unstrucutred interview

• Definition 


  like a guided conversation. the interviewer has complete freedom with the questions including order and wording
• What does it include

  • qualitive data
  • unlikely representative
  • dosent gain verstehen
  • valid
  • unlikley generalisable
  • interpretivist favoured
• practicle strengths

  • respondent led
  • high response rate
• practicle limitations

  • allows the interview to speak about things they want too therefore may not get all information
  • need more training
• how xan practicle limitations be overcome

  • ask question which mean all infornation can be gaines but freely answered
• ethical strengths

  • build a rapport
  • empower the respondent
  • good for sensitive topics
• ethical limitations

  • potential to harm respondent - especially children
  • require good interpresonal slills
• how can ethical limitstions be overcome 


  make sure that participants know about the topic which they are participating in
• theoretical strengths

  • prefered by interpretivist
  • high validity
  • rapport and empathy
• theoretical limitations


  positivist avoid

  difficult to repeate

  xant use quantiaitve data
• how can theoretical limitations be overcome 


  make the data quantative and analyse
• Dean and Gooby


  interview around experiences of unemployment used unstrucutred interview lasting 90 mins - link to theoretical strength/limits
• Becker


  interviewd 60 chicago schools teachers and used different techniques such as agression to extract sensitve info- link to ethical strengths/limits