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Research methods in clinical psychology: An introduction for students and practitioners Chris Barker, Nancy Pistrang, an

Research methods in clinical psychology: An introduction for students and practitioners Chris Barker, Nancy Pistrang, and Robert Elliott. CHAPTER 6 Self-report methods. Overview of self-report methods. Pros and cons Definitions and distinctions Qualitative methods Qualitative interviewing

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Research methods in clinical psychology: An introduction for students and practitioners Chris Barker, Nancy Pistrang, an

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  1. Research methods in clinical psychology:An introduction for students and practitionersChris Barker, Nancy Pistrang, and Robert Elliott CHAPTER 6 Self-report methods

  2. Overview of self-report methods • Pros and cons • Definitions and distinctions • Qualitative methods • Qualitative interviewing • Quantitative methods • Measure development • Questionnaire design

  3. Pros and cons of self-report • Advantage • Gives you the respondents’ views directly • Disadvantage • Validity problems: • Deception (of self or others) • Lack of conscious awareness • Attributional biases

  4. Definitions • Interview • guided by protocol or schedule • Questionnaire • checklists and inventories • Survey • no precise definition • Census • samples whole population

  5. Advantages of written questionnaires • Standardised (i.e., wording is exactly the same each time) • Respondents can fill them out privately, in their own time • Can ensure confidentiality, via a code numbering system • Cheap to administer

  6. Advantages of interviews Rapport and flexibility enable the interviewer to: • ask follow-up questions • ensure respondent answers all questions • give more complicated instructions and check they are understood • vary the order of questions • allow respondents to ask their own questions

  7. Qualitative self-report • Semi-structured interviews • Conducting interviews

  8. Semi-structured interviews: format • Varying degrees of structure • Interview schedule (or guide or protocol) • Key features: • interactive; responsive; flexible • Contrast to questionnaires: • pre-formulated • standardised • Tape recording

  9. Designing a semi-structured interview schedule • Sequence of topics/questions: • conceptual or chronological framework • logical order • sensitive topics later • from general to specific (“funnelling”) • Prompts/probes • Use as an aide memoire

  10. Attitudes of a good interviewer • role of facilitator or guide • interested in “hearing the person’s story” • sets aside own biases or assumptions • listens (doesn’t rush in with questions) • acceptance (doesn’t evaluate)

  11. Conducting a qualitative interview: questions • Aim: to gather information and explore meaning • Types of questions: • Open v. closed • “What” v. “Why” • Ask for specific examples (v. general/abstract)

  12. Conducting a qualitative interview: prompts • Encourage elaboration: • “Can you tell me a bit more.” • “I’m not sure I quite understand.” • Return to earlier points: • “You said…, could I ask you a bit more about that?” • Give permission: • “Some people say that…” • Encourage reticent respondents: • “I’m interested in your views, there are no right or wrong answers.”

  13. Conducting a qualitative interview: summarising • Summarising meaning (reflections) • Aim: to check understanding and to encourage elaboration • Capture central ideas/feelings • Avoid putting words into respondent’s mouth • NB: Research interview style is different from clinical interviews

  14. Quanitative self-report • Approaches to questionnaire design

  15. Steps in measure development • Literature search; draft measure based on theory, existing measures, pilot interviews • “Pretesting”: progressive pilot studies; informal reliability studies • Formal reliability study (e.g. N>120); factor analysis • Validity studies

  16. Questionnaire design:Item wording • Neutrality • Clarity and simplicity • Specificity • Single questions • Brevity • “Take care of the respondent”

  17. Questionnaire design:Likert response scales • How many scale points? • Central tendency • Visual analogue scales • Unipolar or bipolar? • Mid-point on bipolar scales? • Anchoring

  18. Questionnaire design: Response sets • Acquiescence • reverse wording • Social desirability • social desirability scales • lie scales NB: don’t confuse “response set” with “response scale”

  19. Questionnaires: alternatives • Internet-based questionnaires • Integrating quantitative and qualitative self-report methods

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