self report techniques Flashcards
what are self report techniques
the participant reveals personal information about themselves (e.g behaviours, emotions, beliefs, attitudes and memories) in response to a series of questions
what are the two self reporting techniques
interview and questionnaire
what is an interview
participants give information in response to direct questioning from the researcher
what is a questionaire
participants give information in response to a set of questions that are sent to them. can be in the post or on an online form
what are open questions
the question is phrased in a way that allows the participant to answer in any way they choose
what type of data do open questions produce
qualitative data
what is an advantage of open questions
participants have the freedom to choose their responses leading to more valid responses
what is a disadvantage of open questions
qualitative data makes data analysis between larger numbers of participants responses much more difficult making it hard to spot patterns in response
what are closed questions
the question is phrased in a way that limits participants responses to only few fixed options
what type of data do closed questions produce
quantitative data
what is an advantage of closed questions
allows easy data analysis between large numbers of participants responses, making it easier to spot patterns in the data set
what is a disadvantage of closed questions
as the participants responses are limited to a fixed set, this can be argued to be less valid
which questions do self report techniques include
a range of open and closed questions
why is it important to avoid complex terminology when designing interviews and questionnaires
- stops researcher giving away hints when explaining what certain words mean
- if participants are embarrassed to ask, they may guess the meaning and answer incorrectly
why is it important to reword questions when designing interviews and questionnaires
should be done so it doesnt change its meaning
- to compare responses with other pps
why is it important to avoid leading questions when designing interviews and questionnaires
- cause bias
- questions should be written that doesnt suggest a “correct” way of responding
why is it important to use pilot questions in a pilot interview/questionnaire
- can identify questions that are confusing, give the aim away, dont produce a useful response
- to allow time to change them before the main study
what are filer questions used for
- theyre not linked to the research aim
- theyre used to build rapport with participants before challenging questions are given to them
- helps hide the aim away to reduce demand characteristics
what are the types of interviews
structured
unstructured
semi structured
what are structured interviews
the interviewer reads out a list of prepared questions from a written list
what are the strengths of structured interviews
- the interviewer doesnt have to be highly trained to conduct the interview
- interview responses are easy to compare because of the same questions used
what are the weaknesses of structured interviews
responses used by the participants can’t be followed up with additional questions that can provide more detail
what is an unstructured interview
not a setlist of questions, an open conversation about a topic
what are the strengths of unstructured interviews
- rapport is more likely, with the participant feeling more comfortable to answer
- interesting response can be followed up with additional questions
what are the weaknesses of unstructured interviews
- highly trained interviewer to think up appropiate questions in the moment
- every interview will be different making comparisons difficult
what is a semi structured interview
combination of prepared questions with the ability to ask additional questions
what are the strengths of semi structured interviews
- the interview response are easy to compare because of the same questions used
- interviewer can ask follow up questions in response to interesting answers
- rapport is more likely, the participant feeling more comfortable in their answers
what are the weaknesses of semi structured interviews
highly trained interviewer to think up of appropiate questions in the moment
what is an advantage of self report techniques
when the same set of questions are used they are very easy to replicate
- closed questions allow data analysis
- open questions allow participants to freely report their experience
what is a disadvantage of self report techniques
suffer from bias such as social desirability bias. participants respond in a way that makes them look good in front of the researcher.
what kinds of bias can be present in self reporting
social desirability bias
demand characteristics
researcher bias
investigator effects
what are the advantages of questionnaires
- they dont require a trained interviewer and can be distributed easily, colelcting a large amount of data using a cheap and easy process
- when using closed questions researchers can compare many thousands of responses easily
what are the disadvantages of questionaires
- questions the participants don’t understand cant be rephrased
- arent often taken seriously resulting in acqueise bias (the participants respond yes to every question.
how can acqueise bias be tested for
by asking the same question again later but in reverse
what are the advantages of interviews
- can rephrase questions that are difficult to understand
- can build rapport making it more likely the participant will take the interview seriously
what are the disadvantages of interviews
- requires an interviewer which significantly increases the cost per participant especially if the interviewer needs to be trained
- interviewer effects, the personal characteristics of the interviewer can alter the response of the participant
