Interviews

Question 1

Interview

Answer 1

A non experimental research method designed to gather self-reported information directly from participants

Question 2

Structured interview

Answer 2

A standardised pre-set list that a respondent is asked. The questions are set beforehand and the researcher will not deviate from the interview schedule. Suitable for large scale studies where there are a lot of respondents

Question 3

Semi-Structured interview

Answer 3

A mix of pre-set questions and unprepared questions that a respondent is asked. This allows some free flowing conversation to occur, allowing the interviewer to explore the respondents thoughts and beliefs.

Question 4

Unstructured interview

Answer 4

A free flowing conversation with no prepared questions around a particular topic with a respondent. This type of interview is most suitable when in depth information needs to be gathered from small group respondents.

Question 5

Strengths of an interview

Answer 5

Gathers information about beliefs, attitudes and opinions which cant be done in experiments.
Structured interviews are able to gather large amounts of info from many people relatively quickly
Unstructured interviews gather the most in depth information

Question 6

Weaknesses of an interview

Answer 6

Respondents may suffer from social desirability bias and the interview may show an interviewer effect
Structured interviews only gather superficial answers and don’t allow free answers
Semi structured interviews are more time consuming than structured interviews
Unstructured interviews are impossible to replicate because not all respondents ask the same questions