Interviews Flashcards
What are group interviews
Where a number of participants are interviewed at the same time
What is the group interview studied that I will link to
WILLIS
He carried out a group interview with 12 working class lad to find out how capitalism helped to shake their education
In the interview the boys were able to build on each others ideas which allowed for greater depth
He found that the boys inverted the school rules as the saw through the capitalist ideology and that not matter how hard the worked they wouldn’t succeed
What are the practical advantages of group interviews
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS - the researcher CAGE won’t matter as much as in a 1 to 1 interview as the ppts outnumber the interviewer giving ppts confidence to speak freely
TIME AND COST - likely doing the interviews in small groups is quicker than individual so saves time and consequently money
What are the practical disadvantages of group interviews
Topic - some people won’t want to discuss sensitive topics information of a group of fear of embarrassment
Recording data - many ppts talking makes it difficult to record info so special recording equipment is needed and consent for the use of that must also be gained
What are the ethical advantages of group interviews
INFORMED CONSENT is given as ppts chose whether to show up or not to the interview
What are the ethical disadvantage of group interviews
CONFIDENTIALITY- this is hindered by the presence of other as there is nothing stopping another ppts talking about what was said other the interview. This may make ppts less likely to say what they actually think and instead chose the socially desirable answer
PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM - this may occur if recalling painful memories in front of other
What is the theoretical advantage of group interviews
VALIDITY - more detailed in-depth data can be triggered by what others say. In WILLIS study the boys where able to build on what the others said
What is the theoretically disadvantages of group interviews
Reliablity - each group interview is different as different issues come up
Representative - some ppts will naturally dominate the discussion more so not representative of a wider target population
Impression management - could get responses of group culture, not individuals real views reduces validity
What is the unstructured interview that I will link to
Dobash and dobash - violence against women 1980
-carried out over 100 unstructured interviews of domestic violence victims
-some took up to 8 hours
-discussion points were ; the first , worst and last time
-they found that the trigger was often women challenging male authority
- they often used tending questions
What are the practical advantages of unstructured interviews
INFORMAL NATURE means that interviewer can build a rapport with the ppts, this will put then at ease when talking about sensitive topics e.g. dobash and dobash talked about domestic violence
What are the practical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
The depth and details makes this method very TIME CONSUMING making more costly and means less people can be interviewed e.g. Dobash and dobash interviews where up to 8 hours long
TRAINING INTERVIEWERS for this method needs to be more through so takes more time and is more costly. For example interviewers need good interpersonal skills so you appear no judgemental and compassionate
What are the ethical advantage of unstructured interviews
It’s a good way to research sensitive topics as the researcher can build a RAPPORT and trust with ppts which helps to MINIMISE HARD e.g D+D asked about domestic violence
What are the ethical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
Some people might feel uncomfortable discussing private sensitive info to a person face to face
PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM may occur when ppts recall negative experiences e.g D+D asked ppts to recall domestic violence and through doing this ppts have to relive their trauma
What are the theoretical advantages of using an unstructured interview
A rapport can be established allowing for depth of valid data and enable interviewer to gain verstehen .
FLEXIBLE as you can uncover more in-depth detailed data in new topic areas e.g. D+D tangent can hale them to also find out about criminal justice and mental health
It’s easy to check meanings - don’t have to stick to a script - VALIDITY
What are the theoretical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
Each interview in unique - low RELIABILITY e.g. D+D interview varies in length
HAWTHORNE EFFECT ppts might lie to give the socially desirable answer
Interviewer effect- tone of voice body language and leading questions could effect VALIDITY
It’s expensive and time consuming so is often done on a small scale so not like to be a REPRESENTATIVE sample
What studied I will I link to structured interviews
Willmott and young did a structured interview on the extended family:
-They used 933 people.
-Interviews were carried out by a team of interviewers.
-Interviews were formal and standardised questions allowed for a limited range of alternative answers.
-Topics were straightforward like age, job, religion and relationships with family members.
-Interviews were delivered in deadpan
What is a practical advantage of structured interviews?
Training interviewers is quite straightforward as they follow a set of instructions. E.g. Wilmot and young use a team of interviews.
Quick and fairly cheap to administer
Easily analysed so time effective, for example, quantitive data, e.g. percentage of participants who had seen Mum in last week
What is a practical disadvantage of structured interviews?
More costly than posting questionnaires, but same questions are asked, e.g. Wilmot and Young had two pay a team of interviewers.
What is a ethical advantage of structured interviews?
Informed consent is gained.
What is ethical disadvantage of structure interviews
Insensitive- some people may feel uncomfortable discussing sensitive issues if there is no report or relationship built e.g. W+Y asked about Family 👨👩👧 but in a deep hand voice.
What is a theoretical advantage of structured interviews?
Standardised closed questions = Quantitive reliable data, that can be replicated e.g.w+y asked participants, the same questions
Validity -research clarify meanings of questions to ensure they understand e.g. in Schofield questionnaire, girl said not Virginia.
Limited interviewer effect, compared to unstructured, interviews, increasing validity due to standardised procedure and dead voice
Large number of people can be surveyed with structured, interviews, E.g. w+y had a sample of 933 people
What is a theoretical disadvantage of structured interviews?
Hawthorne effect - interviewers may lie or exaggerate as another being observed
Pre-recorded answers leaves to an imposition problem as the answers they have might not fit with the questions so aren’t able to answer truthfully
Little, flexibility, due to set questions, so no exploration
Interfere effect -tone of voice and body language can affect positive responses. However, this is still limited compared to unstructured interviews
What are the 4 reasons why interview data may not be valid
-interviewer bias = interviews tone or facial expression influence ppts response
-artificiality = ppt may adopt a persona for the interview that doesn’t reflect their real lives
-status inequalities = ppts see interviewer as an authority figure so they answer the questions in a way that they don’t get into trouble
-social desirability = answer questions in a way that will win them social approval
What 2 techniques help interview to improve the validity of the interviews
Asking questions rapidly = so ppts don’t have time to construct a desirable answer
Interviews delivered in the language of ppts choice = means they can better understand the questions
