interviews

• Define structured/formal interviews


  -similar to a questionnaire:interviewer has strict instructions.

  -interview is conducted in the same way each time:same questions in the same order in the same tone of voice

  -close ended and coded questions are used
• define semi structured interviews

  -lie in between the 2 extremes

  -e.g Cicourel and Kitsuse always followed up questions with 'how do you mean?'with this approach further questions can be used if necessary
• define unstructured/informal interviews/discovery interviews

  -more like a guided conversation

  -interviewer has freedom to vary questions/their wording/order and ask follow up questions and probe
• outline advantages of structured interviews

  -practical advantages

  -response rate advantages

  -reliability advantages

  -validity advantages
• explain practical advantages of structured interviews

  -fairly quick and cheap and can cover large numbers of people however not as many as postal questionnaires

  -training interviewers is straightforward and inexpensive as they simply need to read from a set of questions

  -results are easily quantified as close ended questions are used with coded answers meaning hypotheses can be tested
• explain response rate advantages

  -fairly quick to carry out so can collect data from a large number of respondents and researchers can generalise

  -although the number targeted tends to be lower than for questionnaires they generally have higher response rates. this may be because people find it harder to turn down a face to face request

  -evidence: Young and Willmott approached 987 people in their study and only 54 refused to be interviewed

  -response rates can be increased if the interviewer makes call backs to pursue those who don't respond,however can increase the cost. high response rates help to create more representative results
• explain reliability advantages


  data collected is seen to be reliable as all questions are asked in same way and same questions are answered so research can be compared and replicated if needed
• explain validity advantages


  -usually precoded closed questions and answers so data is measurable and quantitative achieving positivist validity

  -in a similar way to questionnaires structured interviews are a good way of testing a hypothesis
• outline disadvantages of structured interviews

  -inflexibility

  -practical disadvantages

  -response rate disadvantages

  -validity disadvantages

  -feminist criticisms

  -ethical disadvantages
• explain inflexibility as a disadvantage of structured interviews

  -in a similar way to questionnaires structured interviews are inflexible as questions have to be drawn up in advance

  -as a result of this the findings could lack validity as they don't reflect the interviewees concerns or priorities

  -researcher will be unable to follow any interesting leads which ay arise

  -similar to questionnaires they are only a snapshot at one time
• explain practical disadvantages


  whilst structured interviews are fairly cheap they cost more than posting/emailing a questionnaire

  need interviewers with good people skills
• explain response rate disadvantages

  as with questionnaires those who choose to participate maybe those with more time on their hand e.g unemployed creating unrepresentative data
• explain validity disadvantages


  -little freedom to explain questions/answers further (lack interpretivist validity)

  -people can lie/misunderstand the question,exaggerate or give socially desirable answers which could affect the validity of the research
• explain feminist criticisms

  -Graham argues structured interviews are patriarchal and give a distorted view of womens experiences

  -this is because the researcher (not the female interviewee) is in control of the situation and decided the line of questioning to be followed.this mirrors womens subordination in wider society

  -Graham argues sociologists should use methods which allow the researcher to understand womens behaviour,attitudes and meanings,therefore she advocates the use of observation

  -other feminists favour unstructured interviews as they allow the researcher to build a more equal and collaborative relationship with the interviewee
• explain ethical disadvantages


  -structured interviews wouldn't be suitable for discussing highly personal or sensitive issues as there is no opportunity to establish a rapport between interviewer and interviewee

  -interviewees may feel as though they have to answer a question which isn't the case with questionnaires
• Unstructured interviews can take the form of ____ or ___

  focus groups or group interviews
• outline advantages of unstructured interviews

  -rapport and sensitivity

  -the interviewees view

  -checking understanding

  -flexibility

  -exploring unfamiliar topics
• explain rapport and sensitivity

  -interviewer is able to develop a rapport with the interviewee,put them at ease and encourage them to open up.

  -evidence:dobash and dobash used unstructured interviews to research domestic violence and found they built a rapport with the interviewees who felt comfortable discussing personal issues

  -evidence: Labov initially used formal interviews to study the language of black american children and found they appeared tongue tied however when he adopted an informal style they opened up
• explain interviewees view (advantage unstructured interview)

  -as there are no set questions the interviewee has more chance to speak about things they feel are important.

  -by allowing interviewees greater freedom to express their views unstructured interviews are more likely to produce fresh insights and valid data
• explain checking understanding


  -in structured interviews there is the danger interviewees will misunderstand the question or the interviewer could misunderstand the answer

  -unstructured interviews allow the interviewer and interviewee to check meanings e.g if the interviewee doesnt understand a question it can be explained. alternatively if the interviewer is unsure what an answer means they can use follow up questions to check meaning
• explain flexibility


  -highly flexible so producing valid data

  -more chance to probe deeper into areas of interest and explore new unfamiliar topics

  -unstructured interviews allow the researcher to develop new ideas and hypotheses as they arise
• explain exploring unfamiliar topics

  -with structured interviews researchers need some knowledge of the subject they are studying to develop their hypotheses

  -for this reason unstructured interviews are more useful where interviewer isn't sure of the subject at the start of the research as they're open ended and exploratory

  -some sociologists use unstructured interviews as a starting point to develop initial ideas
• outline disadvantages of unstructured interviews

  1.practical problems

  2.representativeness

  3.reliability

  4.quantification

  5.validity
• explain practical problems


  -time and cost:take longer to carry out so not as many participants can be interviewed =small sample size

  -training:interviewees need more training for unstructured interviews which can add to overall cost. interviewees would ned to have a background in sociology to realise what information is important and so they can probe further where necessary

  -interpersonal skills; interviewer needs good interpersonal skills to build a rapport with interviewee
• explain representativeness


  -due to the small number of participants used unstructured interviews will not be representative of what the wider population thins so generalisations can't be made
• explain reliability


  -cannot be reliable as they aren't standardised.

  -differences between respondents can reflect differences in interview, rather than real differences between participants

  -due to the nature of unstructured interviews its impossible to replicate them so comparisons can't be made
• explain quantification


  -unstructured interviews mainly use open ended questions so answers cannot be pre coded

  -this can make it hard to quantify the data so unstructured interviews are less likely to be able to uncover cause and effect relationships that positivists prefer
• explain validity


  -whilst generally unstructured interviews produce valid data critics argue interaction between the interviewer and interviewee can distort the information obtained

  -lack positivist validity
• define group interviews


  where the researcher interviews several participants at the same time where the researcher controls the direction of the interview e.g Paul Willis: used group interview for his research into the 'lads' and schooling.
• define focus groups


  a form of group interview where the group focuses on a particular topic to explore in depth and people are free to talk to each other,as well as the researcher
• advantages of group interviews

  -feel more comfortable amongst peers so more likely to open up

  -throw ideas around the group stimulating others ideas producing more valid data

  -a good way of getting initial ideas to be looked into later

  -combine questioning with the opportunity to observe group dynamics
• disadvantages of group interviews

  -one or two individuals could dominate the discussion preventing others from voicing their opinion= less valid

  -much depends on the researchers ability to keep the group focussed= need a highly trained interviewer= time and money

  -peer group pressure to conform to norms could affect validity

  -data recorded can be hard to analyse as it is qualitative. lots of responses.
• Outline problems of interviews involving social interaction (interviewees responding to the social situation their in not the questions being asked)

  1.interviewer bias

  2.artificiality

  3.status and power inequalities

  4.cultural differences

  5.social desirability effect

  6.ethical issues
• explain interviewer bias problem

  interviewer decides the questions and may ask leading questions which influence how the respondent answers

  -interviewees could also be influenced unintentionally based on the interviewers age,ethnicity,tone of voice,facial expressions and the way they dress

  -interviewer bias can also occur when the interviewer identifies too closely with the interviewees e.g Oakley : when researching motherhood (as a mother herself) found it hard to remain detached when interviewing
• explain artificiality


  -even the most relaxed and informal situation is still an interview and not an everyday conversation so the interviews may not act in the way they usually would (hawthorne effect); the idea people change the way they act when being studied, this could particularly play a part in group interviews.
• explain status and power inequalities

  -inequalities between interviewer and interviewee can affect interviewees honesty/willingness to answer so affecting validity of the data.

  -e.g Rich found when adults interview children a childs need to please the interviewer will affect their responses.

  in a similar way gender and ethnic inequalities between the interviewer and interviewee can influence the results
• explain cultural differences


  -can also effect validity

  -can lead to misunderstandings as different meanings are given to same word e.g 'wicked' 'bad' 'wasted' have different meanings to different people

  -different topics may also mean different things in different cultures e.g mental illness carries less stigma amongst Puerto Ricans so they are more likely to admit symptoms of mental illness
• explain the social desirability effect


  -interviewees try to win approval,are on their best behaviour and try to give respectable answers e.g if asked 'when did you lose your virginity
• explain ethical issues


  -as the interview is a social interaction the interviewee may feel under pressure to answer questions

  -reseachers should make sure they gain consent,guarantee anonymity and make it clear they have a right not to answer questions if they wish
• Explain how some researchers use techniques to improve validity of interviews

  1.ask fast paced questions to prevent interviewees from making up answers or lying. Kinsey: used this technique when interviewing on sexual behaviour giving interviewees little time to think about their answers

  2.matching characteristics between interviewer and interviewee (ethnicity/gender/language) e.g interviewing women on domestic abuse would be better done with a female interviewee

  3.PLaying 'dumb' to the interviewee. Becker: employed this method with his research on school teachers as a way of extracting sensitive information,which otherwise they may not have revealed about how they classified pupils in terms of their social class and ethnicity.