Self Reports Flashcards
self-report
any data collection method that involves asking people to report on their own thoughts, feelings or beliefs to the researcher
questionnaire
a list of pre-determined questions presented in written form for participants to write their answers, usually the answers are short
rating scale
participants rate their response between an opposing pair of descriptive words (bipolar adjectives)
structured interview
interviewees are directly questioned (i.e. face to face or over the telephone) using pre-determined questions
likert scale
a type of closed question where participants are given a statement and are asked how much they agree with it
open question
a question that allows participants to give their own answers without limitations, which generates qualitative data
semi-structured interview
a type of interview where an interviewer starts with a set question but further questions develop as a response to the answers
pilot study
a small-scale trial run if the research before doing the real thing to resolve any problems with the self-reports
interviewer
the researcher verbally asking the questions to the interviewee
social desirability bias
bias responses which are not necessarily true but are given because the participant wants to ‘look good’ in front of others and what is acceptable in society
interviewer bias
interviewer’s expectations may influence the answers an interviewee gives
interviewee
the participant answering the questions of an interviewer
closed question
a question that allows participants to select a response that is limited, which generates quantitative data
leading question
a question phrased to lead participants to give particular answers
forced choice
a type of closed question that gives participants fixed responses that they must choose from
what are the three methods to collect data?
observation, self-report, unit
what is the purpose of conducting a self-report?
researcher can access the thoughts/feelings/opinions of participants. there is no guess work
strength of self-report (1)
self-reports can access participants’ thoughts and feelings. this is a strength because it increases the internal validity.
strength of self-report (2)
self-reports are less open to researcher bias as opinions are being asked for and there is no need to guess what participants are thinking. this is a strength because it increases the validity because no extraneous variable of researcher bias.
weakness of self-report (1)
self-reports are open to bias from the participant (i.e. social desirability bias). this is a weakness because it decreases the validity as people will change their answers to what is considered socially acceptable
weakness of self-report (2)
self-reports are problematic because sometimes people don’t know what they think or feel. this is a weakness because valid results can not be found as the person can not verbalize it
three strengths of open questions
1) more likely to generate rich qualitative data so participants can express opinions fully, increasing validity
2) allows elaboration of how/why people think, increasing validity
3) less chance of ambiguous answers (participants can say what they like rather than yes, yes, yes, etc)
three weaknesses of open questions
1) responses may be time consuming for the researcher to analyze
2) harder to directly compare with other participants’ responses
3) interpreting qualitative data can be subjective leading to researcher bias
two strengths of forced choice closed questions
1) generates quantifiable data that is easy for the researcher to interpret/analyse
2) easier to compare with other participants responses
