Interviews Flashcards
Name the 4 types of interviews
Structured
unstructured
semi-structured
group
Define structured interviews
Structured interviews are a data collection method that involves a list of pre-determined questions that the interviewer reads out. They often produce quantitative data meaning that positivists prefer this research type.
What are Practical advantages of structured interviews
- Fairly quick and cheap as you just read from a set list of questions. Means you can get a larger sample making them more representative
What is an ethical advantage of structured interviews
- Informed consent- all the participants will have agreed to take part in the interviews as they would have had to travel to get there.
What is a theoretical advantage of structured interviews
- High response rate - Willmott and young (1962) approached 987 people and only 54 refused to be interviewed
- Reliable
What is a practical disadvantage of structured interviews
Inflexibility - the researcher cannot elaborate/ move away from the list of questions meaning they cannot find out reasons behind responses. Reduces validity
What is an ethical disadvantage of structured interviews
Protection from harm-
some questions might be a bit personal and so may cause psychological harm
interviewer cannot build a rapport with the participant so they may feel uncomfortable
Oakley (1982) - When researching motherhood, she found it difficult to remain detached when interviewing
What is a theoretical disadvantage of structured interviews
- Validity - participants cannot elaborate on answers so there is little detail In the data
Define unstructured interviews
Unstructured interviews are a data collection method that involves no set questions. They are like a conversation and interviewer is free to ask follow up questions. Therefore they produce qualitative date meaning they are favoured by interpretivists
What is a practical advantage of using unstructured interviews
Flexible - more opportunity to find out more detailed information about the topic of research and into unfamiliar topics. They allow the researcher to develop new ideas as they arise.
What is a ethical advantage of using unstructured interviews
Rapport and sensitivity - the interviewer is more able to build a rapport with interviewee meaning they will feel more comfortable when talking about sensitive topics. This encourages them to open up
Dobash and Dobash - used unstructured interviews to research domestic violence and found that when they built a rapport with the interviewee they felt more comfortable about opening up
What is a theoretical advantage of using unstructured interviews
Valid - the researcher can find reasons behind all answers and get much greater detail when using other types of interviews. This gives them a deeper understanding of their research topic
What is a practical disadvantage of using unstructured interviews
Time consuming - people can often talk about things that aren’t relevant to the research and as follow up questions can be asked it can take several hours for 1 interview. This leads to a smaller sample size making it less representative
What is an ethical disadvantage of using unstructured interviews
Psychological harm - the interviewer might take the rapport to meaning they can ask more personal questions which can cross the professional boundary and make the interviewee feel uncomfortable
What is a theoretical disadvantage of using unstructured interviews
reliability - all the questions will be different meaning it will not be able to be fully replicated. It will also make it hard to compare answers to see a trend to it cannot be compared to other results fully to see if there is consistency
Define a semi-structured interview
A data collection technique that involves some pre-determined questions but has opportunity to allow the interviewer to ask follow up questions to responses. This typically produces qualitative data meaning they are favoured by interpretivists.
What is one practical advantage of semi-structured interviews
Flexibility - can expand on responses
Cicourel and Kitsuse used follow up questions like ‘what do you mean’
what is one ethical advantage of semi-structured interviews
Informed consent - they have agreed to take part in the research and know what it is going to be about
What is one theoretical advantage of semi-structured interviews
Valid- can expand on answers and get more detail
what is one practical disadvantage of semi-structured interviews
Time consuming - more than structured as follow up questions are asked which takes up time. This leads to a smaller sample size and can reduce the representativeness of research
What is one ethical disadvantage of semi-structured interviews
Psychological harm - follow up questions may get a little too personal between individuals
What is one theoretical disadvantage of semi-structured interviews
Reliability - the follow up questions will be different for everyone so cannot be replicated accurately to check for consistency in results
Define a group interview
A data collection method that requires for a group of people to be interviewed at the same time. This produces qualitative data meaning it is favoured by interpretivists.
What is a practical advantage of group interviews
quick - many people interviewed at the same time so saves time. Can get a larger sample size making it more representative
Willis (1977) - used group interviews when doing his ‘lads’ study
