Measures. Observations. Interviews Questionnaires/Surveys/Self-Report

Transcription

1 Measures Observations Advantages: study behavior as it occurs in natural settings in response to natural events. Often only tool to study certain phenomena (e.g., mother-infant interactions, teacher-pupil behaviors). Disadvantages: time consuming, expensive and labor intensive Interviews Questionnaires/Surveys/Self-Report

2 Interviews Types Unstructured (exploratory) Semi-Structured Structured questions are set out in prescribed fashion (i.e., Structured Clinical Interview-DSM-IV)

3 Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) Branching interview: responses to one question determines the next question Detailed instructions on when and how to probe in detail and when to go on to the next question. Symptoms are rated on a 3-point scale Obsessive-Compulsive disorders Now I would like to ask you if you have ever been bothered by thoughts that didn t make any sense and kept coming back to you even when you tried not to have them? (What were they?) IF SUBJECT NOT SURE WHAT IS MEANT.Thoughts like hurting someone even though you really didn t want to or being contaminated by germs or dirt? When you had these thoughts, did you try hard to get them out of your head? (What would you try to do?) IF UNCLEAR: Where did you think these thoughts were coming from?

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5 Interviews - advantages depth of information insights equipment informants priorities flexibility validity high response rate therapeutic

6 Interviews - Skills Lots of skills involved Training required Basic idea is to let the interviewee talk, e.g. not be afraid of pauses But be prepared to fill gaps, e.g. ask for an example/clarification Prompt, Probe & Check

7 Interviews - Interviewer effect Personal identity (age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, social status, educational qualifications and professional expertise) Self-presentation (physical appearance, political stance ) Personal involvement (issues of empowerment)

8 Interviews - disadvantages time-consuming data analysis is often challenging reliability (e.g., inter-rater agreement) interviewer effect+ selective information inhibitions safety invasion of privacy resources Expensive (e.g., tapes, transcribing)

9 Questionnaires/Surveys designed to collect information which can be used subsequently as data for analysis consist of a written list of questions gather information by asking people directly

10 Questionnaires - Design Lots of things to consider background info given to respondents instructions to respondents length of questionnaire visual appearance wording of questions order of questions types of questions (open and closed)

11 Questionnaires - Feasibility issues Respondents (who?) Location (where?) Time (when?) Topic (what?) Number of questions (how long?) Difficulty of questions (how hard?) These affect completion rate, response rate and accuracy of answers

12 Questionnaires - advantages Economical in time and money Easier to arrange Answers are standardized Pre-coded answers (good for research and respondent) Obtain large samples

13 Constructing a Questionnaire The best choice for selecting a questionnaire is to use one that is already established as reliable and valid. If a suitable measure cannot be found, researchers choose to construct their own questionnaire. It seems easy, but a lot goes into developing a reliable and valid questionnaire.

14 Constructing a Questionnaire Steps for preparing a questionnaire: 1. Decide what information should be sought. 2. Decide what type of questionnaire should be used (e.g., will it be self-administered? Training). 3. Write a first draft of the questionnaire. 4. Reexamine and revise the questionnaire after it is reviewed by experts. 5. Pretest the questionnaire using a sample of respondents under conditions similar to the planned administration of the survey. 6. Edit the questionnaire and specify the procedures for its use

15 Constructing a Questionnaire Guidelines for Writing Survey Questions (2) Use simple, direct, and familiar vocabulary; keep questions short (20 or fewer words). (3) Write clear and specific questions: Avoid double-barreled questions (e.g., Do you support capital punishment and abortion? ). Place any conditional phrases at the beginning of the question (e.g., If you were forced to leave your current city, where would you live? Avoid leading questions (e.g., Most people favor gun control; what do you think? ). Avoid loaded (emotion-laden) questions (e.g., People who discriminate are racist pigs: T or F

16 Constructing a Questionnaire Guidelines for Writing Survey Questions (1)Choose how participants will respond: Free-response: open-ended questions e.g., What do you think about the current availability of food on this campus? In your view, what are the most important factors in choosing a partner? Advantage: Allows flexibility in responses, freedom in expression of thoughts and feelings Disadvantage: different approach to question (e.g., list of food, new locations for selling food, situation ok )-cannot compare responses. Difficult to summarize Limited by participant s ability or willingness to express thoughts

17 Constructing a Questionnaire (1) Choose how participants will respond (Continued): Restricted questions: closed-response: multiple choice, true-false. -e.g. Are your parents (Please check one): Married Separated Divorced Widowed Never married Other - During a typical week, how often do you see your partner? a. Not at all b. once c. twice d. 3 times e. 4 times or more. Advantages: easy to summarize and analyze, can add an open ended option (i.e., other (please specify).

18 Constructing a Questionnaire (1)Choose how participants will respond (Continued): Rating Scale Questions: Likert-type Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree Undecided Agree Agree e.g., I idealize my partner 5-10 response categories - participants avoid extremes - difficulty discriminating among more that 9 to 10 different levels. If more than 10 options, participants blend categories and create their own 10-point scale

19 Constructing a Questionnaire Rating Scale Questions: Likert-type Problem: Response set-include mixture of positive and negative items (reverse scored) 7. My parent(s) help me with my school work if there is something I don't understand. Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree Undecided Agree Agree When I get a poor grade in school, my parent(s) encourage me to try harder. Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree Undecided Agree Agree When I get a poor grade in school, my parent(s) make my life miserable. (Reversed Scored) Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree Undecided Agree Agree Scoring: sum responses: position each individual on a scale that represents perceptions of parental supportiveness. Advantages of Rating Scales: Easy to use standard statistical procedure: compare different individuals, compute means for different groups, and compare means for the different groups. Participants find them easy to understand and easy to answer.

20 Correspondence Between Reported and Actual Behavior People s responses on surveys may not be truthful. Reactivity: People sometimes don t report truthful responses because they know the information is being recorded. Social Desirability occurs when people respond to surveys as they think they should rather than how they actually feel or believe.

21 Survey Methods Mail surveys are quick and convenient, but may have the problem of response bias when people selected for the survey sample don t complete and return their survey. Due to response bias, the final sample may not represent the population. Because mailed surveys are self-administered, respondents are free to interpret questions as they see fit, leading to possible differences in how people respond to questions.

22 Telephone Interviews Survey Methods have become the method of choice for completing brief surveys because surveys can be completed efficiently and with greater access to the population. Problems include selection bias (only people with phones can be included), response bias (people may refuse solicitations to complete surveys over the phone), and interviewer bias.