Self Reports

Question 1

self-report

Answer 1

any data collection method that involves asking people to report on their own thoughts, feelings or beliefs to the researcher

Question 2

questionnaire

Answer 2

a list of pre-determined questions presented in written form for participants to write their answers, usually the answers are short

Question 3

rating scale

Answer 3

participants rate their response between an opposing pair of descriptive words (bipolar adjectives)

Question 4

structured interview

Answer 4

interviewees are directly questioned (i.e. face to face or over the telephone) using pre-determined questions

Question 5

likert scale

Answer 5

a type of closed question where participants are given a statement and are asked how much they agree with it

Question 6

open question

Answer 6

a question that allows participants to give their own answers without limitations, which generates qualitative data

Question 7

semi-structured interview

Answer 7

a type of interview where an interviewer starts with a set question but further questions develop as a response to the answers

Question 8

pilot study

Answer 8

a small-scale trial run if the research before doing the real thing to resolve any problems with the self-reports

Question 9

interviewer

Answer 9

the researcher verbally asking the questions to the interviewee

Question 10

social desirability bias

Answer 10

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

Question 11

interviewer bias

Answer 11

interviewer’s expectations may influence the answers an interviewee gives

Question 12

interviewee

Answer 12

the participant answering the questions of an interviewer

Question 13

closed question

Answer 13

a question that allows participants to select a response that is limited, which generates quantitative data

Question 14

leading question

Answer 14

a question phrased to lead participants to give particular answers

Question 15

forced choice

Answer 15

a type of closed question that gives participants fixed responses that they must choose from

Question 16

what are the three methods to collect data?

Answer 16

observation, self-report, unit

Question 17

what is the purpose of conducting a self-report?

Answer 17

researcher can access the thoughts/feelings/opinions of participants. there is no guess work

Question 18

strength of self-report (1)

Answer 18

self-reports can access participants’ thoughts and feelings. this is a strength because it increases the internal validity.

Question 19

strength of self-report (2)

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

weakness of self-report (1)

Answer 20

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

Question 21

weakness of self-report (2)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

three strengths of open questions

Answer 22

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)

Question 23

three weaknesses of open questions

Answer 23

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

Question 24

two strengths of forced choice closed questions

Answer 24

1) generates quantifiable data that is easy for the researcher to interpret/analyse
2) easier to compare with other participants responses

Question 25

two weaknesses of forced choice closed questions

Answer 25

1) forced choice response may not reveal full extent of people’s thinking, which lowers validity
2) it does not allow elaboration on how/why participants think that way

Question 26

three strengths of likert scale questions

Answer 26

1) turns qualitative opinions into quantitative data - easy for researcher to compare and analyse
2) easy to compare between participants - find patterns and trend
3) large amounts of data can be collected quickly as it is easy for participants to respond - making the results more representative

Question 27

three weaknesses of likert scale questions

Answer 27

1) different people may interpret the numbers differently - low in reliability (less consistency)
2) people tend to select the middle value if there is one - researcher can’t collect opinions, therefore can’t collect valid data
3) may not reveal the full extent of people’s thinking as they lack detail - lowers validity

Question 28

strength of rating scale questions

Answer 28

easy to analyse and compare participants - rest of strengths are same as likert scale

Question 29

weakness of rating scale questions

Answer 29

people with a limited vocabulary can’t do the questions (e.g. illiterate people)

Question 30

four self-report ethical issues

Answer 30

1) risk or psychological harm
2) need valid consent
3) confidentiality
4) risk to participants values, keep all relationships safe and private

Question 31

three things researchers should do when carrying out a questionnaire/interview to uphold ethical guidelines

Answer 31

1) consent statement (skip question they don’t want to answer, might be vulnerable)
2) check they are happy
3) keep anonymous if possible