Self-reports: The Purpose Of Self Reports + Evaluation

Question 1

What are the 3 methods to collect data

Answer 1

1. Observation
2. Self-report
3. Unit (cm, weight, score, etc)

Question 2

What are some of the strengths of a self report (point + explanation)

Answer 2

1. Access participant’s thoughts and feelings
   —> gives us an accurate in-depth understanding, increasing internal validity
2. They’re less open to researcher bias as opinions are being asked for and there’s no need to guess what participants are feeling
   —> increases validity because it removes direct researcher bias

Question 3

What are some of the weaknesses to a self-report (point + explanation)

Answer 3

1. They’re open to bias from the participant (i.e. social desirability bias)
   —> this lowers internal validity because answers won’t be as accurate
2. They’re problematic because sometimes people don’t know what they think/feel
   —> they then put a wrong answer or can’t give us enough data = lowers internal validity

Question 4

What’s the 3 types of self-reports

Answer 4

• questionnaires
• structured interview
• semi-structured interview

Question 5

Describe the strengths of a questionnaire

Answer 5

• participants feel more willing to share more personal information, compared to if it was an interview format.
  —> increases internal validity (more accurate data) + more conclusions can be made
• Can be replicated very easily, meaning data can be collected from large numbers of people relatively cheaply and quickly
  —> standardised = increased reliability

Question 6

Describe the strengths of a structured interview

Answer 6

• easier to analyse than semi-structured interviews as answers are more predictable
  —> get conclusions much quicker
• can be replicated easily as the questions are standardised (but not as quick as questionnaires)
  —> standardised = increased reliability

Question 7

Describe the strengths of a semi-structured interview

Answer 7

• generally gains the most detailed info from each participant
  —> more accurate data = increased internal validity + more conclusions can be made
• can access additional information that may bot be revealed by pre-determined Qs
  —> more accurate data = increased internal validity + more conclusions can be made

Question 8

Describe the weaknesses of a questionnaire

Answer 8

• answers may not be truthful due to leading Qs or social desirability bias, and participant doesn’t have a chance to clarify the Q
  —> less accurate data = decreased internal validity
• sample may be biased because only certain kinds of people fill it in (literate people who willing chose to do it)
  —> not representative / generalisable = lowers external validity + population validity

Question 9

Describe the weaknesses to structured interviews

Answer 9

• interviewer bias (interviewer’s expectations influencing interviewees answers) (not as much for semi-structured though)
  —> less accurate answers, decreases internal validity
• reliability may be impacted because of interviewers behaviour
  —> less accurate answers or social desirability bias will lower both internal validity and reliability

Question 10

Describe the weaknesses of semi-structured interview

Answer 10

• impacted by researcher bias because researcher comes up with Qs on the spot, could lead to leading Qs
  —> different interviewers ask different Qs = lower reliability / Less accurate answers = lower internal validity
• requires well-trained interviewers to think up Qs on the spot
  —> cost + time + money + takes longer to collect data