self report techniques AO3

Question 1

what are the strengths of questionnaires

Answer 1

• they are cost effective
• they can gather large amounts of data quickly because they can be distributed to large numbers of people (it is the number of people that is important as this determines the volume of data collected).
• can be completed without the researcher present, as in the case of a postal questionnaire, which also reduces the effort involved
• the data that questionnaires produce is usually straightforward to analyse and this is particularly the case if the questionnaire comprises mainly fixed-choice closed questions
• the data lends itself to statistical analysis, and comparisons between groups of people can be made using graphs and charts

Question 2

highlight the limitations of questionnaires

Answer 2

• responses given may not always be truthful
• respondents may want to present themselves in a positive light and this may influence their answers
• this is known as a demand characteristic called social desirability bias
• questionnaires often produce a response bias, which is where respondents tend to rely in a similar way for example always ticking ‘yes’ or answering at the same favoured end of a rating scale. This may be because respondents complete the questionnaire too quickly and fail to read questions properly. A particular form of response bias, acquiescence bias

Question 3

what is meant by acquiescence bias?

Answer 3

• known as ‘yea-saying’
• is the tendency to agree with items on a questionnaire regardless of the content of the question
• Jackson and Messick (1961) demonstrated it by using the F scale that measures authoritarianism. They created a reversed version of the F scale where all the items were the opposite on meaning to the original questionnaire. They gave both the original and reversed versions to the same group of respondents and found a strong positive correlation between the two sets of results- which is not what you would expect

Question 4

evaluate structured interviews

Answer 4

• like questionnaires they are straightforward to replicate due to their standardised format.
• the format reduces differences between interviewers
  – it is not possible, however, given the nature of the structured interview, for interviewers to deviate from topic or explain their questions and this will limit the richness of data collected as well as limit unexpected information.

Question 5

evaluate unstructured interviews

Answer 5

• there is much more flexibility here
• the interviewer can follow up points as they arise and they are much more likely to gain insight into the world of their interviewee, including eliciting unexpected information.
• may lead to a risk of interviewer bias
• analysis of data is not straightforward - the researcher may have to sift through much irrelevant information and drawing firm conclusions may be difficult
• as with questionnaires, there is a risk that interviewees may lie for reasons of social desirability. However, a skilled and experienced interviewer should be able to establish sufficient rapport with the participant so that even when sensitive and personal topics are discussed, any response given are more truthful.