The use of open questions in self-reports

Open questions allow participants to give full and detailed answers in their own words. They produce qualitative data, which is in depth and very detailed. However, because open questions usually give qualitative data, it is often difficult to identify trends and patterns or make comparisons between participants.

The role of closed questions in self-reports

Closed questions offer a small number of explicitly stated alternative responses from which the participant must choose. There is no opportunity to expand on answers and they produce quantitative data. Because closed questions usually collect quantitative data, results are easy to analyse, so trends and patterns can be identified and comparisons between individuals and/or groups can be made.

The application of rating scales in self-reports

Rating scales are numerical scales on which participants indicate the strength of some measure. They produce quantitative data.

Types of rating scales

• Likert rating scales - Allow participants to indicate how much they agree or disagree by choosing an option.
• Semantic differential rating scales - Allow participants to choose between two extremes, rating their response towards an opposing pair of descriptive words. The participant chooses one of several numerical values.

A problem with the use of rating scales is that they are very subjective and therefore do not always give valid or useful findings. They do, however, produce quantitative data, which makes results easy to analyse.

Strengths and limitations of different self-report methods

Each self-report method has distinct advantages and drawbacks, influencing their suitability for different research objectives.