Interviews

• The case studies

  • The tearoom trade - Laud Humphries.
  • Learning to Labour- Paul Wiiis.
  • A Glasgow Gang Observed - James Patrick.
• There are four types of interview:

  1. Structured
  2. unstructured
  3. semi-structured
  4. Group
• Structured

  Similar to other structured methods, such as structured questionnaires:

  • High reliability
  • Low validity
  • Use of closed questions
  • Obtains quantitative data
• Structured

  Advantages

  • Practical
  • A large number of people can be surveyed.
  • Gathers straight-forward factual information to be quantified.
  • Little training of researchers is required.
  • Quick and relatively cheap.
• Structured

  Advantages

  • High response rate
  • Leads to representative data and increased validity.
  • Generally a higher response rate than questionnaires
  • Interviewers can be followed-up, leading to further data collection.
• Structured

  Disadvantages

  • Inflexible
  • No room to ask further questions
  • Reliability
  • Response rate
  • Not everyone may consent to take part- unrepresentative and invalid data.
  • Respondents may not be able to meet the researcher at the indicated time and/or place- also a practical consideration.
  • Feminist criticisms
  • Interviews are patriarchal which leads to a distorted perception of women's experiences.
  • Researcher meanings are imposed on women, making it difficult for them to explain their experiences.
• Unstructured

  Similar to other structured methods, such as structured questionnaires:

  • High Validity.
  • Low reliability.
  • Use of open questions.
  • Obtains qualitative data.
• Structured= Researchers ask a list of formal questions and are given strict instructions on how to ask them, ensuring each interview is conducted exactly the same way, including question order, tone of voice, wording of the questions etc.
• Unstructured= More informal, like a guided conversation led by the researcher. The interviewer has the freedom to vary the question order, question wording, and ask follow-up questions to probe for more information.
• Semi-structured = A mix of the above methods; the list of questions are usually the same, but the interviewer can follow up with further questions.
• Group= Interviewing many people at the same time, usually in small group no larger than twelve.
• Unstructured

  Advantages

  • A chance to build a rapport between researcher and respondent.
  • May lead to further data collection and more validity.
  • May lead to the respondent agreeing to conduct additional interviews.
  • Puts the respondent at ease, particularly useful when studying sensitive topics.
  • Explore unfamiliar/sensitive topics
  • Questions can be exploratory.
  • Sometimes used by sociologists as the basis for forming a hypothesis on a subject they know little about.
  • Flexibility
  • Highly flexible as researchers and respondents are not restricted by closed questions and are free to elaborate.
• Unstructured

  Advantages

  • 'The Interviewee's Perspective'
  • Respondents are able to speak freely, giving fresh insights and capturing more valid data.
  • Checking Understanding
  • Questions can be explained.
  • Follow up questions can be asked-"do you know what I mean by that?"
• Unstructured

  Disadvantages

  • Practical problems
  • Time; unstructured interviews may take a lot longer than other methods, and longer than the researcher planned. This limits the number of interviews which can be conducted, leading to lower data collection, less representative and less valid data.
  • Cost; sociological training of researchers, incentives to ensure responses.
  • Good interpersonal skills are required.
  • Unreliable
  • Every interview is unique and cannot be replicated.
  • Unrepresentative
  • Smaller group sizes and sample sizes lead to unrepresentativeness , and a lack of validity.
• Semi-structured

  A combination of structured and unstructured.
• Group Interviews

  Advantages

  • Participants may be more comfortable joining a discussion with others than answering one-to-one.
  • A group discussion stimulates the conversation and opens new avenues of discussion, producing more valid data.
  • Group dynamics can be observed which may lead to more questions.
  • May produce ideas which can be pursued later.
• Group Interviews

  Disadvantages

  • One or two individuals may dominate the discussion, making the data collected invalid or unrepresentative.
  • Peer Pressure within the group to conform to the consensus.
  • Data collected is usually more complex and difficult to analyse.
  • The researcher may experience difficulties in controlling the group and/or ensuring they stay on the topic of discussion.
• All interviews involve social interaction between the researcher and the respondent.

  This social interaction can threaten the validity of the research:

  • Social desirability
  • Respondents may answer in a way which puts them in a favourable light.
  • Artificial
  • Unstructured methods, no matter how relaxed and informal, are still interviews, and the respondent knows this.
  • Researcher bias
  • Leading questions.
  • Unconscious/ conscious.
  • Identifying too closely with the respondents.
• This social interaction can threaten the validity of the research:

  • Ethical issues
  • Informed consent must be gained.
  • The right to withdraw.
  • The right to anonymity.
  • The pressure to answer difficult questions.
  • Cultural differences
  • Misunderstandings between researcher and respondent.
  • Power inequalities
  • The power imbalance in the interview may lead to invalid data.
  • When adults interview children, they respond in a way which they think will 'please' the adult.
  • Gender differences in power.
  • Ethnic differences in power.