Interviews Flashcards
Structured interviews
Pre determined and a set number of questions and preferred by positivists
Unstructured interviews
May start with pre determined questions but new questions can develop based on the participants answers , preferred by interpretivists
Semi structured interviews
- mix of close and open questions that collect both qual and quant data
- allows interviewer some flexibility to ask for clarification of vague answers
Strengths of structured and semi structured interviews
P + ensure the right person responds to the questions
P + Interviews are better for those with lower literacy skills
T + postivists like because they produce lots of quantitative data
Limitations of structured/semi structured interviews
P - training interviews can be expensive
T - interpretivists dislike as structured interviews are inflexible
T - social desirability bias
Example of a structured interview
Milgram (1963) = carried out an interview after the shock experiment, why ps followed instructions to administer the shock
Group interview
- researcher interviews several people at the same time
- directly asks questions to the group but they are flexible
- usually used on children who aren’t confident to open up to an adult one on one
- quantitative data
Focus group
- panel of adults is introduced to a topic and told to discuss
- observer focuses on the groups interactions
- produces qualitative data
Strengths of unstructured/group interviews?
T + interpretivists like because trust and rapport is established through empathy and listening skills = high validity
T + not restricted by a schedule - researcher can follow up responses and expand on answers
Limitations of un structured/group interviews
P - time consuming and expensive
T - positives dislike = method is unscientific and unreliable as there are no standardised questions
T - qual data is difficult to analyse
