Self Report Flashcards
Self reports
This method of investigation involves the Psychologist simply asking questions of participants. Self report can be used as a method in itself or it can be used as a way of collecting data within other methods, such as experiments or correlations. We will look at a number of different ways in which questions can be asked, including questionnaires, interviews and the use of rating scales.
Questionnaires
- 2 important benefits
A questionnaire is a set of questions designed to collect information about one, or a number of different, topics. Questionnaires are done because they provide 2 important benefits that other methods do not.
- You can gather from a huge sample of people for very little effort (once the questionnaire has been designed).
- You can access what people think. Experiments and observations tell us what people do, but give little real insight into why they actually do these things. Whether or not people tell you the truth is another matter that will be covered later.
Types of questions
Closed Questions
- Yes or no
- Ticklists
- Select most applicable
Rating scales
- Likert scales
- Semantic Differential Scale
Open ended questions
Closed questions
Generate quantitative data. They restrict the answers given by the respondent to a set of options provided by the questionnaire.
Yes or No Questions
-Do you enjoy college? Yes {} No {}
Ticklists- the respondent is given a range of options and they select the applicable answers.
-What subjects do you study at AS level? (Tick all that apply)
Maths{} Science{} English{} German{} Dance{}
Select the most applicable- the respondent may be given a selection of options and chooses the one closest to themselves.
-How much homework do you do a week?
Less than 10hrs{} 11-15hrs{} 16-20hrs{} 21+hours{}
Rating Scales
What is this?
This is where a numerical value represents how a participant feels indicating their strength of feeling towards something.
For example: On a scale 1-10 (1 being extremely unhappy to 10 being extremely happy) rate how happy you feel at the moment.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Examples of different types of rating scales
- Likert Scales
2. Semantic Differential Scale
Likert Scale
-The respondent indicates a rating for each item given.
For example, psychology is the best subject at Cardinal Newman-
SA A NA/DA D SD
These can be adapted to generate quantitative data by adding number values to the verbal options.
SA A NA/DA D SD
5 4 3 2 1
Reverse scoring can be used to prevent response bias.
Semantic Differential Scale
the respondent rates their response by choosing from an opposing pair of descriptive words (bipolar adjectives). Two words which are the opposite of each other are chosen which reflect what is being measured, for example, Bold - Fearful. Respondents have to put a tick/cross on one of several positions (usually 5 or 7) between the adjectives.
For example, in a study of the effect on adolesccents of viewing cigarette smoking in a film trailer, a semantic differential was used to measure perceptions of the character on the following measures- Boring--------exciting Friendly---------unfriendly Young---------uncool Beautiful---------ugly
Strengths of closed questions
- Produces quantitative data which can then be summarised, presented and compared between participants and conditions
- Closed questions are easy for respondents to answer, enabling lots of data to be generated quickly
- It is easier to test for reliability as the same questions can be given again at a different point in time to check whether the findings are consistent.
Weaknesses of closed questions
- They only produce quantitative data meaning that there is no detail or reasons behind answers given
- There is a risk of response bias - respondents may just tick yes for everything.
- There is often a limited number of choices for the respondent to select and therefore this may lower the validity of the data
