Psychology Feedback Questionnaire

Self-Reports

• Self-reports involve participants providing information about themselves directly.
• Methods include questionnaires and interviews, differing from experimental tests or observations where data is inferred by the researcher.

Questionnaires

• Presented in written form, can be administered via paper or online.
• Key formats include:
  • Closed Questions: Fixed responses; can be yes/no or multiple-choice (e.g., travel options).
  • Open Questions: Descriptive, allowing participant to express answers in their own words.

Closed Questions

• Can include:
  • Simple choices (e.g., binary options).
  • Rating scales (0 to 5).
  • Likert scales (respondent indicates agreement with statements).

Open Questions

• Encourage detailed, in-depth responses.
• Prompts often include "Why...?" or "Describe...".

Example Self-Report Structure

• Quantitative Data: Collected from closed questions (e.g., frequency of homework).
• Qualitative Data: Collected from open questions (e.g., revision techniques).

Research Application

• Dr. Huang, a psychology teacher, used an online questionnaire to assess student progress.
• Included both closed and open questions for comprehensive data collection and analysis.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires

• Advantages:

  • Easy to analyze quantitative data.
  • Produces clear summaries and averages for results.
  • Facilitates large-scale data collection.

• Disadvantages:

  • Responses to open questions require interpretation, risking inconsistency.
  • Low return rates may limit sample diversity (potentially affecting generalizability).
  • Social desirability bias may lead participants to provide favorable answers.

Interviews

• Can be face-to-face or conducted via phone/chat.
• Formats include:
  • Structured Interviews: Fixed questions and order.
  • Unstructured Interviews: Flexible questioning based on participant responses.
  • Semi-Structured Interviews: Combination of fixed and flexible questions.

Validity and Reliability Concerns

• Self-report data may be affected by:
  • Participants misrepresenting themselves (social desirability bias).
  • Subjectivity of researcher when interpreting open-ended responses.
• Consistent administration of structured questions can enhance reliability; open responses require careful interpretation to maintain objectivity.

Evaluating Research Methods

• Consider how method affects participant honesty and the validity of findings.
• Examine data types generated: numerical data from closed questions vs. qualitative insights from open questions.
• Understand the balance in using structured and unstructured interviews to maximize both reliability and depth of information.

Research Planning

• Ability to design self-report studies, distinguishing between questionnaire or interview use.
• Importance of recognizing and evaluating various question formats (open vs. closed).
• Planning effective revision strategies can be tied back to feedback gathered in self-reports.