Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences: Self-Report Measures

In research studies, especially in psychology, it is important to collect information about the respondents’ state, feelings, thoughts, attitudes, etc. The tools used for this purpose are referred to as self-report measures (Jackson, 2015). It is possible to divide self-report measures into two broad types: free-format and fixed-format (Stangor, 2010). Free-format measures do not have a predefined structure or have a very loose structure, and therefore allow the respondents to express their opinions or thoughts in a free way. Fixed-format self-report measures usually have a precise structure and offer a set of answers to the respondents, so their response freedom is limited, but the respondents are better directed to the specific study variables and questions.

The most common free-format self-report measures are associative lists, projective measures and think-aloud protocols (Stangor, 2010). Associative lists tool works in the following way: the respondents receive specific items (e.g. names of ethnic groups, list of feelings, etc.) and list the thoughts and associations that emerge for each of these items. Projective measures are commonly implemented using non-structured images: the respondents describe their impressions about these images, associated feelings or tell stories about these images (Nattrass, 2007). Think-aloud protocols are listings of the respondents’ thoughts and impressions associated to a specific process (e.g. with completing a task).

Typical fixed-format self-report measures include: the Likert scale, the semantic differential, and the Guttman scale (Stangor, 2010). The Likert scale is a popular instrument that is often used for assessing measured variables associated with broader conceptual variables. The Likert scale includes a series of items listing different variations of the extent to which the respondent agrees or disagrees with a certain statement (Jackson, 2015). Moreover, an extreme version of the Likert scale can be implemented as a segment between Agree and Disagree, and the respondent has to mark his or her attitude on the segment. A similar approach is used in a semantic differential: in this case, the respondent sees a topic or a statement to be evaluated followed by a set of adjective pairs denoting opposite response endpoints (e.g. agree/disagree, accept/reject, etc.). Often the “distance” between the two endpoints is associated with numbers. The respondent is then asked to mark a point on every dimension. Researchers also use the Guttman scale that allows to measure the degree to which the respondent possess a specific characteristic (Stangor, 2010). The Guttman scale uses a series of cumulative questions that are designed in such a way that if an individual endorses a specific response, he or she is assumed to endorse the previous responses (Stangor, 2010).

Both free-format and fixed-format self-report measures have specific advantages. These advantages are listed in Table 1 below.

Free-format advantages Fixed-format advantages
The respondents can provide rich sets of information and can give in-depth self-reports Fixed format provides guidance to the respondents and is efficient in the cases when respondents might not be able to formulate their thoughts and feelings in a precise way
Since there are no limitations or constraints, the researcher can get an extensive overview of participants self-reported measures It is easy to code fixed-format self-reports and to translate self-reports into measured variables
The information provided by the participants can lead to new and unexpected research insights Self-reports can be administered and analyzed within a short period of time

Table 1. Advantages of free-format and fixed-format self-report measures

It is possible to set an example of a study where a fixed-format self-report measure would be preferred over the free-format self-report measure. For example, if a researcher aims to study the extent to which anxiety level changes in males and females in stressful situations and wants to explore how gender influences these changes, it is necessary to quantify the level of anxiety before and after the stressful situation. In such case, it is optimal to use a fixed-format self-report measure (e.g. the Likert scale), because it provides consistent and comparable data, whereas free-format self-report measures would not produce comparable results which might be further used for statistical analysis.

 

References

Jackson, S. (2015). Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach. Cengage Learning.

Nattrass, A. (2007). Planning, Reporting & Designing Research. Pearson Education.

Stangor, C. (2010). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences, 4e, 4th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Cengage Learning. Retrieved from http://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/1133390072/id/ch05lev2sec05

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

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freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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