self report methods

closed questions

questions where the researcher determines the range of possible answers. Best used when factual information is required. Produces quantitative data that is easy to analyse but may lack realism due the the forced choices available

open questions

questions where the researcher does not restrict the range of answers. These produce a greater depth of qualitative data, but it is much more difficult to analyse

questionnaire survey

asking participants questions about things. The questionnaire allows the researcher to gather information. from large numbers of people quickly and efficiently. The aim is to obtain information from a specified population. Can be carried out face to face or by post, telephone or the internet

strengths of questionnaire surveys

• speed and cost - large amounts of data can be collected from large populations quickly and cheaply. Larger sample means it is more likely to be representative of the target population, therefore it can be generalised

• range of data - both qualitative and quantitate data can be obtained. Answers from different groups are able to be compared

weaknesses of questionnaire survey

• untruthful answers - no guarantee that respondents will answer truthfully. This is due to social desirability bias were participants may lie to be seen in the best light. This would result in low internal validity

• researcher effects - if the questionnaire is administered in person the participants may be influenced by such things as the researchers gender, age or ethnicity. Even unintentional smiles or frowns may have an effect, resulting in low internal validity

• difficulty with controls - it is hard to ensure that data is collected under controlled conditions when the questionnaire isn’t collected face to face

• different interpretations of questions - different participants may interpret questions differently, in an interview they are more likely to ask for clarification if they don’t understand a questions or know how to respond

what to avoid in questionnaires

• leading questions

• ambiguity

• jargon/technical terms

• double-barrelled terms

• negatives

• impossible questions

what to include in questionnaires

• filler questions - irrelevant questions to hide the main purpose of the study to avoid demand characteristics

• easy questions - allow participants to relax and encourage them to complete the questionnaire

• lie detection questions - tests for social desirability bias, if you get a positive social desirability bias then the participants data is discarded

• tendency to answer yes - balance yes/no responses / reverse score the scale on some questions

structured interviews

a pre-determined set of questions asked in a fixed order. Called an ‘interview schedule and it should be standardised so that each interviewer uses it the same way. Like questionnaires but face to face.

unstructured interview

just the topic of the interview is predetermined. There are no set questions and it is more like a conversation. The interviewee is encouraged to expand on answers and is prompted bythe interviewer

designing the interview

begin with easy/neutral questions to make the participant feel relaxed and comforted, this should establish a good rapport. Avoid the same type of questions as with designong questionnaires

recording the interview

note taking may be done to record the participant’s responses. But it is more likely to interfere with the interviewer’s listening skills and it may make the respondent feel anxious about what is being written. Participants may feel undervalued if something they say isn’t written down, because of this it is better to record the audio or video it then use the recording to write a transcript of the interview.

strengths of a structured interview

• subject is unlikely to deviate from the desired topic as the questions are pre-set

• it requires less training of the interviewer as they will be reading from a list of pre-set questions

• as questions are the same it is easy to replicate

weaknesses of structured interviews

• the interviewer must follow the pre-determined structure so cannot follow new lines of enquiry which emerges fro the participants responses

strengths of unstructured questions

• the interviewer doesn’t have to follow a pre-determined structure so they can follow new lines of enquiry which emerges fro the participants responses

weaknesses of unstructured interviews

• subject is likely to deviate from the desired topic as the questions aren’t pre-set

• it requires more training of the interviewer as they won’t be reading from a list of pre-set questions

  • as questions aren’t the same it is difficult to replicate

strengths of general interviews

• as interviews often gather qualitative data they provide rich detailed information about the topic. This enables the researcher to gain a subjective meaning by asking in depth questions

• interviews allow any misunderstanding so be clarified as the interviewer is usually face to face with the participant. This means that the participant should be clear what each question is asking, therefore the data should have internal validity

• interviews enable complex issues to be explored - they are flexible and there is the possibility of uncovering responses unobtainable by other methods

weaknesses of general interviews

• because the participants are face to face with the interviewer there is a greater risk of social desirability bias compared with questionnaires this is becasuse the participant is aware that the interviewer is hearing their answer, this may make them feel self conscious

• interviews are time consuming compared to questionnaires as each participant has to interviewed separately. This means smaller samples will be obtained and the results are less likely to be representative of the target populations, meaning the results can’t be generalised.

• interviewer effect

interviewer effect

The effect the interviewer can have on the participant. Non-verbal communication - crossing arms/frowning vs nodding and smiling could convey the interviewers opinions and lead to social desirability bias. The listening skills of the interviewer could also have an effect especially in unstructured interviews.

pilot studies

a small scale trial carried out before the main study to find out any possible problems with the procedures before you can invest huge amounts of time and money. Any problems could be adjusted.

In experiments - can identify problems with standardised instructions and check the suitability of measurements of DV

In observations - can check whether behaviour checklist is appropriate as well as the length of observation

In questionnaire survey - can check interpretation of questions to male sure they’re not too ambiguous, check that standardised instructions are clear set of instructions read out to all participants to ensure all participants give the same information.