Self Reports L12 Flashcards
What is a self report?
Any method which involves asking directly a pp for information about their feelings including questionnaire and interviews.
What are the strengths of questionnaires?
- easily relates so data collected for a large number of people relatively quickly and cheaply.
- pps may be more willing to reveal personal information than in an interview
What are the weaknesses of questionnaires?
Group of people involved (sample) may be biased as certain people fill in questionnaires. Usually more literate people willing to spend more time.
What is a semantic differential rating scale?
Measures people’s attitudes towards something. E.g. Fun _ _ _ _ boring. Mark a x
What is social desirability?
Answering in a way that is more socially acceptable. Not wanting to portray yourself in a bad way.
What is acquiesce?
Agreeing with the statements
What is response set bias?
Always going for the same rating. E.g. Always circling 3
What is a closed question?
It has a fixed number of possible answers. Provides qualitative date. Answers can be counted.
What are the strengths of closes questiones?
- easy to analyse as data in numbers. Can be summarised as averages, percentages and graphs.
- generally easier to draw conclusions
What are the weaknesses of closed questions?
- low validity as pp may not express precise feelings and tends not to uncover new insights.
- over simplifies reality and human experience. Suggests simple answers
What are open questions?
Invites respondents to provide own answers. Produces qualitative data.
What are the strengths of open questions?
- provides rich details on how people behave as given free range to express themselves. Respondents can express what thinking rather than being restricted to preconceived categories. Increases validity of data
What are the weaknesses of open questions?we
More difficult to find patterns and draw conclusions as could be wide range respondent answers. Looks for tended rather than descriptive characteristics.
What is a rating scale?
Respondents are asked to give an assessment to their view on a scale. E.g. 1-5
What are the strengths of a rating scale?
Responsible objective way to represent attitudes and feelings to a topic
Produces quantitive data which is easy to analyse and represent in graphs.
What is a week was if a rating scale.
Respondents may avoid end of scales and go for middle of the road answers so not represent true feelings. Lacks validity
What is an interview?
A face to face real time interaction with another interview. A kind of spoken questionnaire where the interviewer records the responses.
What is a semi structured interview?
Some questions are predetermined but also new questions are developed as the interview proceeds.
What is an unstructured interview?
No questions are decided in advance
What are the strengths of a semi structured or unstructured interview?
- more detailed info can be obtained from each respondent because questions shaped to them.
Can access infor that may not be revealed by predetermined questions.
What are the weaknesses of semi structured or unstructured interviews?
More affected interviewer bias that structured interviews as interviewer developing questions on spot and may be prone to issues such as asking leading questions.
Requires well trained interviewers which makes it more expensive.
What is a structured interview?
Predetermined questions delivers by an interviewer who does not prove beyond the answers but answers questions.
What are the strengths of structures interviews?
Can be easily repeated
Easier to analyse than unstructured interviews as answers more predictable
What are the weaknesses of structured interviews?
The interviewer expectations may influence the answers the interviewer gives (called researcher/ interviewer bias)
