unstructured interviews

Question 1

Unstructured interviews

Answer 1

Guided conversation - interviewer is free to vary the questions and pursue whatever line of questioning seems appropriate

Question 2

Group interview

Answer 2

Relatively unstructured - includes focus groups where the researcher asks the group to discuss certain topics and record their views

Question 3

Practical adv

Answer 3

1. Informalities allows the interviewer to develop a rapport which encourages interviewee to open up 2. Easier for interviewers/interviewees to check they have understood each other 3. They are flexible 4. Useful in a subject you know little about 5. No set questions

Question 4

Practical disadv

Answer 4

1. Training is needed for interviewers 2. Produce a lot of data which is time consuming to go through 3. They take often several hours per interview

Question 5

Interpretivists

Answer 5

See unstructured interviews as having a number of theoretical advantages

Question 6

Theoretical adv

Answer 6

1. Validity through involvement - produce understanding that can only be obtained through involvement 2. Grounded theory - Interpretivists believe it’s important to approach research with an open mind 3. The interviewee’s view - the absence of preset questions gives the interviews freedom to raise issues

Question 7

Positivists

Answer 7

See unstructured interview as having a number of disadvantages

Question 8

Theoretical disadv

Answer 8

1. Reliability - not a standardised measuring tool 2. Quantification - cannot easily be categorised and quantified 3. Representativeness - sample sizes are too small so generalisations can’t be made 4. Lack of validity - interaction between the researcher and interviewee distorts the information obtained

Question 9

Feminism

Answer 9

Feminists prefer unstructured interviews to other methods because - its value committed; takes women’s side and aims to give a voice to their experience and to free them from patriarchal oppression - requires the researcher’s involvement with rather than detachment from the lives of women - aims for equality and collaboration between the researcher and researched rather than hierarchy and control by the researcher

Question 10

Group interviews adv

Answer 10

Participants may feel more comfortable being with others and open up more Participants often throw ideas around the group, stimulating others thinking Can be useful in generating initial ideas that can be followed up in later research Researcher can combine questioning with the opportunity to observe group dynamics and norms

Question 11

Group interviews disadv

Answer 11

One or two individuals may dominate the discussion, inhibiting others from contributing Much depends on the researchers ability to keep the group focused on the discussion topic Peer group pressure to conform to group norms may lea to participants not saying what they think Data generated from group interaction is more complex and hard to analyse

Question 12

Group interviews with pupils

Answer 12

Creates a safe peer environment and they reproduce the small group settings that young people are familiar with, peer support reduces the power imbalance found in one to one interviews, group interviews can reveal interactions between pupils HOWEVER young people are often influenced by peer pressure and this may reduce the validity of the data gathered in the interview, it’s difficult to know if students are sharing genuine opinions or if they’re egging each other on, free flowing nature of group interviews makes it impossible to standardise the questions and this will reduce the reliability of the method