Characteristics of the survey method in psychology

Survey methods refer to the empirical methods (methods of collecting psychological data) of psychology along with the observational method and psychometric methods.

A feature of survey methods is that the source of psychological information is the knowledge and personal experience of self-observation of the subjects; therefore, the answers received in a questionnaire or interview are not an objective reality, but people’s opinions about this reality, which requires analysis and interpretation.

Survey methods include questionnaires and interviews. A questionnaire is a correspondence survey that requires independent and written answers to the proposed questions. It is advisable to conduct it when a psychologist is studying sensitive, controversial issues, as well as when it is necessary to interview a large number of subjects. An interview is a conversation conducted according to a specific plan, which involves direct contact and personal communication between the interviewer and the respondent.

Types of interviews

There are the following types of interviews:

Standardized is an interview conducted strictly according to the questionnaire without deviations in the wording of questions and without additional clarification on each question. A standardized interview is essentially no different from a questionnaire read aloud. The advantages of a standardized interview are the comparability and comparability of the results obtained during the interview, and a low number of errors. This type of interview does not require special training for the interviewer and allows you to interview a large number of people. Disadvantages of a standardized interview include the possibility of misunderstanding the questions contained in the interview.
A non-standardized interview also has a plan, but in its form it resembles a free conversation. This type of interview includes variability in wording, clarification, clarification and detailed responses from respondents. The advantages of a non-standardized interview include greater understanding of the questions by the respondent and mutual understanding between the interviewer and the respondent. The information received is deep and meaningful. The negative aspects of this method are the complexity of processing, the difficulty of comparing the answers of different respondents and, as a consequence, the small sample size of respondents.
A semi-standardized interview occupies an intermediate position between the first and second types of interviews. Some of these interviews are standardized, some are non-standardized.

There are also individual and group interviews.

What it is?

A survey is one of the methods of conducting psychological research. Its peculiarity is that a person receives information by answering questions. The survey method in psychology is used in the following cases:

When some factors are difficult to control from the outside.
If taking into account certain factors requires a long and thorough study.

The survey method in psychology is based on asking people specially designed questions. The answers received allow you to find out the necessary information and analyze it. A characteristic feature is its mass nature, because the psychologist needs to obtain information about a group of people, and 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 obtain general information about the subject under study.
Non-standardized - do not have strict restrictions; it is possible to vary 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 he understands.

The impact of stress on results

Any exam is stressful. Given the lack of knowledge about such questionnaires, as well as their controversial reputation, it is clear that they cause even more stress than other employment tests. If other tests measure specific skills or abilities, then your personality is not something you could construct or choose for yourself. In fact, even you are not fully aware of every aspect of it. Therefore, the intrusion of someone else's experience into your mind and an attempt to reach its most hidden depths is undoubtedly unpleasant, to put it mildly. The resulting stress impacts the entire process and every effort should be made to minimize its impact.

The stress associated with taking a test may affect your behavior in the following ways:

Negligence
Trying too hard
Indecisiveness
Annoying behavior

Negligence

When a person is exposed to stress, they may ignore any details in a test question, and, as a result, make a hasty decision. For example, you can choose the first answer that you “liked” and at first glance seems correct, rather than fully delve into the essence of the question in order to select the appropriate answer.

Important! Most often, people automatically skip such important words as “no” or “none.” You don't want such stupid mistakes to happen to you.

Here is an example of a question from a personality questionnaire:

People don't understand my good intentions.

Sometimes it's true
It's always not true

If you don't think through both of these options, you may be tempted to choose option B to avoid being perceived as resenting people. However, almost all of us have been in a situation where we were not understood correctly. Therefore, the answer “Always untrue” is inappropriate. By choosing option B, you run the risk of being mistaken for someone who believes he cannot be misunderstood. It is extremely important to carefully read both the question and each of the possible answers, and pay close attention to words such as “always”, “never”, “sometimes”, “usually”. In tests, the appearance of words such as “always” and “never” are the bells that let you know that you should be more careful.

Trying too hard

Typically, there is either no time limit for taking a personality test, or it is long enough that you can spend 1-2 minutes on each question. Some applicants take the instruction to take their time literally and spend too much time answering. You should be aware that in many assessment centers and in some computer applications, time plays a hidden role. The total time required to complete the test, the time required to think about the answer, is often recorded by the program and transmitted to the employer. If you worry too much about test results, you start spending extra time thinking about each question, rethinking your answers and revisiting them. You will end up spending too much time finishing the test.

Evaluators will take note of your hesitant behavior and may conclude that you are too slow in stressful situations.

Indecisiveness

Other candidates, under severe pressure, become very indecisive. Imagine you were asked the following question:

I don't mind being interrupted while working.

A. I agree

B. Neither agree nor disagree

B. I do not agree

This question may also appear in a Likert scale format, in which numbers indicate how much you identify with the sentence:

I don't mind being interrupted while working.

1 2 3 4 5

When deciding how to answer this question, you may be wondering whether you should show that you like to be very focused when you're doing your work, or whether you should show that you're approachable even while concentrating on other things. As a result, you may be tempted to choose a neutral, hesitant answer (neither agree, nor disagree, or the middle number on the Likert scale). A neutral response throughout the test may lead evaluators to conclude that you are an indecisive person and cannot cope with testing in the given situation. This kind of indecision won't help you, and employers don't like it.

For cases where you are inclined to choose the neutral option, we recommend that you consider in detail which answer best represents the qualities that are suitable for the applied position. For example, if you are going to work as a customer service representative, you must show that you are always available. Conversely, if you are going to work as a programmer, focus and concentration are more important qualities. Despite the above rule, sometimes it is good to choose the middle answer. However, if you answer a large number of questions this way, it will be considered a problematic pattern.

Annoying behavior

Stress can also affect your behavior towards examiners. Some applicants are so concerned about their test results that they repeatedly harass examiners by asking questions and asking for clarification. Such behavior would be a sign of an inability to act effectively in an ambiguous situation.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of the survey method in psychology include the following:

Standardization—research participants are asked the same questions.
Simplicity - questionnaires can be sent by mail without using various technical means.
Possibility of thorough analysis.
Ability to use statistical methods and process data on a computer.

But besides the listed advantages, there is one significant drawback - subjectivity in data analysis. This can be achieved through socio-psychological interaction between the specialist and the respondent.

Preparation

Preparation:

Conceptualization. Researchers must assign a goal for the procedure, clarify concepts, and put forward hypotheses.
Schematization. Search for side techniques that will complement the survey, selection of suitable practices.
Preparation of tools. Specialists must prepare forms.
Planning. At this stage, researchers must solve logistical, organizational, financial and administrative problems.
Selecting respondents for one group.

Varieties

There are several types of survey methods in psychology:

survey;
ladder method - used for marketing research;
free;
oral;
writing;
standardized;
interview.

Each of them has its own characteristics that must be taken into account when choosing a specific variety.

Also, the survey method in psychology is classified according to the method of interaction with the respondent:

personal survey - questions are asked through direct contact;
remote - the participation of the researcher is not necessary.

Online surveys are becoming increasingly popular - this allows you to conduct research with a large number of people at minimal cost.

Kinds

Kinds:

Expert. Used to determine the opinion of experts.
Problem. A specific situation or problem is studied and solutions are searched for.
Situational. Research is needed to identify the opinions of a large audience at a specific period of time or at a specific moment.
Panel. Experts address the same audience several times. The first time general questions are asked, the second time in-depth questions.

Depending on the method of interaction, surveys are divided into two groups - remote and personal. Personal ones are carried out directly with the respondent, remote ones through video communication, social networks or letters.

Questioning

One of the varieties of the survey method in social psychology is questioning. To obtain information, a questionnaire is used - this is a specially compiled list of questions. Communication with a psychologist is minimal.

This is one of the most effective ways to obtain information from 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. A survey based on the number of respondents can be:

individual;
group;
classroom;
massive.

By type of contact with a specialist:

full-time;
correspondence

Online surveys are very popular: on many sites you can find a wide variety of questionnaires.

Tips for beginners

Now let me give you some tips for optimizing your activities:

Register on several sites. If you want to get more or less tangible income, register for five or more surveys. This way you can earn up to 3-4 thousand rubles per month.
Answer honestly. Just use your own experience, don’t invent anything - all kinds of fantasies can get you banned. Sanctions may also apply for other violations, so I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the rules in advance.
Involve referrals whenever possible. Place affiliate links everywhere you go on the Internet (on social networks, on forums, in discussions). If another user follows your link and begins active activity, the surveyor will give you a percentage of his earnings. Deductions are made from the resource commission; the referral earns the same amount as other participants in the system.
Stay in touch. Periodically check your email or log into your personal account: this way you won’t miss the most favorable offers in terms of price.
Don't limit yourself to one type of activity. Taking surveys can bring in a certain amount, but it certainly won’t be enough for a comfortable life. I recommend taking a closer look at more qualified and highly paid types of online activities: copywriting, SMM, SEO promotion, website creation, graphic design, and so on.

I hope that by reading today’s post, you not only learned about the existence of online surveys, but also got an idea of how to make an income from them.

Interview

It refers to both the survey method in social psychology and the conversation method. The questions are based on the survey type, which are asked during a conversation. During the interview, the psychologist does not actively interact with the interviewee, does not express his opinion and does not give a personal assessment.

The main task of a specialist when using the conversation method in surveys 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 written wording and in a certain sequence.
Non-directional - the specialist makes only a general plan, asking questions, focusing on the situation. Thanks to this, the psychologist establishes contact with the respondent.
Semi-standardized - combines the features of a standard and undirected interview.

It can also be:

preliminary - used at the stage of preparation for the study;
basic - used to collect basic information;
control - used to check controversial results.

Interviews are divided according to the number of participants:

individual;
group;
massive.

Interviews are a common survey method in psychology.

INTRODUCTION

Psychology solves its problems using certain methods. Method is the way of knowing the truth. There are a general method (methodology), general (inherent in a number of sciences) and private (specific to a given science) methods, as well as research techniques and means.

Methods are based on theory and methodology. Each specific science, using general methods, clarifies, specifies and transforms them in relation to the conditions and objectives of its research.

The main methods of collecting information are observation (the study of external manifestations of feelings, actions, deeds and behavior of people and groups in various conditions of their life and activities) and experiment (the active intervention of the researcher in the process being studied).

Observation and experiment are complemented by other methods: individual (conversations) and mass - surveys (questionnaires, tests, interviews), generalization of independent characteristics, etc. .

In this paper we will consider the survey method.

Requirements for conducting a conversation

It is important to create suitable conditions for the conversation. The specialist must take care to create a favorable atmosphere.

You need to determine the purpose of the conversation, but you don’t need to talk about it to your interlocutor.
Determine the main questions - the interviewer should rank the questions according to their importance and correctness and precision of wording.
Make up questions to maintain a conversation based on the individual characteristics of the interlocutor.
Creating a favorable atmosphere.

All this allows the interlocutor to open up so that the interview turns out successful.

Tests

One type of survey is tests. They allow you to obtain an accurate description of the research object. The following types of testing exist:

personal - allow you to assess a person’s personality;
Attitude scales and standardized questionnaires allow you to assess the interests of the respondent;
objective tests - allow you to create a situation to evaluate the actions and behavior of the respondent;
situational - aimed at assessing human behavior;
projective tests - allow you to assess a person’s reaction to stimulus material.

Tests allow you to obtain more objective and accurate data about a person. Some require one answer, while others allow more than two possible answers. Testing is also a way to reach a large group of people at once, and the results are fairly easy to process. Therefore, it is one of the popular types of survey.

Other varieties

For the survey, both sociometric methods and a point system are used - they are used to solve problems characteristic of a certain group of people. Statistical methods are used for processing.

Oral questioning allows you to observe a person's reaction to a question. But for successful implementation, special preparation 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 reaction to questions. A free survey is not limited by strict boundaries, which allows for variability in responses.

How to write questions correctly?

The success of using the survey method depends on how well the questions are written.

They should be logical and separate.
They should not contain highly specialized terms or less common words.
They must be given in a short form.
If an explanation is to be given to a question, it should be concise.
Questions must be specific.
Questions should not contain hints.
The question should be designed in such a way that the respondent does not give template answers.
The language in which the question is written should not be too expressive.

If all these recommendations are followed, then the survey method allows you to obtain the necessary information.

What are the questions?

The questions vary depending on the objectives:

Closed (structured) - the answer is chosen from the list. They can be either monosyllabic or offer more than 2 answer options. The answers to such questions are easy to process. 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 respondents’ opinions. But they are a little more difficult to process.
Subjective - the personal opinion of the respondent is taken into account.
Projective - they ask about a third person, without taking into account the respondent.

The accuracy of the survey depends on 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 completely accurate.

Non-response - this makes the sample of responses more biased.
Errors in answers - this may be due to insufficiently precise wording of the question. Some respondents may give different answers to change the outcome of the survey. This increases the subjectivity of the analysis of the information received.
Inaccurate wording of the question.
Incorrect selection of a group of people for the study.

The listed factors influence the result of information processing, which is why the survey method should not be considered completely objective in both psychology and sociology.

Difficulties of Personality Questionnaire Instructions

Personality questionnaires always begin with a preface containing instructions. It would seem that following instructions is always a winning strategy. But in fact, some of the most common answer instructions on personality questionnaires can lead you to mistakes. The most common ones are:

Just be yourself.
There are no right or wrong answers.
Give the first answer that comes to your mind.
Nobody is perfect; everyone makes mistakes.

We believe these instructions are incorrect. Below we will tell you in detail why personality questionnaires should be completed as thoughtfully and carefully as possible.

Misleading Instruction #1: Just be yourself.

The purpose of this instruction, according to the evaluators, is to obtain the most reliable answers from candidates. According to this philosophy, if you are generally shy, you will be shy during interviews and selection tests, and if you are impulsive by nature, you will respond accordingly.

Let's analyze: what does “being yourself” really mean? Our daily behavior directly depends on the situation in which we find ourselves. The nature of these situations affects our stress levels, which in turn affects our behavior. You can be aggressive in one situation but polite in another. What side of your personality do you want to show the employer when taking this questionnaire?

We believe that being yourself is an instruction that leads you to show your flaws and weaknesses. And, on the contrary, composure, and not self-indulgence, will give you the opportunity to show your best side.

For example, a person prone to aggression can be polite if he is aware of this shortcoming and understands the advantages of polite behavior. Or a normally shy person may become assertive if he is aware of the fact that this characteristic of him may hinder his chances of climbing the corporate ladder.

Therefore, you should not expose yourself completely to the evaluators. Think about what each answer says about you.

Misleading Instruction #2: There are no right or wrong answers.

Employers always say about personality questionnaires that there are no wrong answers. This is clearly not true. Personality questionnaires are used for screening purposes and selecting the best candidate for a particular job. Therefore, recruiters will recommend to the employer those who best meet the criteria and job description and will reject those who do not meet the requirements. This means that there are right and wrong answers associated with specific job criteria.

Misleading Instruction #3: Give the first answer that comes to mind.

The purpose of this sentence is to encourage you not to think about the consequences of your answers and to respond spontaneously. But more often than not, a spontaneous, thoughtless answer is not necessarily the best, either in life or on a selection test.

For example, if your boss treats you rudely at work, then rashly insulting him back is likely to be a stupid move that could cost you your job.

Most people understand that it is usually better to swallow the insult, cool down and return to the situation later with a cool head and sober calculation. On a personality test, as in real life, you must be careful and calculating, you must think before you answer and take into account the results of your actions.

Areas of use

The use of the survey method in psychology is quite common, especially in social psychology. It is used at the preparatory stage of research to collect the necessary information. The survey also allows you to clarify 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 interactions between representatives of different groups of people. A survey helps to find out the public’s opinion on any important issue and people’s value orientations.

All this allows us to determine possible ways of development of society and offer options for solving any problems. But a survey is not a completely objective method, so in particularly important studies, other methods are used to obtain and process information for research.

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 online surveying is increasingly developing. This allows you to quickly obtain and process the necessary information for research. The success of using the survey depends on which variety was chosen and how the specialist behaved. It is important to follow the guidelines for writing questions to ensure the most accurate survey results.

Data analysis

After completing the survey, you need to collect the data obtained and begin analyzing it. It is not always possible to obtain accurate information using questionnaires. Causes:

Incorrectly formulated questions.
Prejudice towards the respondent.
Wrong choice of people for the group.

A psychological survey is a method of obtaining information of interest. They can be carried out as a separate study, but it is better to use them in combination with other methods. This will help to obtain accurate data and eliminate the shortcomings of questionnaires.