Structured Interviews

Sample answer:Some sociologists do surveys and use other quantitative methods. Other sociologists use ethnographic methods and interviews; these are qualitative methods. Some people could try to argue that one approach is better than the other,

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

An advantage of unstructured interviews would be that it is very informal; therefore, the respondent is more likely to be relaxed. This would be useful when asking them about material deprivation, as it could be quite a sensitive topic to some. Using the unstructured method is good for researching sensitive topics as empathy and trust can be built easier, just

However with practical issues may be seen as an important factor which influences sociologists choice of research methods. It is important to understand the topic or group being studied. For example, if the topic is sensitive, such as domestic violence, bullying, grades at school etc. For sensitive information, unstructured interviews would be the best research method as the researcher can build up a rapport with the participant, meaning that the participant would be more likely to open up to the researcher. For example, Dobash and Dobash carried out informal interviews on women who had experienced domestic violence.

The use of research in the field of sociology has led to many breakthroughs in us as humans understanding both ourselves and our culture around us. As we as society continue working to develop a better understanding of how and why we act and interact with our surroundings we need to continue completing research to answer these questions. Research in sociology has created a better understanding of society and will continue to provide clues into the human mind. However, research must be completed properly and ethically along with proper research methods. Without proper procedures of completing research we as society may receive wrong information or biased answers about questions we want answered. There are four types of research that sociology uses to give us answers about our society and careful consideration must be taken to follow the rules of these research types.

A questionnaire is a list of a research or survey questions asked to respondents, and designed to extract quantitative date. Questionnaires are easily distributed to the community and can be completed and collected on the spot or be emailed or posted back to the researcher. Self completed questionnaires are the most common survey as they are cheap and can be passed to a lot of people. Some sociologists tend not to use questionnaires because of their low response rate and lack of validity. Also, some people may give false information so some researchers like to stick to interviews and experiments for increased accuracy. I will explore why sociologists shy away from using questionnaires.

Phenomenological interview limitations may appear due to the researcher’s lack of experience in conducting interviews (Downey, 2015); which may interfere with the researcher’s focus and intentionality (Ashworth, 2017). Limitations may occur with the relationship between the researcher and the interviewee, including power struggles which might affect trust and honest participant reflections (Boucher, 2017). Further, time limitations could impede upon a participants deliberation process during the interview process (Downey, 2015). If a researcher is to understand the essence of a phenomenon; a suspension of judgment is required during participant interviews (Ashworth, 2017). Additionally, the researcher will need to be extremely attentive to experience the study through the participants’ eyes (Kelley, 2016). Individuals may choose not to answer every question, which is acceptable; yet, missing data can also become a limitation to the study. However, if enough participants do not answer the same question, the question might need to be reframed or removed; additionally, secondary data, such as technical reports, white papers or additional publications might be necessary to validate the research question (Johnston, 2014).

One method of research is using interviews. For example, when using interviews in a care home, when conducting research, many ethical issues can be raised. Interviews not only take place face-to-face, but also can happen on the phone, online, through text messaging, using a video messenger and though social media. Interviews are a very useful way of collecting information because a wide range of detailed information can be collected at a large quantity. There are two types of interviews: structured or unstructured.

As a researcher, an interview would be an enticing design to obtain insight to how the traumatic events affected the adolescents. Using a structured interview would allow my research to be easily replicated, as there would be a designated list of closed questions. Additionally, closed questions would be easier to test for reliability, as they are easier to quantify than other interview questions. Furthermore, having a set of closed questions would allow the interview process to move at a fairly quick pace, resulting in completing interviews in a short amount of time. Notably, structured interviews could be completed with ease, allowing my research

Face-to-face interviews will be interview guide approach where there will be an outline of topics and issues that the interviewer will cover with the participant (Babbie &Rubin, 1993). Having an outline it allows the researcher to compare responses between participants and it reduces the interviewer biases (Babbie & Rubin, 1993). An outline is constructed where it will guide the researcher with the participant from one concern to another but in a conversational approach (Babbie & Rubin, 1993). Moreover, a study without any set structure the researcher and participant can get side tracked and not answer the questions needed for the study research. The length of the interview will be approximately thirty minutes, but there will be no time restriction. The information will be recorded similar to a focus group, with a recording device and notes occasionally. Before analyzing the data, the researcher will examine his or her “own thoughts and feelings” because it’s a crucial process in understanding the participants (Babbie & Rubin, 1993, p.

Unstructured interviews tend to be unreliable and they are often not job related. These are going to be used to get a more general idea of what the individual is like. I will be starting off with these questions first then go into my structured questions.

It has also been stated that even though these are the preferred methods, if the research is not done correctly, there will not be much value in the data. For example when doing a verbal interview such as I did when going shop to shop and asking my questions. Once the verbal information is obtained, it will need to be placed into a word for and document to be analyzed (Remenyi, 2011). It is also mentioned that it is very important, what questions are asked and how they are asked. The directness of the questions, the exact wording and the order in which they are put. This is all most critical to the way the information is later interpreted and used. It is also important to choose the wording correctly. If the interviewee did not understand the word or words in the question your information will not be correct or usable (Remenyi,

Interviews – Used to gather qualitative data. Interviews allow for more exploration into the subject or factors being researched. The advantages of interviews are that the researcher can easily control the way in which the interviews are constructed as interviews can be structured, semi structured or unstructured (YMAY 61). The book gave an example of sociologist Michelle Lamont interviewing upper-middle-class men in France and the United States about their tastes. She was able to have the interview be unstructured, open-ended style which allowed the 160 subjects interviewed to

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