Interview

Question 1

What is an unstructured interview?

Answer 1

The interviewer has one or a number of topics to cover but the questions are not pre-set. They are less formal and more flexible. The interviewer may use some unstructured and open questions to guide the interviewee who is encouraged to talk freely

Question 2

What are two strengths of unstructured interviews?

Answer 2

They are useful when people have had unusual experiences and they are likely to produce a variety of rich and insightful responses

Question 3

What are two limitations of unstructured interviews?

Answer 3

They are difficult to quantify and produce qualitative data. Also, the interviewer may affect responses by non-verbal cues eg facial expressions

Question 4

What are structured interviews?

Answer 4

They involve a list of questions that require the respondent to choose from a selection of possible answers. It is like a verbal questionnaire

Question 5

What are two strengths of structured interviews?

Answer 5

It is quantifiable as participants choose from a fixed selection of responses. It also allows comparisons to be made as the answers are the same

Question 6

What are two limitations of a structured interview?

Answer 6

The data only produces a limited picture as the questions are pre-selected and they give socially desirable answers due to the style of questions

Question 7

What are four guidelines for a successful structured interview?

Answer 7

Each person is given the same questions in the same order, the interviewers should be friendly and business like, the interviewer should not become emotionally involved and they should not communicate their feelings about the answers

Question 8

What are four guidelines for a successful unstructured urged interview?

Answer 8

The interviewer must be sympathetic and hide their true feelings, the interviewer may ask them to develop and clarify answers, the respondent must express themselves freely and trust between the relationship of the interviewer and respondent