Interviews

Question 1

Why are interviews described as a method of ‘self report’?

Answer 1

Interviews are a method of self-report where someone answers questions about themselves or their opinions.

Question 2

True or false - Interviews are non-experimental methods?

Answer 2

True - Interviews are a non-experimental method, where you do not need an IV or DV (but you can have them).

Question 3

True or false - Interviews
can be used along side other experimental methods?

Answer 3

True - Interviews can be used alongside other methods, for example, an experiment may use a interviews as a method.

Question 4

What are the three types of interview?

Answer 4

Structured, semi-structured or unstructured

Question 5

What are structured interviews?

Answer 5

Everyone has set questions that are in a set order. The questions can not be changed, altered or expanded on.

Question 6

What are semi-structured interviews?

Answer 6

A mid-way point between structured and unstructured. There are some set questions, but these can be followed up by adding questions if the participant discloses something of interest.

Question 7

What are unstructured interviews?

Answer 7

There are no real set questions, just a general topic area to be studied. Questions can be changed and altered as needed. They are flexible, for example, someone might say something interesting, so you change the next question in line with this.

Question 8

Give 2 strengths of interviews as a whole

Answer 8

• closed questions (e.g., yes or no) can be used o provide quantitative data meaning that the results can be easily analysed using a statistical test.
  -open questions can be used to gather qualitative data which is rich in detail. This is a strength as due to the participant providing detailed responses, the results will be more valid.

Question 9

Give 3 strengths of structured interviews

Answer 9

• Every participant receives the same questions, which is standardised. This is a strength as it means the results from the interview can be repeated and tested for reliability.
• This is also a strength as it means that the results are easy to compare.
• easy to conduct and do not require a lot of training. This is a strength as it means they are less time consuming.

Question 10

Give a strength of an unstructured interview

Answer 10

• you can change the questions and add follow up questions if the participants states something interesting. This is a strength as participants will provide more detailed responses, therefore results will be more valid.

Question 11

Give 4 weaknesses of interviews as a whole

Answer 11

• they can be time consuming. This is a weakness as it may be harder to repeat.
• people have to be trained to administer the interview. This is a weakness as it may be more costly and time consuming.
• the use of open questions leads to qualitative data, which may be subject to interpretation bias. This is a weakness as it means the results will be harder to analyse.
• answers given by participants can be influenced by social desirability. This is a weakness as the results of the interview may be less valid.

Question 12

Give a weakness of a structured interview

Answer 12

One weakness of structured interviews is that you cannot change the questions to follow up on an interesting point. This is a weakness as the results will be less in-depth and therefore less valid.