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Sociology - Theory and methods > Interviews > Flashcards

Flashcards in Interviews Deck (13)
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1
Q

Give an example of an unstructured interview

A

Barker - The moonies

Dobash+Dobash - studies women in a refuge to understand experiences of domestic violence

2
Q

What are the practical strengths of unstructured interviews?

A
They are flexible
Can be used for sensitive issues
Allows formulation of new ideas
Gives more insight
Creates a rapport
3
Q

What are the theoretical strengths and weaknesses of unstructured interviews?

A

Strengths: Highly valid, gains verstehen and more insight

Weaknesses: Unrepresentative (ungeneralisable), unreliable, small sample lowers validity and representativeness, hard to quantify, seems valid but may be distorted by social desirability effect, could go off track and no relevant data gathered, no trends or patterns, overly subjective (Positivism)

4
Q

What are the practical limitations of unstructured interviews?

A

Time consuming, needs training and is hard to analyse, hard to quantify, can go off track

5
Q

Give an example of a study that used structured interviews

A

Laud Humphreys- impersonal sex in public places (tea rooms) disguised as health survey

British crime survey-level of crime in Britain

6
Q

What are the practical strengths and limitations of structured interviews?

A
Strengths:
Gain data you are interested in
Quick and cheap
No training necessary
Data is easy to analyse

Limitations:
Inflexible

7
Q

What are the ethical strengths and limitations of structured interviews?

A

Strengths: Consent is easy and there is no obligation to answer questions

Limitations: Can’t ask sensitive questions

8
Q

What are the theoretical strengths and limitations of structured interviews?

A

Strengths:
Reliable
Representative

Limitations:
Lacks validity
No depth, insight, or explanations
Social desirability effects

9
Q

What are the Positivist and Interpretivist viewpoints on structured interviews?

A

Positivists like this method as it gives quantitative data and cause and effect can be established, and interpretivists do not like structured interviews as they do not give meanings and have low validity

10
Q

Give an example of a group interview study

A

Paul Willis used a group interview to study working class underachievement. Group interview allowed a conversation to start, and find out why the ‘lads’ were underachieving

11
Q

What are the practical strengths and limitations of group interviews?

A

Strengths:
Can combine questioning with observation to better understand the group
Reduces the role of the interviewer
Relaxed environment allows individuals to open up

Limitations:
Potentially difficult to get a large group of people in one place to conduct the interview
Quality of interview depends on researchers ability to keep the group focused on the topic
Easy to go off topic

12
Q

What are the theoretical strengths and limitations of group interviews?

A

Strengths: Relaxed atmosphere increases validity, more insight

Limitations: Peer pressure reduces validity, unreliable because it is impossible to replicate

13
Q

What are the ethical strengths and limitations of unstructured interviews?

A

Strengths: Use for sensitive topics, consent is given, can be used on vulnerable participants

Limitations: Can invade privacy