Self-report techniques

Self-report techniques

1. Questionnaires

   • pre-determined set of written questions which can permit a researcher to find out what people think & feel
   • be used to collect quantitative data which is then analysed using statistical tests or qualitative dara which gives deeper insights into individuals experiences
   • can be objective & scientific way of conducting research if well designed
   • questionnaire may be research method, providing data to answer a research question, or may be part of an experimental study e.g. to identify two groups of participants with different beliefs (The iV) in order to explore their responses (the DV)

2. Structured interview

   • also has pre-determined questions
   • interviewer reads out the questions & interviewee replies
   • there is no deviation from written questions
   • similar to questionnaire but delivered face to face or over phone

3. Unstructured interviews

   • interviewer may begin with general aims & a few starting questions but conversation develops depending on answers given
   • also known as clinical interview as doctors also use similar format

4. Evaluation

   • allow access to people's thoughts, feelings & attitudes
     • but sometimes people don't know what to think or can't express thoughts clearly so responses lack validity
     • key limitation is that people may not be truthful, as they answer in a way that presents them in a good light
     • this is called social desirability bias & distorts findings of many self-report studies
   • questionnaires = quickly & cheaply distributed to many
     • enables researcher to collect data from large sample
     • + people may be more willing to reveal personal info than they would in an interview situation as is more impersonal
     • this reduces social desirability bias
   • interviewer's expectations can influence response given
     • this is called interviewer bias - form of investigator effect
     • interviewer bias may unconscious, with expectations communicated non-verbally through tone of voice, length of pause etc.
     • to avoid interviewers bias, interviewers must be trained to ask questions in a neutral & consistent way
   • sample bias is likely to occur
     • as participants must be willing to spend time filling in questionnaire or answering questions
     • this means sample may not be representative of population
     • this limits generalisability of findings
   • structured interview data is easier to analyse than unstructured
     • because questions are standardised, so data is more objective
     • however, in an unstructured interview the interviewer tailors the questions to specific responses
     • so it is possible to obtain more details info & deeper insights into individuals feelings thoughts & experiences