Unstructured Interviews

Question 1

what are unstructured interviews

Answer 1

Informal interviews

Question 2

practical issues

Answer 2

1. Their informality allows the interviewer to develop a rapport - a relationship of trust and understanding. This helps put the interviewee at ease and encourages them to open up and is particularly useful when studying sensitive topics
2. Training needs to be more thorough - adds to the cost
3. They take a long time - this limits the number that can be carried out and means the researcher will have a relatively small sample
4. They produce large amounts of data which can take time to transcribe, there are no precoded answers, making analysis difficult and time-consuming
5. They are much easier for interviewers to check meanings and they can ask follow-up questions to gain more insight into stuff.
6. They are very flexible and the interviewer is not restricted to a set of questions but can explore whatever seems interesting, it allows the interviewee to speak up

Question 3

rapport and sensitivity example

Answer 3

Dobash and Dobash used them to study DV.

Question 4

practical problems

Answer 4

Time and sample size - take too long
interpersonal skills - needs good skills so they can establish a rapport

Question 5

reliability

Answer 5

positivists argue that unstructured interview is not reliable because it is not a standardised measuring instrument. Each interview is unique - interviewers are free to omit or add questions, ask different ones or change their wording when they feel its relevant to do so, it cannot be replicated we cannot be confident if the facts are true

Question 6

representativeness

Answer 6

the smaller the number means the sample interviewed will not be representative. This means that it will be harder to make generalisations based on the findings of the interviews.

Question 7

validity

Answer 7

it produces highly valid data because of its nature. However, positivists argue that the fact that it involves an interaction between interviewer and interviewee distorts the information obtained. Positivists add that because the answers are not pre-coded, this too can undermine validity. The sociologist has to analyse and categorise data as they see fit and this involves the researcher making value judgements about the meanings of answers. Rather than giving us a valid picture of social life, they give us a picture as seen through the eyes of the sociologist.

Question 8

feminism and structured interviews

Answer 8

oakley - they prefer structured interviews because its value committed - it takes women’s side and aims to give a voice to their experience and free them from patriarchal oppression
requires researchers involvement with rather than detachment from the lives of women she studies
aims for equality and collaboration between the researcher and researched, rather than hierarchy and control by the researcher

Question 9

oakley

Answer 9

she draws on her own experience of conducting 178 unstructured interviews with women becoming mothers and she spent over nine hours interviewing each woman and even attended some of the births. She answered questions about herself and her research, which helped reduce their anxiety about being researched