RESEARCH METHODS

SELF-REPORT

PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS G541

CHECKLIST: Self-Report Be able to describe the terms self-report, interview, questionnaire, survey.

Know strengths and weaknesses of self-report in general, and interviews, questionnaires and surveys specifically.

Be able to describe terms open/open-ended questions, closed/closed-ended questions.

Know strengths and weaknesses of both open and closed questions.

Be able to describe the term rating scale. Useful also to be able to describe, Likert scale.

Know strengths and weaknesses of rating scales in general .

Worksheet 1: KEY WORDS

Complete the key terms related to this topic

You can use the resources and internet to help

Each definition should be at least two sentences long

You should use these terms where appropriate in your responses to exam questions

ACTIVITY 1

EXAMPLE ESQ: June 2009A researcher is Interested In finding out why students at a large sixth formcollege have decided to study psychology. He is going to use a self-reportquestionnaire.

1(a). Suggest one open and one closed question that could be used to investigate subject choice. (4)

(b). Discuss the validity of the closed question you have suggested to investigate subject choice. (4)

2(a). Suggest how the researcher could use a random sampling technique to get 40 psychology students to complete the questionnaire. (2)

(b). Evaluate the use of random sampling in this study. (4) 3(a). What is quantitative data? (2) (b) Outline one strength and one weakness of quantitative data in this

study. (4) TOTAL: 20 MARKS

RESOURCES: Self-Report

• Internet• PowerPoint • Exam Style Questions (ESQ)

Worksheet 2: Summary of the Self-Report Method

Outline key features of the self-report method Identify ethical issues related to the self-report method Outline strengths of the self-report method Outline weaknesses of the self-report method

ACTIVITY 2

KEY FEATURES: Self-Report

Self-report is a method of data collection in which the participantthemselves answer questions about their behaviour, thoughts andfeelings. Questions may be asked in an interview or in the form of aquestionnaire that participants are asked to respond to.

Instead of using an objective method of data collection, participants are asked to make subjective judgements. Interviews are ac commonly used technique in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. They can be structured, semi structured or unstructured. Usually self-report questions are responded to by participants themselves, although occasionally others respond for them e.g. In the case of small children or people with learning difficulties who are unable to respond on their own behalf. The most common form of self-report in psychological investigations is the questionnaire or psychological measure. As with observations, self-report is a method in its own right, but it is also frequently incorporated into experiments

Worksheet 3: Studies that use Self-Reporting Techniques

Reicher & HaslamThigpen & Cleckley Rosenhan Griffiths

ACTIVITY 3

Studies that use self-reportingStudy Approach Role of

Self-Report Reicher & Haslam

Thigpen & Cleckley

Rosenhan

Griffiths

Method of Self Report:QUESTIONNAIRES

Questionnaires and psychological tests such as personality test and IQ tests are all self-report measures. Questions in a questionnaire can be open or closed.Open questions area open ended and allow free rein in answering them. Closed questions have a limited number of possible responses. They can be questions that require a simple yes/no answer or they require an answer from a range of possible answers. Questionnaires frequently use rating scale. They can consist of questions ore statements that participants respond to on a scale (e.g. Likert scale) where responses may take the form of ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’ on a scale of 1-4 where 1=strong disagree and 4=strongly agree. If participants have to select answers from a range of possible responses they can be referred to as forced-choice questions.

KEY FEATURES: Questionnaires

Nature & Use Set of questions

Design: open (qual) or closed (quan)

Advantages •A lot of data can be collected •Does not require specialist administrators•People are more willing to answer embarrassing or personal questions on an anonymous written questionnaire than in a face-to-face interview

Disadvantages •Leading questions, social desirability bias •Biased samples

Ethical Issues Confidentiality Privacy

OVERVIEW: Questionnaires

Method of Self Report: INTERVIEW

a. Unstructured interviewIn an unstructured interview there is no predetermined structure in the interview, although the interviewer will normally have some goal or sense of direction in mind. The interviewer will ask open-ended questions and the answers given by the interviewee stimulate new questions. The directed but unstructured interview is the type of interview normally used in a therapeutic context as a therapist’s aim will enable the patient to talk.

b. Structured interview In a structured interview the interviewer has a predetermined list of questions which they stick to. Respondents are all asked the same questions in the same order.

c. Semi-Structured interviewIn a semi-structured interview the interviewer has a list of questions but the approach is flexible and can be shaped by the interviewee’s responses.

KEY FEATURES: Interviews Unstructured - Structured - Semi Structured

Nature & Use Questions can be predetermined, or created in response to answers.

Design: structured/ unstructured questions Advantages •Lots of ‘rich’ data

•Telephone interviews

Disadvantages •Social desirability bias, interview bias•Requires skilled personnel

Ethical Issues Confidentiality Privacy

OVERVIEW: Interviews

EVALUATION: Different types of self-report methods

Strengths Weaknesses

Unstructured Interview

Allows collection of rich, qualitative data

Hard to compare responses

Structured/Semi-Structured interview

Enable comparisons between participants responses

Limit interviewees responses, so full information is not gained.

Open ended questions

Enable freedom to answer as they choose

Makes statistical analysis difficult

Close questions Enable collection of quantitative data and therefore make statistical analysis possible

Limit interviewees responses, so full information is not gained.

EVALUATION: Self-Reports

STRENGTHS

•Valuable method of investigating thoughts and feelings. •Practical research method that enables collection of large amount of data. •Measures are usually standardised and can be reproduced•Can produce numerical data that can easily be analysed

WEAKNESSES

•Self report is subjective and lacks scientific rigour•Interviewing can be time consuming and not usually conducted on large samples•It is not possible to gauge whether respondents are telling the truth in their responses. •Requires respondents to recall events or feelings, which effects reliability.

PROCEDURE: Overview 5-7 marks 8-10 marks

Good description of procedure Good evaluation of procedure 2 strengths 2 weaknesses

In-depth description of procedure, including use of specialist terms

In-depth evaluation of procedure 3+ strengths 3+ weaknesses Good use of grammar and limited

spelling mistakes. Describe (4 marks) Evaluate (6 marks)

•Type•Timing (20 min)•Who•Location•When (time of day)•IV/DV

•Reliability•Validity•Ethics

PROCEDURE: Plan1. What the researcher is going to do step by step.

If it’s an observational method- what behaviour is going to be observed? Have you classified the behaviour and created a coding system? Have all the observers been chosen and given training on what behaviour to observe and record? How you chosen where the observation in going to be?

2. Don’t forget your key terms- i.e. what type of experiment is it? - The strengths and weaknesses of that experiment type? Sampling method- strengths and weaknesses of your sampling method and anything which might affect your sample (Cohort effect). Single Blind/Double Blind procedure? Any type of control method such as counterbalancing for repeated measures design? What type of design in it? Inter rater reliability? Ecological Validity? Ability to generalise?

3. How about any ethical issues which might need to be considered for the study? How might they affect the results? How might you deal with them? (Remember-brief/debriefing for a laboratory experiment?)

4. Remember- relate all these to the experiment in question. Responses need to be in context. If the experiment is a laboratory experiment- include factors that affect laboratory experiments such as low Ecological validity which means it’s difficult to generalise outside a lab setting.

PROCEDURE: Self-Report

1. Decide aim and research question & hypothesis2. Identify research method being used3. Identify variables4. Plan procedure: obtain ethics approval, outline how

you will carry out this research, give examples of questions

5. Possibly run pilot study in order to check feasibility 6. Outline details of how you will collect data 7. If, appropriate, thank and debriefed pts 8. Analyse data, produce findings and draw conclusions 9. Write report of practical investigation

Worksheet 4: Exam Style Questions (ESQ)

Complete the following ESQ for self-reportExample ESQ: June 2009 Scenario 1: Modernising SupermarketsScenario 2: School Library Scenario 3: Holiday PreferencesScenario 4: Happiness Levels

ACTIVITY 4

EXAMPLE ESQ: June 2009A researcher is Interested In finding out why students at a large sixth formcollege have decided to study psychology. He is going to use a self-reportquestionnaire.

1(a). Suggest one open and one closed question that could be used to investigate subject choice. (4)

(b). Discuss the validity of the closed question you have suggested to investigate subject choice. (4)

2(a). Suggest how the researcher could use a random sampling technique to get 40 psychology students to complete the questionnaire. (2)

(b). Evaluate the use of random sampling in this study. (4) 3(a). What is quantitative data? (2) (b) Outline one strength and one weakness of quantitative data in this

study. (4) TOTAL: 20 MARKS

Exam Style Questions: Self-Report

Scenario 1A large supermarket has decided to modernise its premises. The

manager proposes to conduct a survey, asking customers what sort of refreshment/eating and drinking facilities they would like in the

updated store. The survey will gather quantitative data.

1a. Sketch an appropriate chart for recording the findings of this study (4) 1b. Describe one limitation of the quantitative data will be recorded on this chart (2) 2. Identify two ethical issues the manager needs to consider when conducting this survey, and suggest how they could be managed (6) 3. Outline an appropriate procedure the manager could follow for this study (8)

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Scenario 2A school librarian asked pupils to complete a questionnaire about

the types of books they would like to see in the school’s fiction library. Pupils were asked to

select three fictional categories. The school had a population of

500 pupils, 40 of whom returned a completed questionnaire to the

librarian.

1a. Sketch an appropriate graph to represent the findings of this study (3) 1b. Draw one conclusion from the findings of this study (2) 2. Suggest why the findings of this study may not be valid (3) 3a. Suggest how the librarian could have obtained a random sample for this study (3) 3b. Describe one strength of using random sampling in this study (3) 4. Outline an alternative way the librarian could have measured the pupil’s fictional book preferences (6)

Fictional category Number of pupils

Science fiction 20

Fantasy 20

Crime 15

Thrillers 12

War 10

Romance 15

Historical 10

Humour 18

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Scenario 3A researcher used a structured interview to investigate people’s

holiday preferences. He used open and closed questions to gather both quantitative and qualitative data about where people preferred

to go on holiday, what type of holiday they enjoyed the most and what type of accommodation suited them best.

1a. Describe the terms ‘open question’ and ‘closed question’ (4) 1b. Give an appropriate ‘open question’ that could have used in this study

(2) 2a. Describe a sampling technique the researchers could have used to

obtain a suitable sample in this study (2) 2b. Describe one strength of using this sampling technique for this study (2) 3. Discuss the issues of reliability and validity in relation to this study (10)

Exam Style Questions: Self-Report 3

Scenario 4An office manager wanted to compare people’s happiness levels on

Monday mornings with their happiness levels of Friday morning, to see if the through of coming to work for the next five days influenced their mood more then the though of the forthcoming weekend break. She decided to do this using a questionnaire in which participants had to apply a rating

scale to reflect their levels of happiness.

1a. Describe an appropriate rating scale for this study (3) 1b. Outline one weakness of using a rating scale in this study (2) 2a. Describe the type of data gathered in this study (2) 2b. Outline one strength of this type of data in relation to this study (2) 3a. Suggest an appropriate alternative one-tailed hypothesis for this study (3) 3b. Explain what makes your hypothesis one-tailed (2) 4. Briefly discuss the issue of reliability in relation to this study (6)

Exam Style Questions: Self-Report 4