self-report techniques: interviews and questionnaires

structured interviews

• made up of pre-determined questions that are asked in a fixed order.

• like a questionnaire but conducted face-to-face or over the phone in real time.

semi-structured interviews

• most interviews fall somewhere between structured and unstructured.

• there is a list of questions prepared in advance, but interviewers can follow up answers, in a similar format to a job interview.

unstructured interviews

• a lot like a conversation in that there are no set questions, but there is an aim that a certain topic will be discussed.

• the interviews will be free-flowing and the interviewee is encouraged to expand on their answers.

evaluation structured interviews

• strength - easy to replicate due to standardised format (increases reliability).

• weakness - difficult for interviewers to deviate from the topic or for interviewees to expand on their answers (lacks depth and therefore validity).

• weakness - risk of interviewees being untruthful for reasons of social desirability.

evaluation unstructured interviews

• strength - much more flexible as an interviewer can follow-up on points to gain more insight and understanding (increases validity).

• weakness - analysing the data can be challenging because open-ended questions are used (qualitative data).

• weakness - risk of interviewees being untruthful for reasons of social desirability.

questionnaires

• a pre-set list of questions (or items) which ps respond to through written or online answers.

• the answers are used to assess a person’s thoughts and/or experiences.

• a questionnaire may be used as a part of an experiment to measure the DV.

• the different style questions that can be designed are open and closed questions.

evaluation of questionnaires

• strength - can be given to a large sample of people, so large amounts of data can be gathered relatively easily.

• strength - they can be conducted without the researcher being present, e.g. postal or online questionnaires.

• weakness - respondents may want to show themselves in a positive light (social desirability) rather than being truthful.

• weakness - respondents may show ‘response bias’ where they respond in a particular way, for example always ticking ‘yes’ or always answering ‘3’ on a scale of 5.

open questions

• do not have a fixed range of answers and respondents are free to answer in anyway they wish.

• they tend to produce qualitative data, which is in depth but difficult to analyse.

• for example, ‘why do you enjoy the psychology a level course?’

closed questions

• offer a fixed number of responses and produce numerical data by limiting the answers respondents can give.

• they produce quantitative data, which is easy to analyse, but lacks depth associated with open questions.

• for example, ‘do you watch more than 10 hours per week of TV ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

• for example, ‘how often do you watch TV on a scale of 1-5, 1 = never, 3 = sometimes, 5 = everyday.’

evaluation open questions

• strength - respondents can expand on their answers, which increases the amount of detailed information collected.

• strength - can reveal unexpected answers, allowing researchers to gain new insight into people’s feelings and attitudes.

• weakness - provide qualitative data, that although rich in information, it is more difficult to summarise and/or detect patterns to draw conclusions.

evaluation closed questions

• strength - limited range of answers so produce quantitative data which is easy to analyse using descriptive statistics.

what to avoid when designing self-report techniques

• overuse of jargon.

• emotive language and leading questions.

• double barrelled questions and double negatives.

features of a good interview

• an interview schedule - a list of standardised questions the interviewer intends to cover.

• recording - may take notes, be audio recorded or videoed.

• manage interviewer effect - must be careful with non-verbal communication and display good listening skills.

• manage ethical issues - remind interviewee that answers will be treated confidentially.

features of a good questionnaire

• clarity - easy to understand for the respondent.

• avoids bias - do not lead respondents to give a particular answer.

• avoids assumptions about respondents.

• non-intrusive.

• questions checked before sending.