Questionnaires and interviews Lesson Objectives To explain the use of questionnaires and interviews To apply your knowledge of questionnaires and interviews To evaluate the use of questionnaires and interviews

What do you think? A group of students wishes to study mobile phone use in people aged 14-18. Why might it be preferable to: Conduct an interview rather thank a questionnaire? Conduct a questionnaire rather than an interview?

Questionnaires Set of written questions – designed to collect information Can discover what people think or feel (no guessing work like observations) Always pre-determined (structured) Can provide either qualitative data or quantitative data

Writing good questions 1) Clarity = Do not use double negatives (are you against banning capital punishment. Also do not use double barrelled questions (do you suffer from sickness and headaches). 2) Bias = Do not use leading question which make one answer more attractive than the other. 3) Analysis = Questions need to be written so they are easy to analyse. Open questions – hard to analyse – why? Closed questions – easy to analyse – why?

Writing good questionnaires Filler questions – include some irrelevant questions to distract the respondent from the main purpose of the questionnaire. Sequence for the questions – Start with the easy questions Sampling techniques – How to select the respondents. Pilot study – test the questions on a small group of people

Designing questionnaires: LIKERT SCALES Likert scales usually have 5 or 7 positions of opinion. Make sure the option ‘intervals’ are symmetrical and logically spaced Note that the mid point is an issue: it could mean I’m undecided, I don’t understand or the respondent is not engaged with the study.

Designing questionnaires: Rating scales How much do you enjoy watching horror films? (please circle the number that best applies to you) Not at all Very much 0 1 2 3 4 2. How much do you enjoy watching sci-fi films? (please place a cross on the line that reflects your opinion) |……………………………………………….| Ratings scales can be given with numbers to circle indicating strength of opinion, or a line to place a ‘x’ on; you can make it numerical later (how?) Make sure both poles are clearly labelled

Designing questionnaires: Fixed choice option Make sure your fixed choice questions have a good range of options, and an ‘other’ if unsure. What fixed choice options would you create for this questions? Create 6-10 options for each. Tell the respondent what to do i.e. how many to answer or if they should rank them. Why did you choose to study psychology?

QUESTIONS: PROBLEM SPOTTING Question writing seems easy – it is not. It is rare to see a well-constructed questionnaire! If your questions are poor, your data will be invalid. Also, you should do the hard work; not your respondents – make it pleasant and easy for them. Don’t let your questions fall into any of these traps: *Double qns *SPaG errors *Loaded qns *Illogical order *Use of jargon *Lack of options *Ambiguous terms *Unclear instructions *Use of negatives & double negatives *Overlapping or non-equal categories

Lets have a go Pair 1 – Attitudes towards home learning Pair 2 – Attitudes towards school uniform Pair 3 – Attitudes towards going to university Pair 4- Attitudes towards exercise Pair 5 – Attitudes towards drinking alcohol Success Criteria Include questions using the following aspects: Would produce quantitative data Would produce qualitative data Open question Closed question Filler questions Minimum of 6 questions * Consider the advise for writing good questions and questionnaires

Pilot study Now you have constructed your questionnaire, you are going to run a pilot study. You do not have the money and time to print off 100’s of questionnaires and distribute these to find out there is problems with your questionnaires. Swap your questionnaire with another pair, use the success criteria to assess how good their questionnaire is. Please note- questionnaires do not always have a mix of open and closed questions, this was just for an example…there is no set rule.

Evaluation Once you have designed a questionnaire, you can use them for lots of people cheaply and quickly Respondents may feel comfortable to reveal personal/confidential information Sample can be biased due to who is willing to fill it out Questionnaires using closed questions limit the responses – but easier to summarise  Questionnaires with open questions can provide unexpected answers which can lead to further research – but harder to summarise Can take a lot of time to design Can only be filled out by those who can read and write Reduces experimenter bias which can be found in interviews No special training is needed to hand out questionairres

Pros and cons Strengths Limitations  Cost effective: large amount of data quickly. Once you have designed a questionnaire, you can use them for lots of people cheaply and quickly Participants might not be truthful- seen in a positive light  Researcher doesn’t have to be present Demand characteristic and social desirability Answers are easier to analyse Response bias- simply tick yes for all questions. Comparison between groups can be made using graphs. Sample can be biased due to who is willing to fill it out  Interviewer bias Can take a lot of time to design Reduces experimenter bias which can be found in interviews Can only be filled out by those who can read and write

Interviews

Structured interview Has pre-determined questions – it is essentially a questionnaire that is delivered face to face or over the telephone. There is no deviation from the original questions.

Unstructured interview New questions are developed during the course of the interview. The interviewer may begin with general aims and possibly a few pre-determined questions but subsequent questions develop on the basis of the answers that are given.

Semi- structured interview Has elements of the other two types Has pre-determined questions Interviewee is encouraged to expand/elaborate

Design of interviews Recording the interview – The interviewer may make notes although this may interfere with their listening skills. Alternatively interviews may be audio recorded or video recorded.

Design of interviews The effect of the interviewer – The presence of an interviewer who is interested in the respondents answers may increase the amount of information provided, even in an unstructured interview. Non-verbal communication – what non-verbal communication do you think would encourage or discourage respondents to speak? Sitting with arms crossed, frowning with disapproval and disinterest Nodding and leaning forward Listening skills – Do not interrupt too much and when they do speak use encouraging comments.

Questioning skills in an unstructured interviews It is important to be aware of the questions already asked and avoid repeating them. Avoid probing too much and asking why too often. Helpful to ask more focused questions bother for the person being interviewed and yourself when analysing the answers.

Pros and cons Structured interview Unstructed interview  Can be easily repeated because the questions are standardised.  More detailed information can be obtained  Different people can be compared due to the standardised questions  Requires interviewer with more skill because the interviewer has to develop more questions Answers are easier to analyse due to being predictable  Questions may lack objectivity due to the quick nature of creating the questions  Compariability difficult if interviewer behaves differently or different interviewer  More expensive due to the need for experienced interviewer  Interviewer bias

Exam style question

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