Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data

While psychologists have often employed the technique of protocol analysis—or the use of the subject's own verbal reports as data—in exploring cognitive processes, the nature and reliability of the method have been poorly understood. This book finally puts protocol analysis on firm ground by examining its underlying assumptions, techniques, and limitations. It addresses such key questions as what sorts of reports about what sorts of mental events are reliable; what the role of the investigator's interpretations should be in helping to understand such data; and what mental events cannot be explained by protocols.

The authors describe a general theory of cognitive processes and structure, which, they argue, accounts for verbalization and verbal reports. The theory is presented in the form of an information processing model. Major issues surrounding the use and validity of verbal reports are taken up and empirical studies are discussed within the framework of the model. While the book focuses on reports of cognitive processes, the concepts and models it employs can be extended to such areas of verbal behavior as psychophysics, survey design, and measurement of personality traits.

A Bradford Book

K. Anders Ericsson holds the Dr. Edward Conradi Eminent Scholar Chair of Psychology at Florida State University.