Question Formats/faults of self report
This form of question prompts for a written response, or verbal, not choosing from a set of answers
Open ended
This error in wording is consistent of two questions disguised as one.
Double Barrel Questioning
This term refers to the idea that people use a set of rules to complete a survey rather than giving meaningful answers to questions sets
nondifferentiation
Define observational research
Systematically observing an individuals or groups actions and record behavior
How might researchers attempt to fix social desirability effect
Reassure the surveyed that their answers are anonymous or confidential
Define forced-choice questions
Questions that only have a limited set of answers, thus forcing the surveyed to choice one or more set responses
Describe Negative Wording
Negatively worded questions occur when there is a sort of double negative present in the question. For example: "Do you disagree with the absence of a lack of water fountains in X building?"
Why do response sets, or nondifferentiation, result in lowered construct validity
If many people in a study complete a survey using a heuristic then the survey hasn't measured what it is supposed to. It may have measured how lazy people are
What are some examples of research where observation may triumph over self report
Number of times blinking, words spoken, eye movement, etc.
One way to fix this effect is by conducting an unobtrusive observation - an observation that consists of an observer that is not extremely noticeable
reactivity
Describe the difference between a Likert scale (or likert-type scale) and a semantic differential scale
A likert scale is "anchored" by degree to which an individual agrees or disagrees with a statement. A semantic differential scale is "anchored" by adjectives, the surveyed rates the degree to which the prompt resembles one adjective or another to a greater degree
Wording errors in questions can decrease what validity of a particular measure/study. Why?
Construct, construct validity refers to how well a variable is operationalized or measured, if a faulty (or erroneous) question is contained in a survey, the degree to which a variable is appropriately measured will decrease.
Define Acquiescence. What is one amelioration of this phenomenon
This occurs when an individual goes through a survey responding with "agree" or "strongly agree" throughout the entirety of the survey without meaningfully replying to the question at hand. One way researchers may ameliorate this is by including reverse-worded items
Describe observer bias
Observer bias occurs when an individuals (observer) bias influence their interpretation of behavior or influence the outcome of observational data
To ameliorate observer effect, observers may conduct a ______ - a study where the observers do not know the hypothesis of the study and the conditions to which observers have been assigned
masked design, or blind study
While many can report their own opinions and their behaviors, self-reports become faulty when trying to describe ____ someone does something
Why!
Why is the question order important?
Question order can affect how questions are put into context. If there is a question that asks "How much detergent do you put it?" it is affected by prior questions regarding either Dishwashing or doing Laundry, both will yield different responses
This response set refers to the idea that individuals may remain neutral for most questions
fence-sitting
This effect occurs when the expectations from the observer influence the interpretation of behavior
Observer effects
To eliminate the fence sitting heuristic, the survey questions may contain what
An even number of options, eliminating the neutral option
A form of self report comes when individuals are eye witnesses. Eye witnesses can be tricky assets because their "self report" is dependent on ______ which can be tricky and at times very faulty
Memory
Often described as "trying to look good", this phenomenon occurs when individuals may take into account what is "acceptable" at a familial, friend, or societal level when completing a questionnaire
Social Desirability or faking good (or faking bad)
Describe reactivity
Reactivity occurs when participants behavior is altered as a result of being observed