data collection technique where a researcher engages in direct conversations with individuals to gather information about their thoughts, experiences and behaviours
what are the 3 types of interviews?
structured
semi structured
unstructured
structured interviews
highly standardized interview where all participants are asked the same pre-determined questions in the same order
structured interview example
a market researcher asking customers fixed questions about their satisfaction with a new product
semi structured interviews
combination of fixed pre-determined questions with the flexibility to explore topic in more depth based on the participants responses
semi structured interview example
a psychologist asking pre-planned questions about a patients symptoms allowing follow up questions for clarification
unstructured interviews
a conversational interview style where questions are not pre-planned allowing the interviewer to adapt to the participants responses
unstructured interview example
an ethnographer engaging in open dialogue with community members to learn about their cultural practices
strengths of structured interviews
high reliability- questions are standardized so easy to replicate
time efficient - typically quicker to conduct and analyse
weaknesses of structured interviews
limited flexibility - can’t explore unexpected themes or responses
risk of social desirability bias in responses
strengths of semi - structured interviews
balanced flexibility - combines fixed questions with the freedom to probe for detailed responses
richer data - allows for exploration of unexpected themes or clarifications
weaknesses of semi - structured interviews
time consuming - can take longer to conduct and analyse
less comparability - variability in probing can make comparing responses harder
strengths of unstructured interviews
rich & in depth data - provides the opportunity to explore participants thoughts fully
adaptive - flexible to follow interesting / unexpected responses
weaknesses of unstructured interviews
low reliability - lacks consistency and standardisation, making replication difficult
time intensive - requires more time to conduct and analyse
researcher effects
the influence a researcher may unintentionally have on the participants/ results of a study which can compromise the validity of the findings
what can researchereffects arise from?
researcher‘s behaviour, tone or appearance
double blind procedure
when researcher and participant both don’t know what group the particilantros is in and the experiment information
what does a double blind procedure help to reduce?