self report; questionnaires

Question 1

what is a questionnaire

Answer 1

A set of written questions that participants fill in themselves

Question 2

what are closed questions

Answer 2

Questions where there are fixed choices of responses e.g. yes/no.

They generate quantitative data
e.g. checklist, likert, ranking

Question 3

advantages of closed questions

Answer 3

• quick and easy for participants to answer.
• more likely to be structured in a certain order, therefore high in internal reliability.
• Due to time efficiency, large samples can be collected increasing generalisability.
• Quantitative data is easy to analyze e.g. find median, modes, and draw graphs.

Question 4

disadvantages of closed question

Answer 4

• Lacks detail, participants can’t express opinions fully, lacks validity.
• Risk of response bias e.g. saying yes to everything.
  -The score for all participants on each question is only nominal data so only the mode can be calculated. Limited anal

Question 5

what are open questions

Answer 5

Questions, where there is no fixed response, and participants, can give any answer they like.

• They generate qualitative data.

Question 6

advantages of open questions

Answer 6

• qualitative data, giving participants an opportunity to fully express their opinions, thus increasing validity.
• All info is analyzed so information is not lost by averaging answers – increasing validity.

Question 7

disadvantages of open questions

Answer 7

• Qualitative data is time-consuming to analyze as themes need to be identified.
• Interpretation of data is subjective, leading to bias. This can lead to issues of validity. In addition, the inconsistency of interpreting data can lead to low inter-rater reliability.
• Findings are based on individuals so may lack generalisability.

Question 8

advantages of questionnaires

Answer 8

• Questionnaires are a relatively cheap and quick way to gather a large amount of data.
• Since questionnaires can be completed privately (and often anonymously), responses may be more likely to be hone

Question 9

disadvantages of questionnaires

Answer 9

• Social desirability issues may arise, where participants give incorrect responses to try to put themselves in a socially acceptable light. Can be solved by adding in easy filler questions.
• response rates are often poor, plus it may be that only a certain type of person returns questionnaires, so generalizing the sample of results to a large population can be unconvincing.
• some questions are leading (i.e. they suggest the desired response in the way they are worded).
• any questions are misunderstood, participants completing questionnaires privately cannot get clarification on the meaning/responding accurately from an experimenter, so may complete them incorrectly.