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Non-Experimental MethodsExperiments are arguably the best method to use in most situations, as they allow the researcher to control variables. However, sometimes behaviour in an experiment may differ from their real every day behaviour because of the artificiality of experiments. In other cases, it is impractical or unethical to run an experiment. For example, it would be unethical to run an experiment into the effect of pollution on a person’s behaviour by deliberately exposing an experimental group to high levels of pollution. Therefore it is helpful to have the option of using other non-experimental methods on occasion.The main non-experimental methods that you need to know about are:SurveysInterviewsCase studies ObservationsSurveys & InterviewsOne way to collect data about people is to ask them about their thoughts, attitudes and feelings. Such methods are collectively called self-report techniques or surveys, which include questionnaires and interviews.A questionnaire is a set of questions. It is designed to collect information about a topic or even more than one topic.Two great strengths of a questionnaire are:You can collect the same information from a large number of people relatively easily (once you have designed the questionnaire of course!)You can access what people think. Other research methods rely on “guessing” what people think and feel on the basis of how they behave. With a questionnaire, you can ask people – whether they can and do give you valid answers is another matter.A questionnaire can be given in a written form or it can be delivered in real time (face to face or on the telephone) by an interviewer.A structured interview has pre-determined questions; i.e. it is a questionnaire that is delivered face to face.An unstructured interview has less structure. New questions are developed as you go along, similar to the way that your GP might interview you. The GP starts with some predetermined questions but further questions are developed as a response to your answers. For this reason, the unstructured or semi-structured approach is sometimes called the clinical review.StrengthsWeaknessesQuestionnairesRespondents record their own answersCan be easily repeated so that data can be collected from large numbers of people cheaply and quickly.Questionnaires do not require specialist administrators.Respondents may feel more willing to reveal personal/confidential information than in an interviewAnswers may not be truthful, for example because of leading questions and social desirability bias. A further problem is response set – some people prefer to give the answer “yes” than “no” (or vice versa).The sample may be biased because only certain kinds of people fill in questionnaires – literate individuals who are willing to spend time completing them.Structured InterviewQuestions predeterminedCan be easily repeated.Requires less skill than unstructured interviews.Easier to analyse than unstructured interviews because answers are more predictableThe interviewer’s expectations may influence the answers the interviewee gives (this is called interviewer bias). This may be especially true because people don’t always know what they think. They may also want to present themselves in ‘a good light’ and therefore give ‘socially desirable’ answers (social desirability bias).In comparison with unstructured interviews, the data collected will be restricted by a predetermined set of questions. People may feel less comfortable about revealing personal information than in a questionnaire.Unstructured or Semi-Structured InterviewsInterviewer develops questions in response to respondent’s answers to elicit more detailed information.Generally more detailed information can be obtained from each respondent than in a structured interview.Can access information that may not be revealed by predetermined questions.More affected by interviewer bias than structured interviews.Requires well-trained interviewers, which makes it more expensive to produce reliable interviews.Interviews may not be easily compared because different interviewers ask different questions. Reliability may also be affected by the same interviewer behaving differently on different occasions.The answers from unstructured interviews are difficult to analyse as they can be unpredictable.285752314575A psychology student designs a questionnaire about attitudes to eating. Below are some questions from his questionnaire:Do you diet? AlwaysSometimesNever (circle answer)Do you think that dieting is a bad idea?Explain your answer to (b).For each of the above questions:State whether it is an open or closed question.State whether the question would produce4 qualitative or quantitative data.Give one criticism of the question.Suggest how the question could be improved in order to deal with your criticism.Suggest one strength of the question.You have been asked to write a questionnaire about people’s attitudes to ghosts and other paranormal activity. Write one closed question that would collect quantitative data.Write one open question that would collect qualitative data.Write an example of a leading question.Explain how social desirability bias may affect the validity of the responses in your questionnaire.Describe one strength of using questionnaires to collect data in this study.Describe one weakness of using questionnaires to collect data in this study.020000A psychology student designs a questionnaire about attitudes to eating. Below are some questions from his questionnaire:Do you diet? AlwaysSometimesNever (circle answer)Do you think that dieting is a bad idea?Explain your answer to (b).For each of the above questions:State whether it is an open or closed question.State whether the question would produce4 qualitative or quantitative data.Give one criticism of the question.Suggest how the question could be improved in order to deal with your criticism.Suggest one strength of the question.You have been asked to write a questionnaire about people’s attitudes to ghosts and other paranormal activity. Write one closed question that would collect quantitative data.Write one open question that would collect qualitative data.Write an example of a leading question.Explain how social desirability bias may affect the validity of the responses in your questionnaire.Describe one strength of using questionnaires to collect data in this study.Describe one weakness of using questionnaires to collect data in this study.right144780Activities:Explain the difference between a structured and an unstructured interview.Explain the difference between a questionnaire and an interview.If you wanted to find out about attitudes towards dieting, why would it be preferable to conduct an interview rather than a questionnaire?Why might it be better to conduct a questionnaire rather than an interview?How can “leading questions” be a problem in interviews or questionnaires?What is social desirability bias?020000Activities:Explain the difference between a structured and an unstructured interview.Explain the difference between a questionnaire and an interview.If you wanted to find out about attitudes towards dieting, why would it be preferable to conduct an interview rather than a questionnaire?Why might it be better to conduct a questionnaire rather than an interview?How can “leading questions” be a problem in interviews or questionnaires?What is social desirability bias? ................
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