structured

• Structured interviews are formal and have a range of pre-determined questions that have closed answers.
• This interview is similar to a spoken questionnaire and obtains answers to questions of facts.
• Positivists prefer structured interviews as they can easily analyze numerical answers and can be shown through a graph. This means they can see if there is a pattern or trend in the data and make a generalization.
• Practical issues of structured interviews are:

  • Cheaper as require less training
  • Able to clarify questions
  • More accessible so higher response rate
  • Time consuming to organize and run
  • Not able to build a rapport
  • May be interpreted differently due to language
• Ethical issues of structured interviews are:

  • Not anonymous
  • May be sensitive topics which cause harm
  • Reluctant to answer face to face
• Theoretical problems of structured interviews are:

  • Representative of sample population ( wider generalization )
  • Reliable as they have a set list of questions so can be replicated
  • Reduced validity as there is no insight
  • Little opportunity to expand on answers
  • Interviewer effect; creating bias which influences their answer