self-report techniques & questionnaire construction

what are questionnaires?

pre-set list of written questions, used to determine thoughts/feelings and assess dependent variables

what are open questions?

do not have fixed range of answers and responders respond how they wish

produce qualitative data - difficult to analyse

richer and detailed information as ppts can interpret data how they wish, interviewers can follow a new line of enquiry

what are closed questions?

fixed number of responses

can produce quantitative data or qualitative but this is turned into quantitative - easier to analyse

lacks depth and detail

easier to compare specific results

postal questionnaires

self-administered, standardised surveys and reduce personal involvement of researcher

types of bias in questionnaires

acquiescence bias - tendency to agree with items on a questionnaire regardless of content

response bias - respondents tend to respond in similar ways to everything

central tendency bias - tendency to rate most items in the middle of a scale

influences validity of the system

advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires

cost effective, researcher doesn’t need to be present, may be willing to share more information, data is straightforward to analyse

social desirability bias leads to loss of validity, interpret questions in different ways so pilot study needs to be done, cannot clarify unclear questions, response bias is issue, data collected relies on responses to be returned - response rates are typically poor and maybe only a certain type of person returns the questionnaire

questions to use in questionnaire

likert scale, rating scales, fixed choice options

what are interviews and the three types

live encounter where one person asks a set of questions to another person

structured - pre-determined set of questions that are asked in a fixed order

unstructured - conversational, no set questions, general aim to follow but it is free-flowing

semi-structured - some pre-determined questions but room to develop follow-up questions based on previous answers

structured pros and cons

standardised format, easy to replicate and reliability check, easy to compare between interviewers, clarify questions, quick to conduct

limits richness of data, decrease validity, not flexible so limits opportunity to follow unexpected lines of enquiry, difficult to develop rapport, social desirability bias

unstructured pros and cons

richness of data increases validity, points can be followed up, can clarify unsure questions, easy to develop rapport

time consuming, analysis is not straightforward, interviewer bias, social desirability bias, training interviewers may be expensive and not as cheap as questionnaires - certain skills are needed by interviewer

interviewer process

list of questions, interview schedule, standardised to remove interviewer bias, notes taken, recorded, single ppt usually, start interview with neutral questions to make interviewee relaxed

things to keep in mind for both

avoid jargon, ensure questions are clear, avoid emotive language, leading questions, double-barrelled questions, double negatives, clarity, analysis of data and sequencing of questions