Interviews Flashcards
structured interview
-standardised interview
-same questions,same order and tone
unstructured
-freedom to vary question
-asking follow up questions and probing depper
-guided conversation
semi-structured
- some formal and informal
-additional questions can be asked where the interviewer thinks its relevant
group interviews
willis- group interviews in his ‘lads’ study about schooling
-focus groups are under the ‘group interview’ type of research
practical issues- structured
-training interviewers is inexpensive however its more costly than posting or emailing questionnaires to people
-covers a large amount of people however not nearly as much as postal questionnaires
-gather factual information like age or job
-easily quantified results so suitable for hypothesis testing
response rate- structured
-high response rate e.g. Young and Willmott sample had 54 refuse out of 987, this increases representativeness and generalisability
- call backs increase response rate but may be expensive
- like questionnaires people are less willing to respond which produces unrepresentative data and undermine the validty of the generalisations
reliability- structured
- easy to standardise and control so its done precisely and therefore repeatable
-provide a ‘recipe’ for repeating the research so we can compare answers easily to identify similarities/differences
validity- strcutred
- strctured interviews have close ended questions that restrict open ended answers
- gives interviewers little freedom to explain questions or clarify misunderstandings
- some may lie or exaggerate- false data
-interaction may influence answer e.g. gender and ethnic differences can affect answers ( social desirability effect)
Inflexibility
- the researcher has already chose whats important as opposed to the interviewees opinions
- lacks validity because it doesnt reflect the interviewees concerns
-impossible to have leads with pre set questions, losing valuable insights - merely snapshots of one moment in time unlike a observation
feminist criticism
graham- questionnaires and structured interviews are patriarchal and invalidate womens experience
Grahams argument
- the researchers in charge, mirroring womens subbordination in wider society
-survey methods treat women as isolated individuals rather than in the context of power that oppresses them
-imposes researchers categories on women, concealing the unequal power relationships between the exes
feminist preferred method
observation/ unstructured interviews
rapport and sensitivity- unstructured interviews
- develops a rapport with the interviewee so they can open up
Labov- language of Black American Children
found they appeared ‘linguistically deprived’ when using formal interview technique however with an informal style they spoke freely and openly, showing they were competent speakers
Dobash and Dobash
used unstructured interview for studying sensitive topics like Domestic violence using the empathy and encouragement from the interviewer.
the interviewees view
-allows the interviewees to speak about important things— gives true insight and validity
-interviewers probing can help formulate and develop thoughts
-getting to know a stranger is better to use unstructured
checking and understanding
-if the question is not understood, it can be explained
-follow up questions help unsure answers for the interviewer
flexibility
-formulates new ideas and hypothesis
-highly flexible
exploring unfamiliar topics
- we can start out by knowing nothing and then learn as we go along
-sociologists use unstructured interviews to develop ideas and then use structured
disadvantages- practical
time and sample size- takes long time to conduct so limits the sample and therefore is less representative
training- costly and needs to be a sociological professional
interpersonal skills- need this skill to establish a RAPPORT for honesty
less representativeness
leads to less valid
generalisations
quantification
-cannot be precoded or quantified therefore making it less useful to find cause and effect relationships and hypothesis testing that positivists prefer
validity
the interaction distorts information obtained
Interview as a social interaction
Interview bias
-‘leading’ questions- e.g.” Wouldnt you agree..?”. This is less common in structured interviews
-influence in facial expressions,body language or tone of voice
- Oakley found it difficult to remain detached when interviewing women about maternity/childbirth
artificiality
- both parties know its a interview
-under these artificial setting its doubtful whether truthful answers can be obtained
status and power inequality
-inequalities affect honesty and thus decreasing validity
-Rich, children please adult interviewers and change answers
-gender differences (Graham)
cultural differences
-misunderstandings over the meaning of words
- the cultural gap means that interviews cannot tell when they are being lied to
the social desirability effect
- people seek for approval and to be in a ‘favourable light’
- might not want to seem uninterested so force answers instead of saying ‘idk’
ethical issues
-pressure because its an interaction
-researchers should get consent and gurarantee anonymity
-interviews with sensitive topics may cause psychological harm
improving the validity of interviews
researcherss use techniques to improve the chances of obtaining valid data
Kinsey
interviews on secual behaviour asked rapid questions giving them little time to think and had a follow up interview 18 month later to compare answers
Becker
in his 60 chicago interviews he ‘playing dumb’ as a way to extract sensitive information about social class and ethnic division.
- This requires a professional and is hard to replicate
cultural differences- Nazroo
survey of the health of Britains ethnic minorities were carried in the language of the interviewees choice
