interviews

Question 1

what are unstructured interviews

Answer 1

The interviewer has a general
aim, but questioning is based on
answers given by participants.

Question 2

advantages on unstructured interviews

Answer 2

Allows interviewer to build up a rapport

Interviewees answer in their own words as opposed to choosing from categories

Interviewers are free to set the direction of the interview rather than having fixed categories

Research therefore more likely to be valid
qualitative data gained - interpretivist

Question 3

disadvantages of unstructured interviews

Answer 3

social desirability bias

Interviewees may be influenced by the interviewers characteristics and their
gender, ethnicity, class and age.

the same questions will not be asked in more than one interview, the interview can’t be repeated which reduces reliability

Numbers may be limited because of the practical issues of it being time consuming and expensive this will affect representativeness.

Question 4

example of a study that used unstructured interviews

Answer 4

Dobash and dobash - violence against wives - interviewed 109 women living in refuges for ‘battered women’

Question 5

what are structured interviews

Answer 5

The interviewer has a pre-prepared
set of questions that are asked in a
fixed order. (interview schedule)

Question 6

advantages of structured interviews

Answer 6

Interviewers present to explain questions

All respondents answer the same questions, so answers can be quantified and used to identify trends and patterns - can also be repeated which increases reliability

Answers can be compared for different groups objectively, meaning no subjectivity or researcher bias is introduced

Question 7

disadvantages of structured interviews

Answer 7

• Interviewers may influence answers
• Respondents answer pre-set questions
• Research is less likely to be valid as the interviewee’s cannot express the reasons behind their responses

Question 8

semi-structured interviews

Answer 8

mixture between structured and unstructured

Question 9

what are group interviews/ focus groups

Answer 9

the interviewer encourages participants to discuss topics and issues with one another

Question 10

advantages of focus groups

Answer 10

Sharing of ideas
Ability to establish a group rapport
Can be high in validity
Saves time and cost
Can discover meanings and motives
Appropriate methods for sensitive topics
Favoured by interpretivits

Question 11

disadvantages of focus groups

Answer 11

Lack of reliability
Hard to generalise as often small scale Subjectivity
Interviewer effect and social desirability
Hard to represent data collected
An individual can dominate the group

Question 12

example of a study that used focus groups (and also opportunity sampling)

Answer 12

Willis’ learning to labour - focus group of twelve 10 year old boys from a secondary school in wolvohampton