1. PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
RESEARCH METHODS
SELF-REPORT
G541
PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

2. Starter 10-15 mins Worksheet 1: KEY WORDS
Using your iPads: complete the key terms related to this topic
Each definition should be at least two sentences long
You should use these terms where appropriate in your responses to exam questions

3. CHECKLIST:
You have a detailed checklist on the blog, please go and download it now and have a quick look over.
Print/keep for your reference and for revision purposes.

4. Key Terms TERM DEFINITION Closed question Open question Interview
Semi-structured interview
Structured interview
Unstructured interview
Questionnaire
Fixed response question
Likert scale
Survey
Self report

5. KEY FEATURES: Self-Report
Self-report is a method of data collection in which the participant themselves answer questions about their behaviour, thoughts and feelings. Questions may be asked in an interview or in the form of a questionnaire 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

6. Activity Worksheet 3: Studies that use Self-Reporting Techniques
Reicher & Haslam
Thigpen & Cleckley
Rosenhan
Griffiths

7. Studies that use self-reporting
Study
Approach
Role of
Self-Report
Reicher & Haslam
Thigpen & Cleckley
Rosenhan
Griffiths

8. Method of Self Report: Questionnaires

9. KEY FEATURES: 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.
Studies which used questionnaires:

10. OVERVIEW: Questionnaires
Nature & Use
Set of questions
Design: open (qual) or closed (quan)
Advantages
Disadvantages
Ethical Issues

11. Method of Self Report: interview

12. Unstructured - Structured - Semi Structured
KEY FEATURES: Interviews
Unstructured - Structured - Semi Structured
Unstructured interview
In 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.
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.
Semi-Structured interview
In 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.
Studies which used interviews:

13. OVERVIEW: Interviews Nature & Use Advantages Disadvantages
Questions can be predetermined, or created in response to answers.
Design: structured/ unstructured questions
Advantages
Disadvantages
Ethical Issues

14. Different types of self-report methods
SUMMARY EVALUATION:
Different types of self-report methods
Strengths
Weaknesses
Unstructured Interview
Structured/
Semi-Structured interview
Open ended questions
Close questions

15. EVALUATION: Self-Reports
Strengths
Weaknesses

16. PROCEDURE: Plan What the researcher is going to do step by step.
Who are your sample and how will you get them? How are you going to collect the data? Have you planned your questions? Are you using a scale?
Don’t forget your key terms- i.e. what type of self report is it? - The strengths and weaknesses of that self report type? Sampling method- strengths and weaknesses of your sampling method and anything which might affect your sample (response rate/bias). 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? (not all of these will be relevant to every method)
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? Consent, deception, confidentiality, protection from harm, debrief
Remember- relate all these to the stimulus material 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. For self report there may be demand characteristics or social desirability.

17. PROCEDURE: Self-Report
Decide aim and research question & hypothesis
Identify research method being used
Identify variables
Plan procedure: obtain ethics approval, outline how you will carry out this research, give examples of questions
Possibly run pilot study in order to check feasibility
Outline details of how you will collect data
If, appropriate, thank and debriefed pts
Analyse data, produce findings and draw conclusions
Write report of practical investigation

18. 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

19. A psychologists is interested in investigating people's beliefs in the paranormal (e.g. ghosts, telepathy, unidentified (lying objects) and decides to use a self-report measure to conduct their study.
Design your own study in pairs (see slide below)

20. Stage
Description (what is it? What will you do? Must be replicable) [4]
Evaluation (reliability, validity, ethics, generalisability) [6]
Aim + hyp
n/a
Method
Variables
Ethics
Procedure
Inc sample
Data analysis

21. Activity
You are going to attempt one of the example exam Qs and then you will rotate, see each others ideas and suggest improvements for each other. (your homework will relate to this so do it properly!)
Complete the following ESQ for self-report
Scenario 1: Modernising Supermarkets
Scenario 2: School Library
Scenario 3: Holiday Preferences
Scenario 4: Happiness Levels

22. Exam Style Questions: Self-Report1
Scenario 1
A 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)

23. Fictional category
Number of pupils
Science fiction 20
Fantasy
Crime 15
Thrillers 12
War 10
Romance
Historical
Humour 18
Scenario 2
A 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. 2
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)

24. Exam Style Questions: Self-Report3
Scenario 3
A 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)

25. Exam Style Questions: Self-Report4
Scenario 4
An 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)

26. Homework Complete the EXAMPLE ESQ: June 2009
A researcher is Interested In finding out why students at a large sixth form
college have decided to study psychology. He is going to use a self-report
questionnaire.
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