INTERVIEWS

Question 1

Reasons to chose interviews?

Answer 1

to explore phenomena not yet researched
when u need individuals perspective
when research is based on experiences, opinions, and attitudes
opportunities of probing required
to increase response rates

Question 2

structured interviews

Answer 2

often used for quant
standardised questions
easy to analyse 
positivist view of knowledge
responders anonymity easy to provide

Question 3

semi- structured

Answer 3

used for qual- non standardised (additional questions may be asked)
careful planning and prep needed
you transcribe after (verbatium)

mixture of positivist/non positivist
slow and time consuming
harder to ensure anonymity

interviewer promts ppts- maybe rewording questions

Question 4

non directive interviews

Answer 4

used for qual-
explore issues and topics in depth and questions are not normally pre planned- allow ppts to talk freely around chosen topic
interviewers input is mainly to provide clarity to answers, checking what they are saying and if they understand what they are saying

Question 5

focused interviews

Answer 5

respondents response to a known situation which they have been in. Interviewer has previous research to can re focus the ppts
e.g. interviewer has already watched an autobiography but wants to explore the person in more depth

Question 6

informal conversational interviews

Answer 6

spontaneous generation of questions as the interview progresses- very felxibile
however very hard to analyse as different responders have different questions and it is unlikely notes were taking as it need to be ‘informal’

Question 7

problem centred interviews

Answer 7

2 phased- first stage open questions’

second stage prepared questions to ensure focus

Question 8

what is an interview schedule?

designing an interview

Answer 8

what you have with you in the interview as prompts or questions
they are used to guide the conversation
must always avoid leading questions and ambiguous questions

Question 9

how to increase validity and reliability in interviews- how to design and perform a credible interview- things to remember when doing an interview

Answer 9

.important to limit interview effects
.build rapport and trust- engage with participant showing u are listening and value their opinions
.use prompts
.piolet the interview
.good length of interview for detail- do not rush
.be mindful of language used
.NO bias probes- limit bias write ups/ question asking and order/ not following a sequence
.don’t ask leading questions
.keep personal opinions and experiences to yourself
.consistency between each interview

Question 10

Focus groups

Answer 10

researcher and a group of ppts
groups of people asked their opinions on a topic- gathering a collective response
interaction/communication between participants is vital

Question 11

when would we use focus groups?

Answer 11

intervention designs- understanding publics perception of a particular intervention
market research- testing new products
social sciences sector- qualitative research, getting a shared overall opinion- gathering shared perspectives

focus groups are more flexible

Question 12

methodology of focus groups

Answer 12

4-8 ppts
interviewee sets ground rules at the start (confidentiality, respect group dynamics)

researcher is merely moderating- does not direct question to a ppts

Question 13

why we use focus groups- characteristics of focus groups

Answer 13

more naturalistic than 1-1 interviews

these are audio recorded and then transcribed

Question 14

issues with iterviews

Answer 14

only account for perspective of ppts
do not allow for in situ (real time) understanding of phenomena
quality depends on the skills of the interviewer
focus on words- ignores other senses which we can get through observation