Disadvantages Of A Semi-Structured Interview

Research on interviews has generally shown that standardized procedures are higher in their reliability and validity than unstructured interviews. Learning how structured

A structured interview can improve the process by asking the same questions to each candidate.

Structured interviews are where the interviewer has already pre-planned the questions that they will use in the interview. This is useful because the interview can be repeated, as the questions are standardised.

Structured Interviews where the rater is trained to consistently use the same rating scales to evaluate the responses results in a reliable and valid assessment method and is weighted at .6. Properly implemented structured interviews can reduce adverse impact and annualized turnover.

Structured interviews are when the interview asks each respondent the same series of questions. Questions are created prior to the interview, and would often have a limited set of responses (Rowley, 2012). Semi-structured interviews are when the interviewer and the interviewee engage in a formal interview. The interviewer develops and used an interview guide. This is a list of questions and topics that would need to be covered during the conversation (Rowley, 2012). These questions of often asked in an order. The interviewer follows the guide but may stray away from the guide when they would feel that they need to ask different

Arroll and Howard (2012) and Ashbring (2000) both utilize qualitative methods. According to Breakwell, Smith and Wright (2012) researchers using semi-structures interviews using their questions as a guide for the interview process. Arroll and Howards (2012) use of semi-structured interview fits well with Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) due to its flexible method of collecting data as suggested by Breakwell et al (2012). Dickson, Knussen and Flowers (2007) sum up IPA as having a focus on the links

One advantage of a semi structured interview is that in the case of participants who tend to answer questions briefly, the interviewer can ask more open ended questions and cater the structure of the interview for the participant. The interviewer has a choice of which order to ask the questions in and how to ask them. For instance, in the transcript for the interview, the interviewer is being provided with one sentence yes/no replies in the beginning. Then, a few questions later, the interviewer asks a more detailed question that asks the participant how they manage their diabetes and who helps them. This prompts a more detailed response from the participant, who has now been asked to speak more freely about their experience with diabetes. Furthermore, for semi-structured interviews, the interviewers can follow what the participants are saying and modify their questions accordingly. The interviewer can be prompted by something the participant has said, and explore that prompt further in their proceeding questions. For example, when the respondent states that they do their own finger prick blood test, the interviewer then explores that deeper by asking follow up questions such as what equipment the participant uses and the difference in their own materials versus the hospital’s. Furthermore, in a semi-structured interview, the participant might bring up interesting points the interviewer had not come across in their

Structured interviews (including tests and questionnaires), in which each participant is asked the same set of questions in the same way. The clinical or case study method brings together a wide range of information on one person, including interviews, observations, and sometimes tests scores.

Unstructured: This interviews can be seen as a very difficult interview to stay in control of, starting out the interview with questions prepared but then can changed from script depending on the responses given out, usually completed successfully by a highly skilled interviewee.

The interview technique chosen was a semi structured individual interview design in an attempt to compare individual thoughts and emotions. Interviews lasted between fifteen and thirty minutes and were recorded by the interviewer via hand written notes. Certain background questions were used at the beginning of the interview to allow the participant to feel relaxed, questioned choice was ensured to be non-directional with prompting only used in aid of the participant (Smith & Osborn, 2003). (A copy of the question sheet can be seen in Appendix 4).

Interviewing is the method of qualitative research that normally comes first to people’s mind. It is much more than merely asking premeditated question after question. Interviewing is an art that requires the ability to quickly create a relationship between two people in order to gain knowledge. There are many techniques when it comes to conducting valuable interviews. Not every technique works for every interviewer and there is more than one right way to interview. For instance, while both Robert Lane, author of Political Ideology: Why the American Common Man Believes What He Does, and Judith Kestenberg author of Children During the Nazi Reign, used interviewing to gain knowledge for the writing of their books, these two authors prove

An interview guide was constructed and then tested through two pilot interviews, during with time frame was evaluated. After these tests were executed, some small adjustments were made in order to better frame the questions. The sample was interviewed during three weeks in March and April 2012, using the semi- structured questions from the interview guide. The authors were aware of the effect that the response to some questions may have on the following responses, if a specific question was posed prior to another. Therefore general rules formulated within qualitative research for the sequence of questions, were followed. (Bryman, 2002). The authors deemed that the first question had

Unlike questionnaires, structured interviews allow the researcher to read and adapt to the body language of the respondent to get the most accurate answer from them. For example, the researcher might be able to tell if the respondent is being truthful or not. This could be particularly useful as Item C states that many homeless people are involved with crime and are therefore perhaps more likely to lie as it has become part of their social identity.

Whereas a structured interview follows a standardised format, in an unstructured interview the interviewer has complete freedom to vary the interview. Supporters argue that this brings a number of important advantages. Such as, rapport and sensitivity, the interviewee's views are clearer, the ability to check understanding, flexibility and the ability for the interviewer to explore unfamiliar topics. However, there are multiple disadvantages to using unstructured interviews in sociological research. Such as, practical problems, which include, time and sample size, training, and interpersonal skills, there are also issues with representativeness, reliability, quantification and validity.

The proposed methodology is a primary qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews. This method has been chosen as the focus of this