interviews Flashcards
structured interviews
advantages
collects more complex and detailed data
reach a wider range of respondents (overcome the literacy problem)
have an improved response rate (70-80%)
quick to do (as not dependent on postal return)
greater flexibility in asking (and answering of questions)
individual attention can be given to help respondents (explain/repeat questions)
can be used with all sections of the population (more representative)
interviewer presence can make answering questions more interesting for respondent
fewer ‘don’t knows’ when face to face
structured interviews
disadvantages
very costly
time consuming
need to train interviewers
wages for interviewers
interviewer can sometimes forget/misinterpret a response
face to face interaction may influence respondents
the emotional state of the interviewee could affect their responses
interview situation is always artificial
what people say and do are not always the same
only gain a ‘snapshot’ of population at a certain time
unstructured interviews
advantages
allows for richer, more valid data.
interviewer can ask follow up questions
interviewer can develop a rapport with the participant which could mean they are more open and honest with their answers
ambiguities in an answer can be probed to further understand the meaning of that answer
the interviewer can change the questions if, over the course of the study they think the hypothesis should change or they want to take the study in a new direction
unstructured interviews
disadvantages
with unstructured interviews you need a trained interviewer who can only interview one participant at a time, this means this method is time- consuming and costly
the interviewer won’t ask exactly the same question every time, so it could be said that this method is less reliable
the changing questions also mean it is difficult to replicate the study.
the data is qualitative which means it is hard to analyse and compare with other pieces of data
interviews as a social interaction:
interviewer bias
may ask leading questions where the wording may tell the interviewee how to answer
oakley - as a mother herself, she found it difficult to stay detached and neutral when interviewing women about maternity and childbirth
less of a danger in structured interviews because the schedule restricts the interviewer to a particular set of questions
interviews as a social interaction:
artificiality
not a normal conversation, both parties know it’s an interview in which one side takes initiative and asks questions
it is sometimes doubtful whether truthful can be obtained
interviews as a social interaction:
status and power inequalities
may affect the interviewee’s honesty or willingness to answer
the bigger the status difference, the less valid the data
rich - when adults interview children, the child’s need to please the interviewer affects their answer
griffin - abandoned interviews in favour of using participant observation
structured interviews are less susceptible because there are more controls over the nature of the interaction
interviews as a social interaction:
cultural differences
undermines validity - may be misunderstandings as a result of the same words having different meanings
interviewers can’t tell whether they’re being lied to - mead’s research on adolescents in the samoa has been criticised because she didn’t speak the language, so was unable to spot that the girls deliberately misled her
interviews as a social interaction:
the social desirability effect
interviewees may feel as if they need to be on their best behaviour and give answers that present them in a favourable light
may wish not to appear ignorant or uninteresting so offer an answer at all rather than none
interviews as a social interaction:
ethical issues
interviewee feels pressured to answer the questions - informed consent, guarantee anonymity and make it clear they have a right to answer all questions
interviews on sensitive topics may cause psychological harm
improving the validity of interviews
kinsey - to reduce the chance of lying in his interviews on sexual behaviour, he asked questions rapidly, giving interviewees little time to think, and used some questions to check answers given to other 18 months later
nazroo - carried out a survey on the health of britain’s ethnic minority groups in the interviewee’s chosen language
practical issues
children’s linguistic skills are less developed
- less articulate
- reluctant to talk
- limited vocabulary
- shorter attention span
- read body language differently
leads to misunderstanding, undermining the validity of the data
more successful than questionnaires since children tend to have better verbal skills then literacy skills
schools have active, informal communication channels, meaning that possibly inaccurate versions of the interview may get around - influences responses and reducing the validity of the data
location may affect how comfortable interviewee feels - school represents higher status so may be off putting - teachers may fear colleagues overhearing
take a long time
practical issues:
powney and watts
young children tend to be more literal minded and often pay attention to unexpected details in questions and may use a different logic from adult interviewers
training someone therefore needs to be more thorough for someone interviewing children which adds to the cost of the research
reliability and validity
structured interviews produce reliable data since they’re standardised
may not produce valid data since young people are unlikely to respond favourably to such a formal style - may appear too much like a teacher
reliability and validity:
di bentley
began each interview by showing them a jokey image of her fooling around with her daughter
during the interview, she maintained a relaxed atmosphere by nodding, smiling and making eye contact
however, this is a very personal interviewing style that cannot be easily standardised - different interviewers would obtain different results which would reduce comparability of their findings
access and response rate
schools are hierarchal institutions which can cause problems when seeking to interview
powney and watts - the lower down the hierarchy the interviewer is, the more approvals that have to be obtained
reluctant because it interferes with lesson time or may object to the researcher’s topic
parental permission granted varies - field’s study of pupil’s experiences of sexual and health education in schools had a refusal rate of 19% mainly because of parents withholding consent
if the researcher can obtain official support for the study then the hierarchal nature of the school may work in their favour - heads can instruct teachers to release pupils from class for interviews, which may increase the response rate
the interviewer as ‘teacher in disguise’
if interviewees have less power than the interviewer, they may see it as being in their own interests to lie, exaggerate, conceal information or seek to please when answering questions. They may also be less self - reduces the validity of the data.
bell - pupils may see the interviewer as a ‘teacher in disguise’ and may affect the validity of the data in several ways
pupils may seek to win the ‘teacher’s’ approval by giving untrue but socially acceptable answers that show them in a favourable light, for example about how much time they spend on homework.
pupils are accustomed to adults ‘knowing better’ and so may defer to them in interviews children are more likely than adults to change their original answer when the question is repeated because they think it must have been wrong.
similar inequalities when interviewing certain parents. working-class parents may perceive the interviewer as having a higher status than them and may feel that the questions are patronising or intrusive. By contrast, when interviewing middle-class teachers, power and status
inequalities are likely to be less pronounced
improving the validity of interviews with pupils
greene and hogan argue that interviewers should:
- use open ended questions
- not interrupt children’s answers
- tolerate long pauses to allow children to think
- recognise that children are more suggestible and so it is particularly important to not ask leading questions
- avoid repeating questions since this makes children change their answer because they think it was wrong
unstructured interviews are more suitable for overcoming barriers of power and status inequality since it puts children at ease
labov - this encourages interviewees to open up and respond more fully, producing valid data which is particularly useful when dealing with sensitive topics
group interviews with pupils
young people are often strongly influenced by by peer pressure which may reduce the validity of the data
the free flowing nature of group interviews makes it impossible to standardise the questions which reduces the reliability
greene and hogan - create a safe peer environment and reproduce small group settings of classroom work and also reduces the power imbalance between the adult interviewer and the young interviewee found in one to one interviews
reveals interactions between pupils - paul willis study
