self report techniques and designs, pilot studies, types of data

questionnaires

made up of pre set list of written questions or items which a ppts responds to, can be used to assess dv in an experiment

a strength of a questionnaire is that it can be distributed to lots of people why is this?

gather large amounts of data quickly, research doesnt need to be present when completed, reduces effort involved and makes questionnaires cost effective

another strength of a questionnaire is that its straightforward to analyse why is this?

easy to analyse especially if closed fixed choice questions are used, data can be easily displayed in graphs and analysed using statistics

a limitation of a questionnaire is social desirability bias why is this?

respondents tend to present themselves in a positive light, demand c, means responses may not always be truthful

another limitation of a questionnaire is response bias why is this?

respondents may favour particular kind of response, means the answers from different respondents are not comparable

interviews

face to face or online interaction between interviewer and interviewee

3 types of interviews

structured, unstructured, semi structured

structured interview

list of pre determined questions in fixed order

one strength of structured interview

easy to replicate due to standardised format that also reduces differences between interviewers

one limitation of structured interview

interviewers cant elaborate and cant deviate from topic or explain their questions, may limit richness of data collected

unstructured interview

general topic discussed, no set questions and interaction is free flowing

one strength of unstructured interview

greater flexibility, unlike structured points can be followed up as they arise, more likely to gain insight into interviewees worldview and collect unexpected info

one limitation of unstructured interview

increased risk of interviewer bias, closer dialogue between interviewer and interviewee, means more opportunity opportunity for unconscious cues from interviewer

semi structured interviews

list of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers ask questions based on previous answers

what to avoid when writing good questions for designing questionnaires

jargon, double barrelled questions, leading questions

example of jargon in a question

do you agree that maternal deprivation in early childhood inevitably leads to affectionless psychopathy

example of a double barrelled question

do you agree that foot ballers are over paid and should give 20% of their wages to charity

example of leading question

do you agree that boxing is barbaric

closed questions

responded has set fix of responses, data is quantitative

strength of closed questions

easier to analyse, can produce graphs and charts for comparison, easier to draw conclusions

limitation of closed questions

responses restricted,forced into an answer that may not represent true feelings, may reduce validity of findings

open questions

respondent provides own answers expressed in words, data is qualitative

strength of open questions

responses not restricted, answers more likely to provide detailed, unexpected info, likely to have more external validity than statistics

limitation of open questions

difficult to analyse, wider variety of answers than produced by closed questions, may be forced to reduce data to statistics

4 main things to consider when designing an interview

interview schedule, quiet room, rapport ethics

what is an interview schedule

standardised list of questions that interviewer needs to cover, can reduce interviewer bias

why should interviews be conducted in a quite room

increase likelihood that that the interviewee will open up

how can rapport be established in an interview

begin with neutral questions to help ppts feel relaxed

what ethical issue should interviewees be reminded about

answers will be treated in confidence

pilot studies

used when designing a research study

what is a pilot study

small scale trial run of research design, a small number of ppts take part,researchers can modify their research design

what is the aim of a pilot study

find out if certain procedures dont work so you can correct them before spending time on real thing

quantitative data

numerical data, e.g reaction time

strength of quantitative data

easy to analyse, can draw graphs and calculate averages, comparisons can be made

limitation of quantitative data

narrower in meaning, expresses less detail than qualitative data, lower external validity may be, less like real life

qualitative data

non numerical data in words, e.g extract from diary

strength of qualitative data

richness of detail, much broader in scope than quantitative data, more meaningful, greater external validity

limitation of qualitative data

difficult to analyse, hard to identify patterns and make comparisons, leads to subjective interpretation and researcher bias

primary data

first data collected for purpose of investigation

strength of primary data

first the job, study designed to extract only data needed, info is directly relevant to research aims

limitation of primary data

requires time and effort, e.g designing and collating questionnaires takes time and expense, secondary data can be accessed within minutes