Unstructured interviews Flashcards
Definition
Unstructured interviews are generally regarded as a verbal conversation between the researcher and the participant, normally face-to-face. The researcher does not use a structured list of questions or detailed list of areas for investigation and discussion, but the interview is open ended around the broad topic area.
Sample
Usually the sample for unstructured interviews will be small due to the time and costs involved. Opportunity samples are those gathered without a systematic sampling frame and are based on availability. The evidence gathered may therefore be unrepresentative and make generalisation difficult.
bulletpoints
gaining understanding of experiences and perceptions
researcher imposition
demand characteristics
social desirability
Advantages
•The interaction between the participant and the interviewer allows for richer, more valid data. This is because the interviewer can ask follow up questions
•Also the interaction allow the interviewer to develop a relationship with the participant which could mean they are more open and honest with their answers
•Ambiguities in an answer can be probed to further understand the meaning of that answer
•The interviewer can change the questions if, over the course of the study they think the hypothesis should change or they want to take the study in a new direction
Ability to gain empathy and insight, achieving an understanding through asking questions and responding to answers.
Disadvantages
•With unstructured interviews you need a trained interviewer who can only interview one participant at a time, this means this method is time-consuming and costly
•The interviewer won’t ask exactly the same question every time, so it could be said that this method is less reliable
•The data is qualitative which means it is hard to analyse and compare with other pieces of data
Social characters of researcher
Transcription
Interviewer effect
Interpretivist or Positivist
Interpretevist
