ABSTRACT
Self-reporting methods create data by asking participants to record their experiences and reactions, usually in their own way or in their own words. Self-reporting strategies have a level of unpredictability associated with them because the researcher has limited influence over the data creation process. It is worth noting the limits of self-reporting when it comes to concrete measures of skills—journals and so on do a great job of capturing people’s perceptions of their abilities but do not provide direct evidence. The hallmark of self-reporting methods is the individuality of the data. The use of self-reporting makes the most sense in situations where the potential for and value of deep engagement outweigh the degree of control over the process researchers hand over to participants. It is worth thinking about the issue of authenticity when deciding if and how to use self-reporting, and the researcher will have to make a judgment about how much of a problem this is likely to be.
