Interviews Flashcards
interviews - structured/formal interviews
structured, pre-coded questionnaires carried out by an interviewer in the same order
interviews - advantages of structured interviews
- non-reponse rare, illiteracy overcome so effective way to complete questionnaire
- reliable data, results compared
- no interviewer bias, little involvement
interviews - disadvantages of structured interviews
- impose limit on respondents; limited depth of understanding
- cannot establish rapport for personal/sensitive topics
- time-consuming & costly than self-completion
- small possibility of interviewer bias
interviews - unstructured/informal interviews
interviewers asks open-ended questions, triggering there questions but stick to interview schedule
interviews - group interview
interviewing several people at once, controlling the direction with responses directed to researcher
interviews - focus group
group interview
people talk to one another and to interviewers on particular topic
interviews - advantages of unstructured interviews
- rapport and flexibility increases validity
- gain greater insights
- ambiguities clarified
- ideas of sociologists able to be developed during interview
- can assess honesty and validity
- group interviews spark discuss that leads to more in-depth information
interviews - disadvantages of unstructured interviews
- time-consuming, costly (low representativeness)
- less reliable (different in interview rather than between people)
- difficult to replicate; depends on researcher
- difficult to compare and measure responses
- group interviews form of peer pressure; conceal true feelings, personal issues, exaggerate views
- interviewer bias
interviews - general problems
interpretivist; artificial situation
what people say may not reflect real behaviour
no guarantee people giving true account
unlikely to give honest answers to stranger about personal issues
interviews - interview effect
participant may want to please interviewer
characteristics of interviewer may influence participants response
interviews - example of interview
labov
undersand linguistic styles of working-class boys
able to produce rich data as able to develop rapport