Interviews Flashcards
Interviews
Involves what is known as ‘social interaction’ between the researcher and the researched
Different interview types
Structured (formal) interviews
Unstructured (informal) interviews
Semi structured
Group interviews
Structured interviews
Preferred by positivists as they are more structured generally provide quantitiative data, high in reliability and more value fee objective
What are structured interviews referred as
Interview schedule, won’t stray away from the questions, asked in order and won’t deviated
Strengths of structured interviews
High response rates Interviewer reads and writes Quick to complete Data easy to quantify High in reliability Useful in finding factual data Less interviewer bias
Weakness of structured interviewers
Interviewer schedule is restricted Lack of probing means lack of detail Imposition problem Lacks validity Still a chance of interviewer bias
Unstructured
Preferred by interpretivists provide qualititaive data high in validity
What are unstructured sometimes referred as
‘Discovery interviews’
Strengths of unstructured
High response rate Can build rapport with respondent Interviewer reads and writes Can probe for detail High in validity Free flowing and more relaxed Useful in finding meanings and motivations Can explore new ideas
Weakness of unstructured
No structure Small scale Still a chance of interviewer bias Highly subjective Difficult to quantify qualitative responses Time consuming Could get too personal
Semi structured
Each interview consists of same questions but uses a mix of closed and open ended questions
Strengths of semi structured
High response rate
Interviewer reads and writes
Increases both reliability and validity
Can build rapport with the respondent more easily than structured interviews
Flexible b it still structured to some extent
Help find balance between objectivity and subjectivity
Weakness of semi structured
Still a chance of interviewer bias
Never fully reliable
Difficult to compare and quantify two types of data
Restricts responses
Time consuming compared to structured interviews
Group interviews
Refer to interviews where a dozen or so respondents are interviewed togther ‘focus group’ can be structured or unstructured
Usually semi structured
Strengths of group interviews
Lots of information quickly
Can observe group interactions
Group dynamics help respondents relax
More natural behaviour rather than a private interviewer
Respondents can help each other develop their answers and introduce each new ideas and views
