interviews

Question 1

weakness of unstructured interviews

Answer 1

• lacks standardisation + cannot be replicated - it can be difficult to compare responses between participants if they do not all receive the same questions, making the analysis stage challenging = low reliability
• due to their length, unstructured interviews often have very small sample size = low gen
• flexible = side questions can derail your research aims = low internal validity

Question 2

strengths of structured clinical interviews

Answer 2

• highly standardised, using closed ended questions
• can be conducted almost anywhere
• quick and effective
• reliable in terms of consistency = set questions are given to patients

Question 3

strengths of semi-structured clinical interviews:

Answer 3

• greater flexibility = less standardisation
• allows for open-ended responses from participants for more in-depth amd rich information from a patient
• encourages two-way communication

Question 4

weaknesses of structured clinical interviews

Answer 4

• can overlook context, depth, and subtleties, reducing the richness of information gathered which can be critical for an accurate diagnosis and understanding.
• rigid structure may feel impersonal, reducing the chance to build a trusting therapeutic relationship = essential for gathering honest and detailed information

Question 5

weakness of semi-structured interviews

Answer 5

• interviewers have flexibility in how they ask follow-up questions, responses may vary significantly, making it difficult to generalize findings or compare results across clients
• semi-structured interviews require clinicians who are both skilled and well-trained to balance structure with flexibility effectively, without training, the assessment’s quality and accuracy may suffer, limiting its reliability

Question 6

strengths of unstructured clinical interviews

Answer 6

• allow clinicians to engage naturally with clients, helping to foster trust and make clients feel more comfortable
• clinicians can adapt the direction of the interview based on client responses, allowing them to explore issues that might not be covered in a structured format
• no script = clinicians can observe how clients naturally express themselves, including body language, tone, and emotional responses, offering additional diagnostic clues