Weaknesses

• WEAKNESS 1

  • Interviewer bias can be a problem - the presence / characteristics / actions of the researcher may have an effect on what the respondent says.
• WEAKNESS 1

  • The respondents may feel they have to give a certain answer because they have judged the interviewer based on their age / gender / ethnicity.
• Social desirability - when a respondent gives the answer they believe the interviewer wants to hear.
• WEAKNESS 2

  • Practically, interviews can be both time-consuming and expensive.
• WEAKNESS 2

  • Interviewers must be trained and paid - room / building has to be hired to hold the interviews - interviews take longer to complete than questionnaires.
• WEAKNESS 3

  • Unstructured interviews with little structure are very difficult to repeat, reducing reliability.
• WEAKNESS 3

  • As these types of interviews are more like a conversation, another researcher wouldn’t be able to repeat it and get the same results.