Self report techniques
The person is reporting their own thoughts and feelings.
Questionnaire - Data collected through the use of written questions
STRENGTHS
Quick and efficient - gathering large amount of data
Can be completed anonymously - answers are more likely to be honest
LIMITATIONS
Social desirability - participants may want to appear socially acceptable by not being honest
Response rates - not everyone may want to answer the questionnaires
Bias - misleading questions may alter the response of the respondent
Writing good questions
Clarity - reader needs to understand what is being asked, there should be no ambiguity (two
meanings). The use of double negatives (are you against capital punishment?) and double
barrelled questions (do you suffer from sickness and headaches?) reduces clarity.
Bias - leading participants to answer in one way (leading question) reduces validity. It may
lead to social desirability bias to make their answers look more attractive rather truthfully.
Analysis - questions designed so they are easy to analyse. There may be open questions
used or closed questions.
Open question - invites the respondents to provide qualitative answers rather than
selecting one answer. →‘what do you like most about your job?’
STRENGTHS
Provides qualitative data - detailed answers from respondents
Gain insight - respondents can express themselves
LIMITATIONS
Difficult to analyse and summarise - cannot show patterns to draw conclusions
The person is reporting their own thoughts and feelings.
Questionnaire - Data collected through the use of written questions
STRENGTHS
Quick and efficient - gathering large amount of data
Can be completed anonymously - answers are more likely to be honest
LIMITATIONS
Social desirability - participants may want to appear socially acceptable by not being honest
Response rates - not everyone may want to answer the questionnaires
Bias - misleading questions may alter the response of the respondent
Writing good questions
Clarity - reader needs to understand what is being asked, there should be no ambiguity (two
meanings). The use of double negatives (are you against capital punishment?) and double
barrelled questions (do you suffer from sickness and headaches?) reduces clarity.
Bias - leading participants to answer in one way (leading question) reduces validity. It may
lead to social desirability bias to make their answers look more attractive rather truthfully.
Analysis - questions designed so they are easy to analyse. There may be open questions
used or closed questions.
Open question - invites the respondents to provide qualitative answers rather than
selecting one answer. →‘what do you like most about your job?’
STRENGTHS
Provides qualitative data - detailed answers from respondents
Gain insight - respondents can express themselves
LIMITATIONS
Difficult to analyse and summarise - cannot show patterns to draw conclusions
