self report techniques

Question 1

self-report techniques

Answer 1

any method in which a person is asked to state or explain their own feelings, opinions, behaviours and experiences related to a given topic

Question 2

questionnaires

Answer 2

a set of written questions used to assess a person’s thoughts and experiences

Question 3

interview

Answer 3

a ‘live’ encounter where the interviewer asks a set of questions to assess the interviewee’s thoughts and experiences

Question 4

structured interviews

Answer 4

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

Question 5

unstructured interviews

Answer 5

there are no set questions. There is a general aim that a certain topic will be discussed and interaction tends to be free-flowing like a conversation. The interviewee is encouraged to expand and elaborate their answers as prompted by the interviewer

Question 6

semi-structured interviews

Answer 6

the sort of interview that one is most likely to encounter in every day life. 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 7

Interviewer bias

Answer 7

Where the expectations or opinions of the interviewer interferes with the judgement of the interviewee which can either affect the results positively or negatively

Question 8

ways to remove interviewer bias

Answer 8

• Standardisation of questions within an interview
• However this may not remove bias entirely as if the interview is unstructured, the interviewer controls the way the discussion develops and the lines of enquiry followed

Question 9

open questions

Answer 9

• questions for which there is no fixed choice of response and respondents can answer in any way they wish
• qualitative

Question 10

closed questions

Answer 10

• questions for which there is a fixed choice of responses determined by the question setter
• quantitative

Question 11

open questions strengths/weaknesses

Answer 11

strengths
- wide range of different responses
- allows you to understand the respondent’s true feelings
weaknesses
- difficult to analyse
- takes more time and effort to respond to the questions
- answers may differ in levels of detail and response

Question 12

closed questions strengths/weaknesses

Answer 12

strengths
- quantitative data is easy to analyse
- questions take less time to answer
weaknesses
- lacks depth and detail associated with open questions
- doesn’t show true opinions of respondents

Question 13

how to write good questionnaires

Answer 13

• clear and unambiguous (don’t overuse jargon)
• no emotive language or leading questions
• avoid double-barrelled questions
• avoid double negatives
• include filler questions (distract participants from the aim of the study)
• sequence of questions goes from easy to hard
• test using pilot study

Question 14

how to design interviews

Answer 14

• have an interview schedule
• standardise the questions
• interviewer takes notes or is recorded
• one-to-one interviewer should be conducted in a quiet room
• ask some neutral questions
• interviewer has to avoid non-verbal communication and have listening skills
• ask follow-up questions

Question 15

structured interviews strengths/weaknesses

Answer 15

strengths
- straightforward to replicate as they are standardised
- reduces differences between interviewers
weaknesses
- not possible for the interviewers to deviate from the topic or explain
- richness of data collected is limited
- unexpected information is limited

Question 16

unstructured interviews strengths/weaknesses

Answer 16

strengths
- more flexibility as interviewer can follow up points
- data has more insight into the interviewee’s world, including unexpected information
weaknesses
- increased risk of interviewer bias
- analysis of data is not straightforward
- risk that interviewers may lie for reasons of social desirability