structured interviews Flashcards
structured interviews
set of standardized questions
case study’s
young and Willmott
Goldthorpe and Lockwood
British crime survey
young and Willmott
·Used structured interviews in their research into extended families in East London – sample of 933 people.
Interviews carried out by other interviewers who were employed.
Formal and standardised so questions were precise and factual with a limited range of alternative answers.
The interviewers task was to ring the appropriate code number opposite the answer they received, or at a few points in the interview, write in a fairly short simple reply.
Each interview took between 10 minutes and half an hour.
Goldthorpe and Lockwood
·The Oxford Mobility Study – interviews with over 10,000 men (aged 20-64) in England & Wales.
They allocated these men into 7 different social classes which were based upon their market situation (income, security of employment, promotional aspects & work situation).
These classes were usually grouped into three clusters: service class, intermediate & working.
The service class involves experts & specialists who fill important positions. The bridge between the top decision maker & the mass of people. A highly privileged group.
British crime survey for england and wales
Measured crime since 1981.
Used alongside police recorded crime data.
Measures crime by asking members of the public about their experiences of crime over the last 12 months.
Structured interviews over the phone or in the home.
This year 40,000 households will be invited - on average 75% of those invited take part.
structured interviews practical advantage
· Training interviewers is relatively straightforward & inexpensive (cheap), since all they need to do is follow a set of instructions. · As a result, they are quick and cheap to administer. · Surveys can cover quite large numbers of people with limited resources e.g. British Crime Survey. · Suitable for gathering straightforward factual information. For example in Goldthorpe & Lockwood’s study they were able to find out a person’s age or job. · The results are easily quantified because they use closed-ended questions, this makes them easily analysed – time effective.
structured interviews practical disadvantage
Tend to be time-consuming and more costly than posting questionnaires. This is because interviews are often slow, and interviewers have to be paid. · Can cover large numbers, but they still cannot match the potentially huge numbers reached by postal questionnaires.
structured interviews ethical advantage
Interviewees are under no obligation to answer any intrusive or sensitive questions. · The interviewer can guarantee anonymity and make it clear to interviewees that they do not have to answer any questions that they do not want to. · As a result, informed consent can usually be gained.
structured interviews ethical disadvantage
Not suitable for exploring highly personal or sensitive topics because there is no opportunity to establish rapport & trust between the interviewer and interviewee to encourage them to talk about an issue.
structured interviews theoretical advantage
· Positivists favour due to quantitative data. · Structured interviews generally have a higher response rate than questionnaires. For example, of the 987 people Young & Willmott approached for their main sample, only 54 refused to be interviewed. · High in reliability – it is easy for the researcher to standardise & control them by ensuring the interview is conducted in precisely the same way, with the same questions, in the same order, same wording and same tone of voice. · Limited interviewer bias when compared with unstructured interviews.
structured interviews theoretical disadvantage
Interpretivists dislike as the questions are closed-ended questions that restrict interviewees to choosing from a limited number of pre-set answers. · As a result, the data may lack verstehen because they cannot elaborate. · These answers may not fit what the interviewee really wishes to say, the data obtained will not be valid. · Interviewer bias/effect – tone of voice, body language of interviewer can affect responses.
