Self-Report Measures - Essay Example

Application Assignment 3 Explain what free-format self-report measures and fixed-format self-report measures are and provide specific examples. Selfreport measures are those tools to data collection that the subjects respond to themselves. Here, direct and consensual involvement of the subject is paramount, and the subject has the freedom to answer as they choose to the stimuli presented (Kerlinger, 1986). Free Format Self Report measures are tools that allow the subject to respond as expansively, and to draw upon as many instances of knowledge, belief or creativity as they please.

Such techniques yield rich and extensive data; but are compromised in the extent to which the said data can be quantatively analyzed. They are ideal tools when the researcher wishes to study a few participants in greater detail (Stangor, 2010). A typical example would be the use of T.A.T. (Thematic Apperception Test) cards to gather data from the participants. The stories told by participants yield rich data; but it can become very cumbersome to study a large sample in this manner. Fixed Format Self Report measures, on the other hand, are techniques that limit the number of responses that a subject can give to any answer by providing alternatives, or scaled attributes; where the participant indicates one (or more) of the alternatives provided as a response.

With such measures, the data obtained is easily analyzed with quantitative techniques; but is limited in that the participant cannot give a response that is not provided among the options (Stangor, 2010). A typical example would be the use if Likert Scales to measure the extent of agreement or disagreement with a particular issue. Such measures can be used with a large sample size; often many individuals can be asked to contribute data at the same time. Explain the advantages of free-format self-report measures and fixed-format self-report measures. No. Free-format advantages Fixed-format advantages  1 Allows the respondent to express their thoughts and emotions without much hindrance Provides specific, numeric data which allows for comparisons.

2 Allow the researcher to pick up information that the subject may otherwise hesitate to give Pre-existing measurement tools can be used; as well as standard statistical procedures for analysis 3 Helps in understand the process of how ideas are formed. Responses to multiple items helps in getting a better understanding of the concept being studied. Ref. Stangor (2010) Respond to one of the following two questions (A or B):  A. Discuss which free-format self-report measure (e.g. projective measure, associative, list etc.) you would prefer to administer if you were a researcher, and explain why.

Would you prefer a different one if you were a participant in the study? Explain.  As a researcher, I would probably like to use projective techniques like the T.A.T. to collect data from a group of people. This is because the T.A.T would allow me to collect in-depth information, and this information could be used to understand the particular phenomenon in greater detail. Also, the T.A.T. does allow for some amount of numerical coding; and so, it would also be possible to compare individuals or groups using verifiable quantitative measures (Snodgrass, 1985).

As a subject though, I may not always enjoy telling the stories that are required in the process of responding to the T.A.T. This would be true if the study required me to respond to many cards and give a large amount of detail. At such times, I would prefer to respond to an Association task, or a more objective measure that could be responded to easily and quickly. References: Kerlinger, F.N. (1986).  Foundations of behavioral research, Orlando, FL: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Stangor, C. (2010). Measures.

Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences (4th ed.). Pp. 66 – 87. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.  Snodgrass, J.G, Levy-Berger, G. and Haydon M. (1985). .Human experimental psychology. Oxford university press. New York. USA. Print.