Topic 5 - Interviews - Methods in context Flashcards
(12 cards)
what are some practical issues of using interviews to study children ?
young interviewees tend to me ;
-more reluctant to talk
-not understand long , complex questions or some abstract concepts
-have a more limited vocabulary and use words incorrectly or differently from adults eg slang
-have a shorter attention span and poorer memory retrieval than adults
-read body language differently from adults
Practical problem of using interviews in schools - schools have very active communication channels ?
-schools have very active communication channels , this means that the content of the interview -possibly an inaccurate version of it - may get around most pupils and teachers after a few interviews have taken place
-this may influence the responses given by later interviewees , thus reducing the validity of the data
Practical problems of using interviews in schools - being conducted at school ?
- if the interviews are conducted on school premises , this may affect how comfortable pupils or parents feel
-the school and classroom represent higher status and authority and some parents and pupils might find the location off putting
-teachers too may be put off by the fear of colleagues or the head teacher overhearing , especially if the questions are of a sensitive nature
Practical problems of using interviews in schools - time constraints ?
-unstructured interviews can often take an hour or longer , given the time constraints that most teachers work under , interviews with them would have to take place outside of school hours
-if the interviews are conducted during school time , there are likely to be interruptions and distractions which are common in a busy school environment
-parents too , often have busy work and parenting schedules and may only cooperate in lengthy interviews if they can see it of some benefit to their child’s education
why are structured interviews likely to produce reliable data ?
-structured interviews produce reliable data because they are standardised : each interview is conducted in the same way , with the same questions , in the same order and tone of voice and so on
why in schools when interviewing young children is it likely that structured interviews wont produce reliable data ?
-structured interviews may not produce valid data , since young people are unlikely to respond favourably to such a formal style -perhaps because it makes the interviewer appear to much like a teacher
how did Bentley change the formal interview approach in school to help improve the reliability and validity ?
-Instead of using the formal approach , Bentley began each interview by showing them a jokey image of her fooling around with her daughter
-during the interview she maintained a relaxed atmosphere by nodding , smiling and making eye contact
why is the access difficult when interviewing for schools and how does this lead to a low response rate ?
-schools are hierarchical institutions and this can cause problems when seeking to interview teachers and pupils
-this is because the interviewer must get the head teachers approval and parents
-schools may be reluctant to allow sociologists to conduct interviews during lesson time because of the disruption it causes , or because they object to the researchers chosen topic eg school refuse on a topic about drug use
Response rate of Fields study ?
-parental permission may also be required to interview children , the likelihood of this being granted varies according to the subject of the research
-Fields study of pupil’ experience of sex and health education in schools has a high refusal rate of 29% , mainly because of parents withholding consent
what do power and status inequalities lead to when researching children ?
-there are power and status inequalities between the young and adults so interviewers are usually adults who are seen as authority figures so leads children to be more likely to lie , exaggerate
status and power indifferences - what does Bell believe pupils see the interviewer as ?
-Bell notes that pupils may see the interviewer as a teacher in disguise leading to invalid data
improving the validity of data - what do Greene and Hogan argue interviewers should do to improve the validity of interviews with pupils ?
-use open ended rather than closed ended questions
-not interrupt childrens answers
-tolerate long pauses , to allow children to think about what they want to say
-recognise that children are more suggestible and so its particularly important to avoid asking leading questions
-avoid repeating questions , since it makes children change their first answer because they think it was wrong
