Taking the Surveys Ourselves

RAs in lab this week are taking one of our protocol surveys themselves and it is informative to hear first hand student opinion of the surveys we are actually using. In my humble opinion, taking measure ourselves before using them is almost always a good idea so that not only can we familiarize ourselves with the content of these measures but also, so that we get a sense as to what the *experience* of taking them is all about. It is one thing to know what the questions ask but quite another to have to answer them ourselves. In our case, our RAs are much younger than our participants so there is always the added challenge of factoring that into our perceptions. I cannot help but wonder how our research literature may have changed, had every researcher in the past, done this. For example, I wonder how the Stanford Prison Study (Haney, Banks, & Zimbardo, 1973) may have been different if Phil Zimbardo had actually served in the role of 'prisoner'? (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKW_MzREPp4) ;-)


AES

Haney, C., Banks, W., & Zimbardo, P. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69-97.