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Interviews (Structured interviews (Practical issues - Training…
Interviews
Structured interviews
Practical issues - Training interveiwers is relatively straightforward and inexpensive. Surveys that are structured interviews can cover quite large numbers of people. they are suitable for gathering straightforward factual info. They results are more quantifiable
Response rate structured interviews increase the chances of obtaining a representative sample of the population.
Reliability - another sociologist could repeat the research and get the same result. structured interviews are seen as reliable because it is easy for researchers to standardise and control them. they can make each interview the same. if this is done they should get similar results.
Validity - A valid method is one that provides a true picture of the topic being researched. structured interviews often produce a false picture. this is because they are mostly closed questions so it restricts the interviewee, they give very little freedom to explain the question in more detail and people may lie or exaggerate their answers.
Inflexibility - structured interviews suffer from the inflexibility that comes from having to draw up the question in advance. this means that the researcher has already decided what's important.as a result the finding may like in validity. also the interviews are snapshots a picture of one moment in time they fail to capture the following, dynamic nature of social life,
Feminist criticisms - Hilary Graham argues that this method is patriarchal and gives a distorted and invalid picture of women's experience
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Types of interviews
Structured or formal interviews - is a given strict instructions on how to ask questions. ask people the same question word for word.
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semi-structured interviews - each interview has the same questions but they can probe for more info.
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Unstructured interviews
Advantages
Rapport and sensitivity - the informality of the unstructured interview allows the interviewer to develop a rapport (understanding and trust) with the interviewee. meaning that the interviewee will be more at ease. and will enable them to open up and tell the truth. they are useful when researching sensitive topics.
The interviewee's view - they allow more opportunity to speak about those things they think are important. so they get to decide which questions are worth asking. they are more likely to produce fresh insight and valid data.
Checking understanding - they can make it easier for the interviewee and the interviewer to check each others meanings. meaning they can explain things in a different way/ change the question. and they can use follow up questions if they did not understand the interviewees answer.
Flexibility - they are not restricted because they have no fixed questions. so they can ask questions tailored to their interests. meaning they can create new hypothesises.
Exploring unfamiliar topics - they are mainly open ended questions and exploratory. some sociologists use this method as a starting point to develop their initial ideas abut a topic before going on to use more structured methods of investigation such as questionnaires.
Disadvantages
Quantification - the data collected is hard to quantify because they are mainly open-ended questions
Reliability - they are not reliable because they are not standardised. each interview is different. this makes it hard for other researchers to replicate.
Representative - they interviews are done in smaller numbers meaning that there is less chance of a wider verity of people
Validity - they are generally seen as producing valid data. however some say that they involve an interaction between the people involved making the results distort.
Practical problems - Time and sample size are an issue they take longer to do meaning they cant get through as many people. training people to do the interview because they have to have knowledge on the subject to recognise connections.