In psychology, there are various ways of obtaining information, material for research. One such method is polling. It is popular in various fields. The method of interrogation in psychology has its pros and cons, which are described below.
What it is?
A survey is one of the methods of conducting psychological research. Its feature is that a person receives information through answers to questions. The survey method in psychology is used in the following cases:
- When some factors are difficult to control from the outside.
- If to take into account some factors you need a long and thorough study.
The survey method in psychology is based on asking people specially composed questions. The answers received allow us to find out the necessary information and analyze it. A characteristic feature is its mass, because the psychologist needs to get information about a group of people, not just one individual. Below is a brief description of the survey method in psychology.
There are several varieties of this method:
- Standardized - have a certain framework that allows you to get general information about the subject under study.
- Non-standardized - do not have strict restrictions; there is the possibility of varying the questions depending on the respondent's answers.
After processing the data, the specialist informs the respondent about the results of the study in a language that he understands.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of the survey method in psychology include the following:
- Standardization - the study participants are asked the same questions.
- Simplicity - questionnaires can be sent by mail without using various technical means.
- Ability to conduct a thorough analysis.
- The ability to use statistical methods and data processing on a computer.
But besides the above advantages, there is one significant drawback - it is subjectivity in the analysis of data. This can happen due to the socio-psychological interaction of the specialist and the respondent.
Varieties
There are several types of interrogation method in psychology:
- questioning;
- ladder method - used for marketing research;
- free;
- oral;
- writing;
- standardized
- interview.
Each of them has its own characteristics that must be considered when choosing a particular variety.
Also, the survey method in psychology is classified by the method of interaction with the respondent:
- personal survey - questions are asked by direct contact;
- remote - participation of the researcher is optional.
An online survey is becoming more and more popular - this allows you to conduct a study with a large number of people with minimal cost.
Questioning
One of the varieties of the survey method in social psychology is a questionnaire. To receive information use the questionnaire - this is a specially compiled list of questions. Communication with a psychologist is minimal.
This is one of the most effective ways to get information about a large number of respondents. This survey method allows you to find out the opinions of a large number of people in a short period of time. Questioning by the number of respondents can be:
- individual;
- group
- classroom;
- mass.
By type of contact with a specialist:
- full-time;
- correspondence.
Online questioning is very popular: on many sites you can find a wide variety of profiles.
Interview
It refers to both the survey method in social psychology and the conversation method. The questions are of the type of questionnaire that are asked during the conversation. During the interview, the psychologist does not enter into active interaction with the interviewee, does not express his opinion and does not give a personal assessment.
The main task of a specialist when using the method of conversation in a survey and interviews in psychology is to reduce his attention to a minimum and create a favorable relaxed atmosphere. There are several types of interviews:
- Standardized - questions are asked in a compiled wording and in a certain sequence.
- Non-directional - the specialist draws up only a general plan, asking questions, focusing on the situation. Thanks to this, the psychologist makes contact with the respondent.
- Semi-standardized - combines the features of a standard and non-directional interview.
It can also be:
- preliminary - used at the stage of preparation for the study;
- main - used to collect basic information;
- control - used to verify the disputed results.
Interviews are divided by the number of participants:
Interviews are a common method of interviewing in psychology.
Conversation Requirements
It is important to create suitable conditions for the conversation. The specialist must take care of creating a favorable atmosphere.
- It is necessary to determine the purpose of the conversation, but it is not necessary to talk about it to the interlocutor.
- Identify the main questions - the interviewer should sort the questions according to their significance and the correctness and accuracy of the wording.
- Compose questions to support the conversation based on the individual characteristics of the interlocutor.
- Creating an enabling atmosphere.
All this allows the interlocutor to open up so that the interview turns out to be successful.
Tests
One of the varieties of the survey are tests. They allow you to get an accurate description of the object of study. The following types of testing are available:
- personal - allow you to evaluate a person’s personality;
- scale settings and standardized questionnaires - allow you to assess the interests of the respondent;
- objective tests - allow you to create a situation to assess the actions and behavior of the respondent;
- situational - aimed at assessing human behavior;
- projective tests - allow you to evaluate a person’s response to stimulus material.
Tests allow you to get more objective and accurate data about a person. In some, one answer is implied; in others, more than two possible answers are permissible. Testing is also one way to immediately reach a large group of people, and its results are quite simple to process. Therefore, it is one of the popular varieties of the survey.
Other varieties
For the survey, both sociometric methods and the point system are used - they are used to solve problems characteristic of a certain group of people. For processing take statistical methods.
An oral survey allows you to monitor a person’s response to a question. But for successful implementation, special training is needed. The written version is used when you need to reach a large group of people. But this does not make it possible to analyze a person’s response to questions. A free survey is not limited by a strict framework, which allows the presence of variability of answers.
How to compose questions?
The success of using the survey method depends on how well the questions are framed.
- They must be logical and separate.
- They should not have highly specialized terms, words that are not widespread.
- They should be given in short form.
- If an explanation should be given to a question, then it should be concise.
- Questions must be specific.
- Questions should not contain clues.
- The question should be designed so that the respondent does not give template answers.
- The language of the question should not be too expressive.
If all these recommendations are met, then the survey method allows you to get the necessary information.
What are your questions?
Questions vary depending on the tasks:
- Closed (structured) - the answer is selected from the list. They can be either monosyllables or offer more than 2 answer options. Answers to such questions are easy to handle. But there is a high probability of receiving inaccurate answers.
- Open (unstructured) - they are asked at the preparatory stage of the study. They allow you to track the dynamics of the opinions of respondents. But they are a little harder to process.
- Subjective - takes into account the personal opinion of the respondent.
- Projective - they ask about a third person, not taking into account the respondent.
The accuracy of the survey depends on the correctly selected and composed answers.
Reasons for inaccuracy in the study
The survey method is not a way to obtain accurate information. Due to some errors and inaccuracies, the results may not be entirely accurate.
- Non-response - this makes the selection of responses more biased.
- Errors in the answers - this may be due to an insufficiently accurate wording of the question. Some respondents may give other answers to change the result of the survey. This increases the subjectivity of the analysis of the information received.
- Inaccurate wording of the question.
- Wrong selection of a group of people for research.
The listed factors influence the result of information processing, which is why the method of questioning should not be considered completely objective both in psychology and in sociology.
Areas of use
The application of the survey method in psychology is quite common, especially in social. It is used at the preparatory stage of the study to collect the necessary information. The survey also allows you to refine and expand the data for the study.
But unlike sociology, in social psychology, the survey method is not the main tool in the work. It is also used to find out about the interaction between representatives of various groups of people. The survey helps to find out the opinion of society on any important issue and the value orientations of people.
All this allows us to identify possible ways of development of society and offer options for solving any problems. But the survey is not a completely objective method, therefore, in especially important studies, other methods are used to obtain and process information for the study.
It does not require a large staff of specialists, which is one of its advantages. Despite all the advantages and disadvantages of the survey method in psychology, it is one of the most popular. Such a direction as Internet questioning is developing ever more strongly. This allows you to quickly obtain and process the necessary information for the study. The success of the survey depends on which variety was chosen and how the specialist behaved. It is important to follow the guidelines for writing questions so that the survey results are the most accurate.