Self- report techniques- RESEARCH METHODS Flashcards
RESEARCH METHODS
Questionnaire
- Pre- set list of written questions to which a participant responds
- Assesses thoughts and feelings + individuals’ personality type
- Can be used to assess dependent variable
Open questions
- Does not have a fixed range of answers
- Respondents/ Participants are free to answer in any way they wish
- Produce Qualitative data- that contains a wide range of different responses- may be difficult to analyse
Closed questions
- Offers a fixed number of responses
- Produce Quantitative data (e.g on a scale from 1-10)- easy to analyse but may lack depth and detail
- Closed questions that produce Qualitative data but can be turned into Quantitive data (e.g counting ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses)
Strength of Questionnaire (5)
- Cost- effective
- Gather large amounts of data quickly because they can be distributed to large numbers of people
- Can be completed without researcher present
- Data = straightforward to analyse- especially if closed questions
- Data lends itself to statistical analysis, comparisons between groups of people using graphs and charts
Weakness of Questionnaire (5)
- Responses may not be truthful
- Respondents may be keen to present themselves in a positive light- may influence answers
- (Form of demand characteristic called) Social desirability bias
- Produce response bias- (e.g always ticking ‘yes’/ answering at same favoured end of rating scale)- Because complete it too quickly and fail to read questions properly
Structured Interviews
- Made up of pre- determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order
- Conducted face- to- face in real time
Unstructured Interviews
- Like a conversation
- No set questions
- Certain topic will be discussed, interaction is free- flowing
- Interviewee is encouraged to expand and elaborate answers
Semi- structured Interviews
- E.g job interview
- List of questions worked out in advance
- Interviewers can ask follow- up questions based on previous answers
Strength/ Weakness of Structured Interviews
- Straightforward to replicate due to standardised format
- Format reduces differences between interviews
- Not possible for interviewers to deviate from the topic or explain questions- limit richness of data + limit unexpected information
Strength/ Weakness of Unstructured Interviews
- More flexibility
- Interviewer can follow up points, eliciting unexpected information
- May lead to an increased risk of interviewer bias
- Analysis of data- not straightforward
- Risk that interviewees may lie for social desirability
Likert scale
- Respondent indicates their agreement
- Scale ranges from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree
Rating Scale
- Gets respondents to identify a value that represents their strength of feeling about a particular topic
Fixed- choice option
- Includes a list of possible options and respondents are required to indicate those that apply to them
Designing interviews
- Interview schedule + questions interviewer intends to ask
- Standardised- reducing contaminating effect of interviewer bias
- Interview should be conducted in quiet room (one-to-one)- increase likelihood of opening up
- Start with neutral questions (get them relaxed and comfortable)
- Answers should be treated with strictest confidence
Writing good questions- things to avoid
Overuse of jargon:
- Jargon- term that is only familiar to those within a specialised area/ field
- Makes it confusing/ unnecessary complex
Emotive language + Leading questions
- Find neutral alternative
- Guides respondent to a particular answer
Double- barrelled questions:
- Contains 2 questions in 1- issues is respondents may agree with one half of question and not the other
Double negatives:
- Difficult for respondents to decipher
