Self-report Techniques (OCR A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes

7.1.3 Self-report Techniques

Questionnaires involve a pre-set list of questions to which the participant responds. Can be used to assess thoughts/ feelings. May be used as part of an experiment to assess the DV.

Open & Closed Questions – Open questions does not have a fixed range of answers and respondents can answer however they like, producing qualitative data that is rich in detail but difficult to analyse. Closed questions offer a fixed number of responses, and quantitative data is produced but lacks depth.

Strengths

Limitations

Questionnaires are cost-effective. They gather large amounts of data quickly because they can be distributed to large numbers of people. Questionnaires can be completed without the researcher being present, so does not require a lot of effort. Data collected is usually straightforward to analyse (particularly the case if it is composed of mainly close questions). The data itself leads to statistical analysis and comparisons between groups of people can be made using graphs or charts.

A major limitation is that the answers given may not be completely truthful. Respondents may be keen to present themselves in a positive light and this would influence their answers. This is a form of demand characteristic called social desirability. Questionnaires often produce a response bias, which is where respondents tend to reply in a similar way (e.g. always ticking yes or answering at the favoured end of the rating scale). This may be because respondents complete the questionnaire too quickly and fail to read the questions properly.

Interviews – generally face-to-face discussions between the interviewer and the interviewee. They are sometimes conducted over the telephone.

Type of interview

Evaluation

Structured Interviews • A predetermined set of questions asked in a fixed order. Similar to a questionnaire but conducted face-to-face, in real-time. Unstructured Interviews – works more like a conversation. There are no set questions. The interviewee was encouraged to expand and elaborate answers as prompted by the interviewer. Semi-Structured Interviews – A set list of questions that have been worked out, but interviewers are free to ask follow-up questions when they feel it is appropriate.

Like questionnaires, are easy to replicate due to their standardised format. The format also reduces differences between interviewers. However, it may be difficult to avoid asking respondents for elaboration. Much more flexibility than structured interviews as interviewers can follow up as much as they would like to, so they gain more insight. However, the analysis of data is not as straightforward. Researchers may have to sift through data to reduce irrelevant information and this is time-consuming. It is also difficult to draw firm conclusions. There is a risk that interviewees may lie due to social desirability.