Self-Report Design

Question 1

Open questions:

Answer 1

No fixed choice of response and respondents can answer in any way that they wish.

Question 2

Closed questions:

Answer 2

There is a fixed choice of responses determined by the question setter.

Question 3

Likert Scale:

Answer 3

A respondent indicates their agreement with a statement using a scale of usually 5 points.

Question 4

Rating scale:

Answer 4

Gets respondents to identify a value that represents their strength of feeling about a particular topic.

Question 5

Fixed choice option:

Answer 5

Includes a list of possible options and respondents are required to indicate those that apply to them.

Question 6

Designing Interviews:

Answer 6

1. Should be standardised for each participant to reduce the contaminating effect of interviewer bias.
2. Should usually be between an interviewer and a single participant.
3. They interviewees should be reminded on several occasions that their answers will be treated with absolute confidence.

Question 7

Do not overuse jargon:

Answer 7

Refer to technical terms that are only familiar to those within a specialised field or area.

Question 8

Emotive language and leading questions:

Answer 8

1. The author’s attitude towards a particular topic is clear from the way in which the question is phrased.
2. Leading questions suggests a particular answer.

Question 9

Double-barrelled questions and double negatives:

Answer 9

1. DBQs contains two questions in one, may agree with one half and not the other.
2. Double negatives can be difficult to decipher.