interviews

Question 1

what is an interview

Answer 1

face-to-face questions

Question 2

what are structured interviews

Answer 2

involves identical closed questions being read to pps, with the interviewer writing down answers
no much training needed, interviews are easy to conduct

Question 3

what are unstructured interviews

Answer 3

involves an informal discussion on a particular topic
interviewers can explore interesting answers by asking follow-up questions
interviewers need considerable training and skill to conduct these

Question 4

what are semi-structured interviewers

Answer 4

combining structured and unstructured interviews

producing quantitative and qualitative data

Question 5

strengths of interviews

Answer 5

complex issues - complicated or sensitive issues can be dealt with in face-to-face interviews by making pps feel relaxed and able to talk. this is particularly true of unstructured interviews
ease misunderstandings - any misunderstood questions can be explained/adapted so understood
data analysis - semi interviews produce both types of data which can complement each other. structured interviews produce qualitative data that is easily analysed
replication - more standardised/structured interviews are easy to replicate. unstructured interviews less easy to replicate but should be possible for other researchers to review data

Question 6

weaknesses of interviews

Answer 6

interviewer effects - interviewers may unconsciously bias answers e.g. by appearance for example women may be less likely to talk about sex with male interviewers
interviews are also subject to demand characteristics and social desirability bias
interview training - lot of skill required to carry out unstructured interviews, particularly concerning sensitive issues and such interviewers aren’t easy to find
ethical issues - pps may not know purpose of interview and there is also danger that pps may reveal more than they wish
pps answers - interviews not suited to those who have difficulty opening up
interview data can be time-consuming to analyse when so detailed
interviews require pps to have basic competency to be successful so limits sample size and representiveness

Question 7

what variables affect the decisions made about who the most appropriate interviewer is?

Answer 7

gender and age - sex and age of interviews affect pps answers when topics are of sensitive sexual nature
ethnicity - interviewers may have difficulty interviewing people from different ethnic backgrounds to themselves
personal characteristics and adopted role - interviewers can adopt different roles within an interview e.g. setting, appearance