Self-report Techniques
- Self reporting techniques are when the participant reveals personal information about themselves when answering a series of questions.
- These are usually collected by either questionnaire or interviews
Questionnaires
- Questionnaires can have both open and closed questions
- Open questions allow the participant to write down their own answer and are often seen as having more validity
- This gives qualitative data, which is not numerical. This can make analysis very difficult but can provide depth and insight into an answers that the researcher might not otherwise get. It can also provide a push-point for further questions if needed
- Closed questions provide the participant with a selection of answers to choose from, which can seem less valid as it pre-determines the selection of answers
- This gives quantitative data, which is easier to analyse and spot patterns but sacrifices the level of detail and insight that you would get with open questions
- Open questions allow the participant to write down their own answer and are often seen as having more validity
Structured Interviews
- The interviewer reads out a list of prepared questions for the participant to answer
- The interviewer does not deviate from the prepared questions
| Strengths | Limitations |
| The interview does not need to have intensive training to ask the questions | Response by the participants cannot be followed up with additional questions to add more detail as there is a prescribed list of questions |
| The answers are easy to compare as the same questions were asked | The pre-determined questions may not provide the relevant data required for the investigation |
Unstructured Interviews
- The interviewer has a topic of interest they want to discuss with the interviewee
- There is no set list of questions, instead it is an open conversation about the topic, which allows the interviewer to ask questions specific to the interviewee and gain further information
| Strengths | Limitations |
| The interviewer is able to build a rapport with the interviewee, which is more likely to allow for honest answers thus increasing validity | The interviewer has to be responsive to the participant and ready to come up with suitable questions on the spot |
| Interesting answers can be followed up for more information as there is not a prescribed list of questions | Every interview will be different, making comparisons difficult |
| The interviewer will need specific training to ensure that questions, whilst responsive, aren't leading or show bias |
Semi - Structured Interviews
- The interviewer uses a combination of set questions, with the ability to ask extra questions to gather more information
- This allows the interviewer to ask for more information if they feel it would be of benefit
| Strengths | Limitations |
| Comparison is easier than for an unstructured interview as the same questions are asked for part of the interview | The interviewer has to be responsive to the participant and ready to come up with suitable questions on the spot if they feel that this is necessary |
| The interviewer can gather more information by asking further questions or asking the participant to expand on the answers they have given | The interviewer, as with unstructured interviews, would need specific training to avoid asking leading questions or loaded questions (with bias) |
| Rapport can be built as the interviewer can ask more questions and relax the interviewee |
