interviews Flashcards
what is an unstructured interview?
the interviewer has complete freedom to vary the interview
what are open questions?
asking questions where the respondent can explain and elaborate on thoughts
what is rapport
a relationship between people and the researcher
what is interviewer bias?
lacking impartiality and objectivity
what is social desirability
answering in a manner viewed favourably by others
what are researcher characteristics
behaviour, body language, appearance of the interviewer, which impacts the interview
what is verstehen
understanding the other person’s perspective
example of an unstructured interview
Dean and Taylor-Gooby used unstructured tape-recorded interviews, lasting up to 90 minutes, with 85 claimants. The interviewees had freedom to talk
who favours unstructured interviews
interpretivists- achieve goal of validity, absence of pre-set structure means interviewees can discuss what is important to them. open-ended questions allow interviewer to gain insight
who does not favour unstructured interviews
positivists- each one is unique and cannot be replicated, lacking reliability. small sample so not representative. no patterns can be identified and generalised within society
practical strengths of unstructured interviews
- researcher had same personal characteristics
- easier to build rapport
- trust built to enter sensitive topics
- flexibility in questions
- can confirm understanding and clarify questions
- exploring unfamiliar topics, bringing interview into new avenues
ethical strengths of unstructured interviews
- ability to build verstehen
- appropriate for sensitive topics
- informed consent gained by participation
- freedom in responses allows for interviewer to gain in-depth understanding
example study of ethical strengths in unstructured interviews
Dobash and Dobash’s study of domestic violence:
- built rapport
- gained trust
- opened up to them about their experiences
- researchers gained subjective data
- gained rich, valid, in-depth data
theoretical strengths of unstructured interviews
interpretivists
- validity
- qualitative data
- gain insight
- depth
- understand social actors’ meanings
- verstehen
practical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
- time-consuming
- participants less willing to take part leading to smaller sample (unrepresentative of wider society)
- sociologists need extensive training and interpersonal skills
- dependent on researcher characteristics
- may experience cultural differences
ethical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
- researcher responsible for safeguarding participants
- things revealed may cause psychological harm
- vulnerable groups considered
- confidentiality
- anonymity and privacy
theoretical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
positivists
- lack reliability
- no patterns of behaviour uncovered
- not quantifiable data
- possible interviewer bias, socially desirable answers, artificiality all impact validity of data
- study cannot be replicated
- not representative
