interviews Flashcards
types of interviews
structured
semi-structured
unstructured
structured interviews
a closed answered questionnaire is read out to respondents following a set script
little scope for interaction between the respondent and the interviewer
semi-structured interviews
the interviewer has a interview schedule but will follow up on issues of relevance that come up in the interview
unstructured interviews
the interviewer may have some topics they wish to discuss but the interview can cover any issues in depth
practical advantages to structured
response rate - better response rate than questionnaires
time - quicker to conduct than more unstructured so large sample - Willmott and Young - 933 interviews
Personal skills - dont need special training
ethical advantages to structured
informed consent and privacy - people are free to not take part and respondents coded numerically
theoretical advantages to structured
interviewer effect - conducted in a more formal manner and answers more limited, so less chance of interviewer bias than with semi- or unstructured- this produces higher validity - positivists
generalisability - large samples
practical issues for structured
time - more time-consuming than other forms such as questionnaires if sample is large
theoretical issues for structured
interviewer effect - lower validity - social desirability effect
interviewer bias - may ask leading questions - tone and facial expressions may influence responses
validity - structured interviews are seen as having the same problems of validity as questionnaires
practical advantages to semi-structured
time - whilst taking longer than structured interviews - relatively quick way to gain qualitative data
theoretical advantages to semi-structured
validity - allows some depth and detail as interviewers can probe to further responses - validity
triangulation - provide in-depth info to particular questions - interviews help create questionnaires - may be used alongside questionnaires to provide qualitative data to support quantitative
theoretical disadvantages to semi-structure
reliability - unstructured part is less reliable, less comparable and more difficult to quantify
limited flexibility - closely linked to specific questions and topics - unable to cover new possibilities
practical advantages for unstructured
rapport - building rapport with respondent, trust is built between interviewer and respondent - useful for access to sensitive groups
theoretical advantages to unstructured
flexibility - direct interview towards own priorities - high validity - interpretivists
honesty - rapport - more likely to be truthful - valid - interpretivists
in-depth
practical issues for unstructured
time-consuming - limit sample size
personal skills - communication and emphasising skills of researcher
sociological knowledge - so they can recognise relevant points and probe further - issues if professional interviewer and not specialist sociologist
ethical issues for unstructured
confidentiality - research publications quote from interviews - anonymity may be compromised esp with observations
theoretical disadvantages for unstructured
representative - time consuming - small sample
qualitative data - ahrd to quantify
low reliability - different interviewers will always get different responses as would same interviewer
low comparability
validity - positivists - social desirability effect and interviewer effect is stronger and also analysis is subjective
group interviews
interview a number of people at the same time
practical advantages for group
cost and time
theoretical advantages for group
group interaction - good for exploring group dynamics and interactions - high validity of how people interact with others
in-depth data - respondents may feel less self-conscious in a group and so reveal more of their true opinions and feelings - high validity
theoretical issues of groups
validity - pressured by group - conformity - Asch
validity - one or two individuals may dominate discussion
reliability - cannot be repeated
representative - researcher try to produce a rounded sample, small numbers
positivist views on interviews
favour structured interviews - reliable, objective and representative
closed ended questions - correlations and causal laws
unstructured lack validity and are subjectively analysed
interpretivist views on interviews
favour unstructured as in-depth info and rapport
feminist views on interviews
favour unstructured as respondents become equal partner in discussion so remove patriarchal power
