Self report technique Advantages Disadvantages
Questionnaire ● Produces large ● Lacks flexibility
amounts of ● Can't guarantee
standardised data honesty of participants
● Data can be collected ● Biased by level of
quickly and motivation and
conveniently possible boredom of
● Replicable and usually participants
easy to analyse ● Participants may give
● Wide-ranging sample socially-desirable
possible answers
● New ideas for research ● People get used to
can be suggested answering in a
● Good for research on particular direction, e.g.
socially-sensitive middle score on a
matters as people tend scale, yes...yes, etc.
to disclose more This is known as a
response set
● Sample could be
biased, as returns
require time and effort
● Questions may be
biased or
misunderstood
Case study ● Detailed and in-depth ● No cause and effect
research can be inferred
● High ecological validity ● Can't generalise due to
● It may be the only problems or limitations
suitable method, due to of sample
a limited sample, e.g. ● Low reliability due to
an unusual personality retrospective recall,
disorder lack of observer
● Good method for objectivity and reaction
studying unusual of participant to
behaviour researcher
● Cannot replicate
● Time consuming and
expensive
● Relies on honest
participants
Content analysis ● Produces quantitative ● Difficult to decide what
data and how to code
● Reduces complex ● Subjectivity of analysis
information to numbers ● Time consuming
to enable comparisons ● Meaning and context
● Unobtrusive may be missed
● Replicable ● Cannot establish cause
● Cheap longitudinal and effect
research possible
Correlational ● Provides information ● No cause and effect
on the degree of a can be inferred but it
analysis relationship in the form often is
of a correlation ● Other factors affecting
Questionnaire ● Produces large ● Lacks flexibility
amounts of ● Can't guarantee
standardised data honesty of participants
● Data can be collected ● Biased by level of
quickly and motivation and
conveniently possible boredom of
● Replicable and usually participants
easy to analyse ● Participants may give
● Wide-ranging sample socially-desirable
possible answers
● New ideas for research ● People get used to
can be suggested answering in a
● Good for research on particular direction, e.g.
socially-sensitive middle score on a
matters as people tend scale, yes...yes, etc.
to disclose more This is known as a
response set
● Sample could be
biased, as returns
require time and effort
● Questions may be
biased or
misunderstood
Case study ● Detailed and in-depth ● No cause and effect
research can be inferred
● High ecological validity ● Can't generalise due to
● It may be the only problems or limitations
suitable method, due to of sample
a limited sample, e.g. ● Low reliability due to
an unusual personality retrospective recall,
disorder lack of observer
● Good method for objectivity and reaction
studying unusual of participant to
behaviour researcher
● Cannot replicate
● Time consuming and
expensive
● Relies on honest
participants
Content analysis ● Produces quantitative ● Difficult to decide what
data and how to code
● Reduces complex ● Subjectivity of analysis
information to numbers ● Time consuming
to enable comparisons ● Meaning and context
● Unobtrusive may be missed
● Replicable ● Cannot establish cause
● Cheap longitudinal and effect
research possible
Correlational ● Provides information ● No cause and effect
on the degree of a can be inferred but it
analysis relationship in the form often is
of a correlation ● Other factors affecting
