Self reporting techniques

What is a structured interview

• Made up of pre-determined questions asked in a fixed order

• Interviewer asks the questions and waits for a response

Strengths of structured interview

• easy to replicate due to their standardised form

• Can make comparisons between participants

• Reduces differences between interviewers

Weakness of structured interviews

• interviewers can’t explain their questions, limiting richness of data

• Interviewer bias present through body language, when to ask a question.

• Social desirability bias

What is an unstructured interview

• no set/ pre determined questions as Questions develop as interview goes on

• Interviewee encouraged to expand their answers- more free flowing

Strengths of unstructured interview

• Lots of data collected in depth and detail

• More flexible, can be tailored to individuals so provide more insight

Weakness of unstructured interviewers

• Analysis of data is difficult as may have to shift through lots of irrelevant data.

• Interviewer bias present

• Social desirability bias

What is a semi structured interview

• List of questions worked out in advanced but interviewers free to ask follow up questions after answers

• E.g. a job interview

What is an open questionnaire

• questions are phrased in a way which participants are free to answer however they like- no restrictions

• Collects qualitative data

Strengths of Open questionnaire

• rich in detail

• Useful in sensitive topics as partitico ant can elaborate on answers

Limitations of open questionnaire

• hard to convert to statistical data so difficult to analyse

Strengths of questionaires

• cost effective- gather lots of data quickly

• Can be done without researcher present- reduces effort

• Responses are anonymous to participants are more open

Weakness of questionnaire

• social desirability present

• Response bias- respondents reply in similar way (always ticking yes), due to doing it too quickly or not reading question properly

• Take long time to design

What is a closed questionnaire

• consists of questions which restrict you to a fixed number of responders (e.g. ticking yes or no box)

• This collects quantitative data

Strengths of closed questionnaires

Easy to analyse data and compare with data from elsewhere

Weakness of closed questionnaire

• lack of depth and detail

• Can be limiting which is frustrating for participants