Topic 5 - Interviews

Question 1

What are the 4 main types of interviews that sociologists may use ?

Answer 1

-structured / formal interviews
-unstructured /informal interviews
-semi-structured interviews
-group interviews

Question 2

Types of interviews - what are structured / formal interviews ?

Answer 2

-structured / formal interviews - are very similar to questionnaires , the interviewer is given strict instructions on how to ask the questions . The interview is conducted in the same standardised way each time , asking each interviewee precisely the same questions , word for word , in the same order , tone of voice and so on

Question 3

Types of interviews - what are unstructured / informal interviews ?

Answer 3

-unstructured /informal interviews - are like a guided conversation . The interviewer has the complete freedom to vary the questions , their wording , order and so on from one interview to the next , pursuing whatever line of questioning seems appropriate at the time , asking follow up questions or probing more deeply

Question 4

Types of interviews - what are semi structured interviews ?

Answer 4

-semi structured interviews -each interview has the same set of questions in common , but the interview can probe for more information , additional questions can be shed where the interviewer thinks its relevant

Question 5

Types of interviews - what are group interviews ?

Answer 5

-group interviews - where up to a dozen or so people are being interviewed together

Question 6

What type of interviews did Willis use ?

Answer 6

-Willis used group interviews as part of his research into the lads and schooling

Question 7

What are focus groups ?

Answer 7

-focus groups are a form of group interview in which the researchers asks the group to discuss a certain topic , such as how pupils feel about school and the researcher then records their view

Question 8

What are the strengths of group interviews ?

Answer 8

-participants may feel more comfortable being with others and thus more likely to open up
-in a discussion , participants often throw ideas around the group , stimulating each others thinking , which produces more reflective data
-they can be a useful way of generating initial ideas that can be followed up in later research
-the researcher can combine questioning with the opportunity to observe group dynamics and norms

Question 9

What are the limitations of group interviews ?

Answer 9

-one or two do the individuals may dominate the discussion , which stops others from contributing
-much depends on the researchers ability to keep the group focused on the discussion topic
-peer group pressure to conform to group norms may lead participants not saying what they really think
-data generated from group interaction is more complex and difficult to analyse

Question 10

What are the practical issues and advantages of structured interviews ?

Answer 10

-training interviewers is relatively straightforward and inexpensive , since all they are required to do is follow a set of instructions. However , this is more costly than simply posting or emailing questionnaires to people
-surveys that use structured interviews can cover quite a large number of people with relatively limited resources because they are quick and fairly cheap to administer , however , they still cannot match the potentially huge numbers reached by postal questionnaires
-structured interviews are suitable for gathering straightforward factual information such as a persons age or job
-the results are easily quantified because they are closed ended questions which makes them suitable for hypothesis testing

Question 11

What is a study which used structured interviews ?

Answer 11

-Young and Willmott used structured interviews in their research into the extended family in east London

Question 12

Do structured interviews generally have a high response rate - evidence from Young and willmott study to back this up ?

Answer 12

-structured interviews usually have a higher response rate compared to questionnaires
-for example , of the 987 people Young and Willmott approached for their main sample , only 54 refused to be interviewed
-this may be because it’s harder to turn down face to face requests
-the more people interviewed , increases the study’s representativeness and therefore easier to make generalisations

Question 13

Are structured interviews seen as reliable , if so why ?

Answer 13

-Structured interviews are seen as reliable because its easy for the researcher to standardise and control them , they can ensure that each interview is conducted in precisely the same way , with the same questions , in the same order , with the same wording and tone of voice etc
-this will lead the same interview procedures to get very similar results , so we can compare answers easily and identify similarities and differences

Question 14

Are structured interviews valid or not , if so why ?

Answer 14

-structured interviews are said to be not valid (provide a true picture ) , this is because they are said to like questionnaires produce a false picture of the subjects they are trying to study
-structured interviews usually use closed ended questions that restrict interviewees to choosing from a limited number of pre set answers . If none of these answers fit what the interviewee really wishes to say , the data obtained will be invalid
-structured interviews give interviewers very little freedom to explain questions or clarify misunderstandings . For example , the interviewer may be given one alternative form of words to use if the interviewee doesn’t understand the question , but if this fails to do the trick the interviewer has to move on to the next question
-people may lie or exaggerate , which means their responses produce false data

Question 15

Are structured interviews flexible or inflexible , if so why ?

Answer 15

-structured interviews suffer from the inflexibility that comes from having to draw up the questions in advance
-in doing so , the researcher has already decided what is important - yet this may not coincide with what the interviewee thinks is important
-as a result , the findings may lack validity because they don’t reflect the interviewees concerns and priorities
-also structured interviews like questionnaires are merely snapshots taken at one moment in time , so they fail to capture the flowing dynamic nature of social life - unlike participant observation

Question 16

What are feminist criticisms of structured interviews put forward by Graham ?

Answer 16

Graham argues that survey methods such as questionnaires and structured interviews are patriarchal and give a distorted , invalid picture of women’s experience , she argues that ;
-the researcher , not the female interviewee , is in control of the interview and decides the line of questioning to be followed , this mirrors women’s subordination in wider society
-survey methods treat women as isolated individuals rather than seeing them in the context of the power relationships that oppress them
-Surveys impose the researchers categories on women , making it difficult for them to express their experiences of oppression , thus concealing the unequal power relationships between the sexes

Question 17

Advantages of unstructured interviews - rapport and sensitivity ?

Answer 17

-rapport and sensitivity - the informality of unstructured interviews allows the interviewer to develop a rapport (relationship of trust and understanding) with the interviewee , this is more likely to put the interviewee at ease and encourage them to open up compared to a formal structured interview

Question 18

Advantages of unstructured interviews - rapport and sensitivity - what did Labov find the difference when using structured and formal interviews compared to using informal and unstructured interviews ?

Answer 18

-Labov , used formal interview techniques to study the language of black American children , Labov found that they appeared to be tongue tied and linguistically deprived
-however , by adopting a more relaxed , informal style - the interviewer sat on the floor and the child had a friend present - brought a completely different response . The child opened up and spoke freely , showing they were competent speakers

Question 19

Advantages of unstructured interviews - rapport and sensitivity- how did Dobash and Dobash using unstructured interviews in their study help them ?

Answer 19

-unstructured interviews are particularly useful when researching sensitive topics
-for example , Dobash and Dobash used them to study domestic violence
-the empathy and encouragement of the interviewer will help the interviewee to feel comfortable discussing difficult or personal subjects such as abuse

Question 20

Advantages of unstructured interviews - the interviewees view ?

Answer 20

-the interviewees view - because there are no set questions , unstructured interviews allow the interviewee more opportunity to speak about things they think are important.
-this contrasts with structured interviews , where the researcher decides in advance , what questions are worth asking and limits interviewees to a fixed range of possible answers
-by allowing the interviewees more freedom , an unstructured interview is more likely to produce fresh insights and valid data

Question 21

Advantages of unstructured interviews - the interviewees view - what did Dean and Taylor -Gooby study and why was using unstructured interviews the Best method ?

Answer 21

-Dean and Taylor - Gooby used unstructured interviews lasting up to 90 minutes on the experiences of unemployment
-they believe this approach gave their interviewees the freedom to talk in their own terms about the issues that concern them

Question 22

Advantages of unstructured interviews - checking understanding ?

Answer 22

-checking understanding - unstructured interviews make it much easier for the interviewer and interviewee to check each others meaning
-if the interviewee doesn’t understand a question , it can be explained
-similarly , if the interviewer is unsure what the interviewee means , follow up questions can be put to clarify matters

Question 23

Advantages of unstructured interviews - flexibility ?

Answer 23

-flexibility - unstructured interviews are highly flexible
-the interviewer isn’t restricted to a fixed set of questions in advance , but can explore whatever seems interesting or relevant

Question 24

Advantages of unstructured interviews -exploring unfamiliar topics ?

Answer 24

-exploring unfamiliar topics - with structured interviews , researchers need to have some knowledge of the subject and preferably a clear hypothesis before they start interviewing ,otherwise they will have little idea of what questions to ask
-however ,where the subject is one that we don’t yet know much about , unstructured interviews may be more useful because they use open ended questions which allow us to explore the topic
-like a conversation , we start by knowing nothing and then learn as we go along
-some sociologists sue unstructured interviews as a start point to develop their initial ideas about a topic before going to use more structured methods such as questionnaire

Question 25

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews - practical problems - 3 main practical problems ?

Answer 25

-time and sample size -training -interpersonal skills

Question 26

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews - practical problems - time and sample size ?

Answer 26

-time and sample size - being in depth explorations , unstructured interviews take a long time to conduct - often several hours each , this limits the number that can be carried out and means the researcher will have a relatively small sample compared with the large numbers who can be studied using structured interviews or questionnaires

Question 27

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews -practical problems - training ?

Answer 27

-training - the interviewer will need more training compared to when using structured interviews ,the interviewer needs to have a background in sociology so they can recognise when the interviewee has made a sociologically important point and so they can probe with an appropriate lining of questioning -all this adds to the cost of conducting structured interviews

Question 28

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews - practical problems - interpersonal skills ?

Answer 28

-interpersonal skills - interviewers also need good interpersonal skills so they can establish a rapport , that is essential if interviewees are to answer fully and honestly

Question 29

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews - representativeness ?

Answer 29

-representativeness - the smaller number involved means it is more likely that the sample interviewed will not be representative , this means that it will be harder to make valid generalisations based on the findings of the interviews

Question 30

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews - reliability ?

Answer 30

-reliability -unstructured interviews aren’t reliable because they aren’t standardised , each interview is unique , interviewers are free to ask different questions in each case if they feel it is relevant to do so -this makes it virtually impossible for another researcher to replicate the interviews and check their findings or compare them to their own

Question 31

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews - quantification ?

Answer 31

-Quantification - because unstructured interviews are mainly open ended questions , the answers cannot be pre-coded -this makes it very difficult to count up and quantify the numbers of interviewees giving this or that answer -less helpful for discovering cause and effect relationships which positivists prefer

Question 32

Disadvantage of unstructured interviews - validity ?

Answer 32

- unstructured interviews are generally seen as producing valid data. -however , critics argue that the fact that they involve an interaction between the interviewer and interviewee inevitably colours and distorts the information

Question 33

What are the 6 ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews (structured or unstructured) ?

Answer 33

1.interviewer bias 2.artificiality 3.status and power inequalities 4.cultural differences 5.the social desirability effect 6.ethical issues

Question 34

ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews - Interviewer bias ?

Answer 34

-Interviewer bias -the interviewer may ask leading questions , where the wording tells the interviewee how to answer -for example , wouldn't you agree that women shouldn't go out to work when they have young children ? clearly this implies that the interviewer expects the answer yes -interviewers may also consciously or unconsciously influence the answer by their facial expression , body language or tone of voice

Question 35

ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews - interviewer bias - Oakley ?

Answer 35

-interviewer bias - where the interviewer identifies too closely with the interviewees - Oakley admits that as a mother herself , she found it difficult to remain detached and neutral when interviewing other women about maternity and childbirth

Question 36

Ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews - artificiality ?

Answer 36

-artificiality - even the most relaxed of unstructured interviews is still an interview and not a normal conversation , both parties know it is an interview , in which one "side" takes the initiative and asks the questions -under these artificial conditions , its sometimes doubtful whether truthful answers can be obtained

Question 37

Ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews - status and power inequalities ?

Answer 37

-status and power inequalities - inequalities between the interviewer and interviewee may affect the interviewees honesty or willingness to answer -in general , the bigger the status difference , the less valid the data

Question 38

Ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews - status and power inequalities - Richs study ?

Answer 38

status and power inequalities - Rich found that when adults interview children , the child's need to please the interviewer will affect their answers

Question 39

Ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews - cultural differences ?

Answer 39

-cultural differences - these may also undermine validity , for example , there may be misunderstandings as a result of different meanings given to the same word -the cultural gap may also mean that interviewers cannot tell when they are being lied to

Question 40

Ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews - cultural differences - study by Mead ?

Answer 40

-cultural differences - study by Mead research on adolescents has been criticised on the grounds that Mead , who couldn't speak the language , was unable to spot that the girls she interviewed deliberately misled her

Question 41

Ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews -the social desirability effect ?

Answer 41

-the social desirability effect - in social interaction , people often seek to win approval , this may be even truer in interviews , where interviewees may be on their best behaviour and give answers that present them in a favourable light -they may also wish to not appear ignorant or uninterested , so instead of saying they don't know or don't understand the question , they offer any answer at all , rather than none

Question 42

Ways in which social interaction can threaten the validity of interviews - ethical issues ?

Answer 42

-ethical issues - there are relatively few ethical problems with interviews -nevertheless , because the interview is a social interaction , the interviewee may feel under some pressure to answer the questions -researchers should gain informed consent , guarantee anonymity and make it clear that respondents have a right not to answer any of the questions they don't wish to -interviews on sensitive topics or with vulnerable people , may also risk causing psychological harm

Question 43

Improving the validity of data - how did Kinsey do this ?

Answer 43

-For example , to reduce the chance of interviewees making up answers or telling lies , Kinsey's interviews on sexual behaviours asked questions quickly , giving interviewees little time to think -follow up interviews , 18 months later were also used as a way of checking earlier answers

Question 44

Improving the validity of data - how did Becker do this ?

Answer 44

-Becker developed another approach in his interviews with 60 Chicago school teachers -he used aggression , disbelief and playing dumb as ways of extracting sensitive information from them , which they may not otherwise have revealed -however , the success of such tactics requires the researcher to have special skills