In psychology, there are various ways of obtaining information, material for research. One such method is a survey. It is popular in various fields. The survey method in psychology has both pluses and minuses, which are described below.
What is this?
Poll is one of the methods of conducting psychological research. Its peculiarity lies in the fact 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 a long and careful study is needed to account for some factors.
The survey method in psychology is based on asking people specially designed questions. The received answers 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 variations 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, it is possible to vary questions depending on the answers of the respondent.
After processing the data, the specialist informs the respondent about the results of the study in a language he understands.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of the survey method in psychology include the following:
- Standardization - Research participants are asked the same questions.
- Easy - questionnaires can be sent by mail without the use of various technical means.
- Ability to conduct a thorough analysis.
- The possibility of using statistical methods and data processing on a computer.
But in addition to the above advantages, there is one significant drawback - it is subjectivity in data analysis. This can be achieved through the socio-psychological interaction between the specialist and the respondent.
Varieties
There are several types of survey method in psychology:
- questionnaire;
- ladder method - used for market research;
- free;
- oral;
- written;
- standardized;
- interview.
Each of them has its own characteristics that you need to consider when choosing a particular variety.
Also, the survey method in psychology is classified according to the method of interaction withrespondent:
- poll personal - questions are asked through direct contact;
- remote - participation of the researcher is optional.
Internet surveys are becoming more and more popular - this allows you to conduct research with a large number of people at minimal cost.
Questioning
One of the varieties of the survey method in social psychology is the 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 get information about a large number of respondents. This survey method allows you to get the opinion of a large number of people in a short period of time. Questioning by the number of respondents can be:
- individual;
- group;
- classroom;
- bulk.
By type of contact with a specialist:
- full-time;
- in absentia.
Online surveys are very popular: on many sites you can find a wide variety of profiles.
Interview
It refers to both the method of questioning in social psychology and the method of conversation. Questions are made according to the type of questionnaires that are asked during the conversation. The psychologist during the interview 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 insurvey and interview in psychology is to reduce your attention to a minimum and create a favorable relaxed atmosphere. There are several types of interviews:
- Standardized - questions are asked in the formulated wording and in a certain sequence.
- Non-directed - the specialist draws up 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 in preparation for research;
- main - used to collect basic information;
- control - used to check controversial results.
Interviews are divided by the number of participants:
- individual;
- group;
- bulk.
The interview is a common method of questioning in psychology.
Qualification Requirements
It is important to create the right conditions for a conversation. The specialist should take care of creating a favorable atmosphere.
- You need to determine the purpose of the conversation, but you do not need to tell the interlocutor about it.
- Identify the main questions - the interviewer should rank the questions according to their importance and the correctness and accuracy of the wording.
- Make questions to keep the conversation going based on the individual characteristics of the interlocutor.
- Creationcongenial atmosphere.
All this allows the interlocutor to open up to make the interview successful.
Tests
One of the types of surveys are tests. They allow you to get an accurate description of the object of study. There are the following types of testing:
- personal - allow you to assess the personality of a person;
- setting scales and standardized questionnaires - allow assessing the interests of the respondent;
- objective tests - allow you to create a situation for assessing the actions and behavior of the respondent;
- situational - aimed at assessing human behavior;
- projective tests - allow you to evaluate a person's reaction to stimulus material.
Tests allow you to get more objective and accurate data about a person. Some require one answer, others allow more than two answers. Testing is also one of the ways to immediately reach a large group of people, and its results are quite simple to process. Therefore, it is one of the most popular types of surveys.
Other varieties
For the survey, both sociometric methods and a point system are used - they are used to solve problems specific to a certain group of people. Statistical methods are used for processing.
Oral poll 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. The free survey is not limited by strict limits, which allows the presence of variability in answers.
How to write questions correctly?
The success of using the survey method depends on how well the questions are formulated.
- They should be logical and separate.
- They should not contain highly specialized terms, infrequent words.
- They must be given in short form.
- If an explanation is to be given to a question, it should be concise.
- Questions should be specific.
- Questions should not contain clues.
- The question should be designed in such a way that the respondent does not give formulaic answers.
- The language of the question should not be too expressive.
If all these recommendations are followed, then the polling method allows you to get the information you need.
What are the questions?
Questions vary depending on the task at hand:
- Closed (structured) - the answer is chosen from the list. They can be either monosyllabic or offer more than 2 answers. The answers to such questions are easy to process. But there is a high chance of getting inaccurate answers.
- Open (unstructured) - they are set at the preparatory stage of the study. They allow you to track the dynamics of respondents' opinions. But they are a bit harder to process.
- Subjective - personal opinion is taken into accountrespondent.
- Projective - they ask about a third person, not taking into account the respondent.
The accuracy of the survey depends on correctly chosen and composed answers.
Reasons for inaccuracies in the study
The polling method is not a way to get accurate information. Due to some errors and inaccuracies, the results may not be entirely accurate.
- Not getting responses - this makes the selection of responses more biased.
- Mistakes in the 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.
- Wrong selection of a group of people for research.
These factors influence the result of information processing, which is why the survey method should not be considered completely objective in both psychology and sociology.
Usage areas
The use of the survey method in psychology is quite common, especially in social psychology. 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 research.
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 different 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 makes it possible to determine possible ways for the development of society and offer options for solving any problems. But the survey is not a completely objective method, therefore, in critical 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. The direction of Internet questioning is developing more and more. This allows you to quickly receive and process the necessary information for research. The success of the application of 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 that the survey results are as accurate as possible.
