Topic 4 - Interviews

Question 1

What type of data do unstructured interviews produce?

Answer 1

Primary data
Qualitative data

Question 2

What type of data do structured interviews produce?

Answer 2

Primary data
Quantitative data

Question 3

Which perspective preferes interviews?

Answer 3

Interpretivists

Question 4

Define a structured interview

Answer 4

An interview with strict instructions. Where the interview is conducted in the same way with predetermined close-ended questions.

Question 5

Define an unstructured interview

Answer 5

An interview that holds similarities with a guided conversation where the interviewer is allowed more freedom to vary questions and their wording.

Question 6

Define a group interview.

Answer 6

A number of people interviewed together. This can also include focus groups, and it allows people to bounce their ideas of each other but can lead to the hawthorn effect.

Question 7

Name 2 practical strengths of structured interviews. Explain your answers.

Answer 7

Fairy quick and cheap as they can cover large numbers of people due to their use of close ended questions.

training is straightforward as interviewers only need to read from set questions and don’t need interpersonal skills.

Question 8

Name an ethical strength of structured interviews. Explain.

Answer 8

Detachment - the structure of the interview means little rapport is built, meaning the ethical issue of being close to the participant won’t be an impact

Question 9

Give 2 theoretical strengths for structured interviews. Explain your answer.

Answer 9

High in reliability as the data has been collected in a predetermined set way, allowing for comparison and replication.

Representative - as interviews have a strong reputation, they have a high response rate, increasing the sample size.

Question 10

Give one practical disadvantage of structured interviews. Explain your answer.

Answer 10

Inflexibility - as the questions were decided in advance, they can lack validity as they don’t represent the interviewees’ priorities. Also, researchers won’t be able to follow interesting leads.

Question 11

Give one ethical weakness of structured interviews. Explain your answer.

Answer 11

You can not discuss personal issues. As there is no opportunity to establish a rapport so the interviewee may feel on edge. (May not be truthful)

Question 12

Explain one theoretical weakness of structured interviews.

Answer 12

Low in validity - as most questions are close-ended, there is little freedom to explain your answers, and questions can be misunderstood.

Question 13

Explain two practical strengths of unstructured interviews.

Answer 13

Flexibility - There is more opportunity to probe for deeper meanings as questions are open-ended and aren’t predetermined.

Allows exploration of unfamiliar topics. As the questions don’t need to be predetermined, researchers can develop

Question 14

Explain one ethical strength of unstructured interviews.

Answer 14

Rapport and sensitivity - the interviewer is able to create a relationship with the interviewee putting them at ease and allowing them to open up.

Question 15

Explain one theoretical strength of unstructured interviews.

Answer 15

High in validity - as the interviewee has more time to speak about what they feel is important and provide a fresh insight.

Question 16

Explain two practical weaknesses of unstructured interviews.

Answer 16

Time and cost - they take significantly longer to carry out as questions can be expanded on. Thus, a smaller number of participants can be processed, so there is a smaller sample size.

Training - interviewers need to carry out more training to learn the subjects they are researching and create interpersonal skills.

Question 17

Explain one ethical disadvantage of unstructured interviews.

Answer 17

Harm - interviewers can ask distressing or harmful questions and cross professional boundaries.

Question 18

Explain one theoretical weakness of unstructured interviews and list 3 others.

Answer 18

Low in reliability - they can not be reliable as they are not standardised differences between responses may reflect on differences between interviews and not real differences. Also, due to their nature, they can’t be reproduced.

Question 19

Explain one theoretical weakness of unstructured interviews and list 3 others.

Answer 19

Low in reliability - they can not be reliable as they are not standardised differences between responses may reflect on differences between interviews and not real differences. Also, due to their nature, they can’t be reproduced.

Question 20

List 4 advantages of group interviews.

Answer 20

Interviewees feel more comfortable around peers.

Interviewees can throw ideas around stimulating other ideas (high validity).

A good way of getting initial ideas that can be looked at later.

Able to combine questions to observe group dynamics.

Question 21

List 4 disadvantages of group interviews.

Answer 21

A few vocal individuals can dominate the discussion.

Dependence on researchers’ ability to keep the group focused.

Peer pressure could affect the validity of the interview.

Data recorded can be difficult to analyse.

Question 22

Define interviewer bias

Answer 22

The interviewer may ask leading questions to influence the respondent. The interviewee may be influenced by interviewers’ appearance unintentionally. Both create interviewer bias.

Question 23

Define artificially.

Answer 23

Even the most relaxed interview is still not an everyday conversation and thus is influenced by the Hawthorne effect.