Resrach Methods (Interviews) Flashcards
What are the 5 advantages of unstructured interviews?
1.) Rapport + sensitivity
2.) The interviewee’s view
3.) Checking understanding
4.) Flexibility
5.) Exploring unfamiliar topics
1.) Rapport + sensitivity (Theoretical)
-The informality of unstructured interviews allows the development of a rapport.
-This puts the interviewee at ease + encourages them to open up about sensitive topics.
-For example, William Labov (1973); when using a formal interview technique go to study the language of black American children, he found them to be ‘linguistically deprived’. However when adopting an informal style (interviewer sitting on floor/friend present) the children showed they were competent speakers.
2.) The interviewee’s view (Theoretical)
-No set ?s = interviewer has more opportunity ti speak about things they think are important.
-By allowing greater freedom to express views, unstructured interviews produce fresh insights + valid data.
-In their study of claimants’ experiences of unemployment, Dean + Taylor-Gooby (1992) used unstructured tape-recorded interviews.
-This approach gives interviewees the freedom to talk in their own terms about the issues that concern them.
3.) Checking understanding (Practical)
-A major adv of unstructured interviews is that they make it much easier for interviewer/ee to check each others meanings:
-?s can be explained.
-Follow up?s can be used to clarify uncertainties.
4.) Flexibility (Practical/Theoretical)
-Unstructured interviews are highly flexible.
-The interviewer can explore whatever seems interesting or relevant.
-The researcher can formulate new ideas + hypotheses then put them to the test as they arise during the course of the interview.
5.) Exploring unfamiliar topics (Theoretical)
-With structured interviews the researchers need prior knowledge + a hypothesis before interviewing.
-However, unknown subjects may be useful for unstructured interviews.
-As with an ordinary conversation, we can start out knowing nothing and, by asking ?s, we learn as we go.
-Sociologists use unstructured interviews as a starting point to develop their initial ideas about a topic before going onto use more structured methods.
What are the 5 disadvantages of unstructured interviews?
1.) Practical problems
2.) Representativeness
3.) Reliability
4.) Quantification
5.) Validity
1.) Practical problems
-TIME + SAMPLE SIZE; -Being in-depth, unstructured interviews take a long time to conduct.
-This limits the number that it can be carried out on = small sample size.
-TRAINING; -Needs to be more thorough than for someone conducting structured interviews.
-The interviewer needs to have a background in sociology to identify + expand on important points.
-This adds to the cost of conducting unstructured interviews.
-INTERPERSONAL SKILLS; -Interviewers also need good interpersonal skills so they can establish the rapport that is essential if interviewees are to answer fully + honestly.
2.) Representativeness
-Smaller numbers involved = not representative.
-Harder to make generalisations based on findings of the interviews.
3.) Reliability (Theoretical)
-Not reliable as they are not standardised.
-Each interview is unique: interviewers are free to ask different ?s if relevant.
-Makes it impossible for another researcher to replicate the interviews + check the findings.
4.) Quantification
-Use mainly open-ended questions, the answers cannot be pre-coded.
-Makes it difficult to quantify the numbers of answers from interviewees.
-Lack of quantitative data makes it less useful for establishing cause-and-effect relationships + hypothesis testing that positivists prefer.
5.) Validity
-Generally seen as producing valid data. Critics argue the fact they involve an interaction between interviewer + interviewee inevitably distorts info. obtained.
-Structured interviews also face the same problem.
