Self-report techniques

Question 1

What are the self report techniques?

Answer 1

Questionnaires

Interviews

Question 2

What are questionnaires?

Answer 2

They consist of a series of pre-set written questions and are used to asses thoughts and/ or feelings

Question 3

What are the different type of questions in questionnaires?

Answer 3

• open
• closed
• contingent
• likert scaling

Question 4

Describe open questions

Answer 4

• don’t have a fixed range of answers and respondents are free to answer how they wish
• produce qualitative data that produces a wide range of responses and is hard to analyse

Question 5

Describe closed questions

Answer 5

• offer a fixed number of responses

- produce quantitative data that is easy to analyse but may lack depth

Question 6

Give some strengths of questionnaires

Answer 6

• cost and time effective
• can gather large amounts of data quickly because they can be distributed to large numbers of people
• can be completed without the researcher being present
• data is easy to analyse and easy to make comparisons
• Can be done anonymously, removing SDB (Social Desirability Bias)

Question 7

Give some weaknesses of questionnaires

Answer 7

• responses might not be truthful and participants might want to present themselves in a positive light = social desirability bias
• produce a response bias where respondents reply in a similar way
• No interviewer present to extend answers or clarify questions. This means responders might answer without understanding, reducing accuracy of data.
• Low response rate: not all people respond to questionnaires = lack of data.

Question 8

Give some weaknesses of self report studies

Answer 8

• lack of validity
• social desirability (people give answers to make them look good)
• demand characteristics (give answers they think for the researchers aims)

Question 9

Describe contingent questions

Answer 9

These depend on the answer to the preceding question

Question 10

Describe likert scaling

Answer 10

• it assesses the strength of a participant’s opinion
• they are asked to rate their feelings on a particular topic usually extent to which they agree/ disagree
• answers are then graded 1-5 to facilitate statistical analysis
• likert scaling uses an odd number e.g. 1-3, 1-7, 1-9

Question 11

What is the big problem with likert scaling?

Answer 11

• people tend to opt for middle values over anything else

Question 12

What are interviews?

Answer 12

• Face to face conversations between the researcher and the participant
• usually contain more open questions

Question 13

What are the different types of interview?

Answer 13

Structured
Unstructured
Semistructured

Question 14

Strengths of interviews

Answer 14

1) Interviewer is present to help clarify any difficult questions.
2) Interviewer can ask further questions when responses are interesting

Question 15

Weaknesses of interviews

Answer 15

Interviews can be worse than questionnaires:
1) Questionnaires can be done anonymously but interviews can’t. Interviews are therefore more affected by SDB (Social Desirability Bias)
2) Interviews take more time and effort. Questionnaires are more efficient and cost-effective.

Question 16

What are structured interviews?

Answer 16

Structured interviews are made up of pre-determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order.

Question 17

Strengths of a structured interview

Answer 17

• Are easy to replicate due the standardised format.
• Structured interviews are easy to replicate as a fixed set of closed questions are used, which are easy to quantify – this means it is easy to test for reliability.
• Structured interviews are fairly quick to conduct which means that many interviews can take place within a short amount of time. This means a large sample can be obtained, resulting in the findings being representative and having the ability to be generalized to a large population.

Question 18

Weaknesses of a structured interview

Answer 18

• Structured interviews are not flexible. This means new questions cannot be asked impromptu (i.e., during the interview), as an interview schedule must be followed.
• The answers from structured interviews lack detail as only closed questions are asked, which generates quantitative data. This means a researcher won’t know why a person behaves a certain way.

Question 19

What are unstructured interviews?

Answer 19

There are no set questions. There is a general aim that a certain topic will be discussed, and the interaction is free-flowing.
A live encounter (face to face or phone) where the interviewer asks questions which may develop as the interview goes on to assess the interviewee’s thoughts and/or experiences

Question 20

Strengths of an unstructured interview

Answer 20

• Interviewer can change questions to suit interviewee and go into different areas.
• Unstructured interviews are more flexible as questions can be adapted and changed depending on the respondents’ answers. The interview can deviate from the interview schedule.
• Unstructured interviews generate qualitative data through the use of open questions. This allows the respondent to talk in some depth, choosing their own words. This helps the researcher develop a real sense of a person’s understanding of a situation.
• They also have increased validity because it gives the interviewer the opportunity to probe for a deeper understanding, ask for clarification & allow the interviewee to steer the direction of the interview, etc. Interviewers have the chance to clarify any questions of participants during the interview.

Question 21

Weaknesses of an ustructured interview

Answer 21

• Can’t REPEAT to check results because it was a unique and unplanned set of questions.
• It can be time-consuming to conduct an unstructured interview and analyze the qualitative data (using methods such as thematic analysis).
• Employing and training interviewers is expensive and not as cheap as collecting data via questionnaires. For example, certain skills may be needed by the interviewer. These include the ability to establish rapport and knowing when to probe.
• Biased questions so to elicit ‘fabricated’ answers. Interviewers may bias the respondents’ answers, but interviewees may develop demand characteristics and social desirability issues.

Question 22

What is an semi structured interview?

Answer 22

There is a list of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers are also free to ask follow-up questions based on previous answers.

Question 23

Strengths of a semi-structured interview

Answer 23

• An advantage compared with an unstructured interview is that it is more practical and will produce data that is a little easier to analyse than a completely free-ranging conversation. An advantage compared with structured interviews is that it gives the opportunity to use sensitivity to prevent stress and discomfort for the interviewee, and also avoids missing potentially fruitful data.

Question 24

Weaknesses of a semi-structured interview

Answer 24

The disadvantages are similar to those of unstructured interviews, that this is time-consuming, difficult to conduct and difficult to analyse.