Sociological Research Skills Research Methods
Page
1
Name of Method
Focused (Semi-
structured) Interviews
Brief Outline of Method
This technique is used to collect
qualitative
data by setting up a situation (the interview) that allows a
respondent the time and scope to talk about their opinions on a
particular subject. The
focus
of the
interview is decided by the researcher and there may be areas the researcher is interested in exploring.
The objective is to
understand
the respondent's point of view rather than make generalisations about
behaviour. It
uses
open
-
ended questions
, some suggested by the researcher (“Tell me about…”) and
some arise naturally during the interview (“You said a moment ago…can you tell me more?”).
The researcher tries to build a
rapport
with the respondent and the interview is
like a conversation.
Questions are asked when the interviewer feels it is appropriate to ask them. They may be prepared
questions or questions that occur to the researcher during the interview. The wording of questions will not
necessarily be the same fo
r all respondents.
Strengths / Uses of Method
Weaknesses / Limitations of Method
1.
Positive rapport
between interviewer and
interviewee. Very
simple, efficient and practical way
of getting data about things that can’t be easily
observed (feelings an
d emotions, for example).
2.
High Validity
. People are able to talk about
something in detail and depth. The meanings
behind an action may be revealed as the
interviewee is able to speak for themselves with
little direction from interviewer.
3.
Complex
questions and issues can be
discussed / clarified
. The interviewer can probe
areas suggested by the respondent's answers,
picking
-
up information that had either not occurred
to the interviewer or of which the interviewer had no
prior knowledge.
4.
Pre
-
Jud
gement
: Problem of researcher pre
-
determining what will or will not be discussed in the
interview is resolved. With few "pre
-
set questions"
involved, the interviewer is not "pre
-
judging" what is
and is not important information.
5. Easy to record interview
(video / audio tapes).
1. Depends on the
skill
of the interviewer (the
ability to think of questions during the interview, for
example) and articulacy of respondent.
2. Interviewer may give out
unconscious signals
/
cues that guide respondent to give answ
ers
expected by interviewer.
3.
Time Consuming / expensive
4.
Not very reliable
-
difficult to exactly repeat a
focused interview. Respondents may be asked
different questions (non
-
standardised). Samples
tend to be small.
5. Depth of qualitative informatio
n may be d
ifficult
to analyse
(for example, deciding what is and is not
relevant).
6. Personal nature of interview may make findings
difficult to generalise
(respondents may
effectively be answering different questions).
8.
Validity
:
a. The researcher h
as no real way of knowing if the
respondent is lying.
