Self Reports L12

Question 1

What is a self report?

Answer 1

Any method which involves asking directly a pp for information about their feelings including questionnaire and interviews.

Question 2

What are the strengths of questionnaires?

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

What are the weaknesses of questionnaires?

Answer 3

Group of people involved (sample) may be biased as certain people fill in questionnaires. Usually more literate people willing to spend more time.

Question 4

What is a semantic differential rating scale?

Answer 4

Measures people’s attitudes towards something. E.g. Fun _ _ _ _ boring. Mark a x

Question 5

What is social desirability?

Answer 5

Answering in a way that is more socially acceptable. Not wanting to portray yourself in a bad way.

Question 6

What is acquiesce?

Answer 6

Agreeing with the statements

Question 7

What is response set bias?

Answer 7

Always going for the same rating. E.g. Always circling 3

Question 8

What is a closed question?

Answer 8

It has a fixed number of possible answers. Provides qualitative date. Answers can be counted.

Question 9

What are the strengths of closes questiones?

Answer 9

• easy to analyse as data in numbers. Can be summarised as averages, percentages and graphs.
• generally easier to draw conclusions

Question 10

What are the weaknesses of closed questions?

Answer 10

• 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

Question 11

What are open questions?

Answer 11

Invites respondents to provide own answers. Produces qualitative data.

Question 12

What are the strengths of open questions?

Answer 12

• 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

Question 13

What are the weaknesses of open questions?we

Answer 13

More difficult to find patterns and draw conclusions as could be wide range respondent answers. Looks for tended rather than descriptive characteristics.

Question 14

What is a rating scale?

Answer 14

Respondents are asked to give an assessment to their view on a scale. E.g. 1-5

Question 15

What are the strengths of a rating scale?

Answer 15

Responsible objective way to represent attitudes and feelings to a topic

Produces quantitive data which is easy to analyse and represent in graphs.

Question 16

What is a week was if a rating scale.

Answer 16

Respondents may avoid end of scales and go for middle of the road answers so not represent true feelings. Lacks validity

Question 17

What is an interview?

Answer 17

A face to face real time interaction with another interview. A kind of spoken questionnaire where the interviewer records the responses.

Question 18

What is a semi structured interview?

Answer 18

Some questions are predetermined but also new questions are developed as the interview proceeds.

Question 19

What is an unstructured interview?

Answer 19

No questions are decided in advance

Question 20

What are the strengths of a semi structured or unstructured interview?

Answer 20

• 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.

Question 21

What are the weaknesses of semi structured or unstructured interviews?

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

What is a structured interview?

Answer 22

Predetermined questions delivers by an interviewer who does not prove beyond the answers but answers questions.

Question 23

What are the strengths of structures interviews?

Answer 23

Can be easily repeated

Easier to analyse than unstructured interviews as answers more predictable

Question 24

What are the weaknesses of structured interviews?

Answer 24

The interviewer expectations may influence the answers the interviewer gives (called researcher/ interviewer bias)