Topic 5: Interviews

Question 1

Structured / Formal Interviews

Answer 1

Interview which is conducted in the same standardised way each time

Question 2

Unstructured / Informal Interviews

Answer 2

Guided conversation, interviewer has complete freedom to vary questions depending on what’s appropriate

Question 3

Semi-structured Interviews

Answer 3

Each interview has same set of questions but interviewer can ask follow-up questions e.g ‘How do you mean?’

Question 4

Group Interviews

Answer 4

Multiple people interviewed at once e.g focus groups

Question 5

Interviewer effect

Answer 5

Answer of interviewee can be influenced by interviewer e.g age, class, ethnicity, gender etc.

Question 6

What are the advantages of group interviews?

Answer 6

• Feel more comfortable encourages them to open up
• Participants throw ideas around stimulating people’s ideas
• Interview large amounts of people at a time
• Useful for generating initial ideas used for later research
• Combine asking questions and observing dynamics of group

Question 7

What are the disadvantages of group interviews?

Answer 7

• Some individuals might dominate discussion
• Depends on researchers ability to keep group focused on topic
• Peer group pressure to conform affect results
• Difficult to analyse data

Question 8

What are the advantages of structured interviews?

Answer 8

• Practical:
  o quick
  o training interviewers is cheap and straightforward
  o results easily quantified due to close-ended questions
  o high response rate
• Theoretical:
  o reliable
  o representative

Question 9

What are the disadvantages of structured interviews?

Answer 9

• Practical problems:
  o inflexible, interviewee cannot go into depth or explain answers or misinterprets question
• Theoretical problems:
  o lack validity as questions are close-ended

Question 10

What are the advantages of unstructured interviews?

Answer 10

• Practical:
  o develop rapport useful for sensitive subjects
  o flexible
• Few ethical problems e.g consent
• Theoretical:
  o valid no set questions, talk about what they think is important

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of unstructured interviews?

Answer 11

• Practical problems:
  o time consuming due to small sample size
  o difficult to quantify data
  o training and need interpersonal skills
• Theoretical problems:
  o not representative = cannot make generalisations
  o lack reliability

Question 12

In what ways can social interactions threaten the validity of interviews?

Answer 12

• Interviewer bias e.g leading questions, interviewer identifies too closely with those being interviewed
• Artificiality
• Status and power inequalities e.g ‘teacher in disguise’
• Social desirability effect / right answerism