Self-Report Methods Questionnaires and Interviews

Objectives  To understand the different types of questionnaires and interviews used by psychologists  To be able to identify the advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires and interviews  To be able to apply this understanding to section C exam questions Differentiated learning: What are the ethical considerations of using interviews and questionnaires?

Non-Experimental Technique  Both questionnaires and interviews are a type of self-report method The data relies upon the participants reporting their own thoughts and fe elings Differentiated learning: which core studies use questionnaires or interviews?

Questionnaires  A set of pre-determined questions designed to collect information from a large number of people

Open and Closed Questions Open Question  Participant can give any answer they wish to Closed Question  Participant chooses an answer from a pre-determined set of responses Write an example of a closed question on your whiteboard Write an example of an open question on your whiteboard

Open Questions 1.What factors contribute to making work stressful? 2.How do you feel when you are stressed? 3.How do you know when you are happy? 4.Why is Psychology your favourite lesson?

Closed Questions 1.Which of the following make you feel stressed? (tick all that apply) Noise at work Too much to do No job satisfaction Lack of control Workmates

Closed Questions 2.How many hours a week do you work? 0 hours Between 1 and 10 hours Between 11 and 20 hours More than 20 hours

Closed Questions 3.Work is stressful. Do you: Strongly agree Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree

Closed Questions 4.How much stress do you feel? Circle the number that best describes how you feel: At work: A lot of stress No stress at all At home: A lot of stress No stress at all Travelling to work: A lot of stress No stress at all

Closed Questions Select one answer: A.The worst social sin is to be rude B.The worst social sin is to be a bore

What do you already know about types of questions? Differentiated learning: what are the advantages and disadvantages of these types of questions?

Types of Questions TypeDescriptionData Open Question The participant can give any answer they wish Qualitative Closed Question There are a set number of responses which the participant selects from Quantitative Semantic Differential Scale The participant selects a point on a rating scale that has two bi-polar adjectives at each end. There is no neutral/middle selection Quantitative Likert scale The participant expresses the level of agreement with a particular view Quantitative

Questionnaires  Have a go at answering the questionnaire about your eating habits 1.Identify the type of question used 2.What issues did you encounter with each question?  Annotate around the questionnaire, identifying potential faults

Evaluating Questionnaires In pairs:  Fill in the gap in each point  Identify whether each point is a strength or a weakness Differentiated learning: What ethical issues may arise with questionnaires?

Exam Technique

Peer Marking

Interviews STRUCTURED INTERVIEW UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW Questions and answers are pre-determined by the researcher Topics to be discussed may be pre-determined but the order/nature of questions follow participants lead SEMI-STRUCUTRED INTERVIEW Combination of pre-determined questions and open questions that are developed as the interview progresses and new information arises from the P

Evaluating Interviews  Read each evaluative point In pairs:  Identify whether each point is a strength or a weakness of structured interviews, unstructured interviews or both Differentiated learning: What ethical issues may arise with interviews?

VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF SELF- REPORT METHODS

Validity  Give an example of a leading question  Give an example of a question that can detect social desirability bias  E.g. The truthful answer to “Are you always happy?” is “no” (even the happiest person is not happy all the time!)  A person who wants to portray themselves in a good light may answer “yes” to this question  People who lie on a high proportion of these questions may also be lying in other answers