Structured Interviews

Question 1

what is a structured interview?

Answer 1

• it’s a formal face to face interview where the interviewer asks pre-set questions to respondents in same way
• usually brief

Question 2

example

Answer 2

willmott and young’s research of extended family in east london

Question 3

positive practical factors

Answer 3

(+) cheap; training is straightforward since they only follow a set of instructions

(+) suitable for gathering straight forward factual information

(+) data can be quantified easily because they use close questions with coded answers which makes it suitable for hypothesis testing

Question 4

negative ethical factors

Answer 4

(-) some people may be uncomfortable with talking about their past

(-) people may lie/change answers because they might feel embarrassed

Question 5

negative validity factors

Answer 5

(-) it uses closed questions which restricts interviewers to choose from limited numbers of preset answers

(-) no freedom to explain questions/clarify misunderstanding

Question 6

positive reliability factors

Answer 6

(+) they’re reliable because it is easy for the researcher to standardised/control them

(+) ensures each interview is conducted precisely the same way, same questions, same order/wording

(+) provides structure for others

Question 7

positive representative factors

Answer 7

(+) large sample size who can be surveyed which increases chances of obtaining a representative sample of the population

Question 8

feminist critique

Answer 8

Hilary Graham says that the survey methods like questionnaires and structured interviews are patriarchal and gave distorted picture of women’s experience.

• treats women as isolated individuals than seeing them in context of power relationships than oppress them
• male researcher is in control of the interview and decide line of questioning to be followed ( it reflects women subordination in society)

Question 9

why would Positivists prefer this

Answer 9

• they believe there is a measurable objective social reality
• they take scientific approach using standardised methods e.g structured interviews to obtain quantitative data
• they employ fixed lists of closed questions so the answers can be classified and quantified
• this allows researcher to identify patterns and produce generalisations and cause and effect statements
• they are reliable and can produce large scale data