Are You Asking the Correct Person (Hint: Oftentimes You are Not!)? Stop Worrying About Unfounded Common Method Bias Arguments and Start Using My Guide to Make Better Decisions of When to Use Self- and Other-Reports

Imagine a criminal trial. The prosecution calls an eyewitness. During cross-examination, the eyewitness reveals that s/he did not actually see the crime, or who did it. The jury convicts anyway, based on the testimony of the eyewitness, which was based on nothing. This may seem ridiculous and unjust, and we certainly would not stand for it in our criminal justice system (hopefully!). However, we do this all of the time in our own studies by asking employees or supervisors to provide assessments of the behaviors of a co-worker or subordinate whose behaviors they are unable to observe! Citizenship, deviance, task performance…it has become the norm in our discipline. But it should not have become the norm and I am here to yell at you in text form to STOP COLLECTING DATA FROM THE WRONG PERSON!