neutral option so Ps who are unsure aren’t forced into an opinion = increases validity
Semantic differentials
An attitude object is given
And antonym adjectives given with a scale between where participants state where on the scale of these adjectives they’d state the attitude object lies
How is validity shown in self report?
That participants accurately show their honest attitudes/feelings
What areas of validity are focused most on in self report?
Construct eg what is being measured (participants attitudes/feelings are true to reality
Population
Not ecological
Problems with validity in self report (not accurately represents Ps feelings/ the truth)
Leading questions
Forced choice questions
Answering to be socially desirable
Standard response set
Lack of anonymity
Researcher bias
Giving in to demand characteristics
Leading questions issue with validity
The participants will be lead to an opinion subconsciously so won’t accurately represent their true beliefs
How to overcome issue with leading questions?
Word questions that won’t include an opinion and be more vague so participants feel more room to share what they think
Participants need for social desirability issue with validity
Won’t accurately measure participants honest opinions or thoughts because they say what they believe will make them look better to researcher
How to overcome issue with social desirability?
Guarantee confidentiality so participants don’t feel they need to associate their name with positive attributes
Forced choice questions issue with validity?
Causes a participant into an option they don’t agree with decreases construct validity because it will not measure their true opinions
How to overcome issue with forced choice questions?
Include a larger rating scale with a neutral option rather than closed yes/no questions
Allow participants to state their own with an ‘other__’ option
Showing demand characteristics issue with validity
Participants won’t input their true views/ feelings because they may guess what the researcher wants to find out so act accordingly
How to overcome Demand characteristics validity issue?
Ask smokescreen questions to avoid Ps figuring out the aim
Standard response set validity issue
Participants may not give real view because they aren’t individually considering each question
How to avoid standard response set validity issue?
Write opposite questions eg ask if they like something then dislike something so participants are ‘kept on their toes’ to ensure they don’t answer all questions the same
