Advantages and Disadvantages of Unstructured Interviews

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Unstructured Interviews

AdvantagesGetting Started

  • Rapport and sensitivity - informality allows interviewer to gain rapport so more likely to open up. e.g. Labov in formal interview found it hard to open up as uneasy as linguistically deprived but by using relaxed style (e.g. sitting on floor) children relaxed and opened up
  • checking understanding - easier for interviewer and interviewee to check each others meanings. - if interviewee doesn't understand question they can ask - or if interviewer is unsure what interviewees meanings are can ask follow up questions to find out more
  • Flexibility - no fixed set of questions so can explore whats interesting/relevant at the time. Interviewer can find new ideas and hypotheses

Disadvantages

  • Practical Problems - Unstructured interviews take long time to conduct - limits number that can be carried out = small sample size compared with methods such as questionnaires - less representative
  • Reliability - not reliable as not standardized - each one unique as may ask different questions to different people if something interesting occurs so its almost impossible to replicate
  • Ethical Issues - In an interview it may be hard to not answer questions that may be sensitive or that interviewee doesnt want to talk about - also issues with confidentiality or harm if sensitive topic

Evaluation

Interpretivists favour unstructured interviews as they achieve main goal of validity - no pre-set structure interviewees can talk about what important to them. Open ended questions allow interviewee to express themselves in own words - producing qualitative data - gives insight into meanings. Positivists reject them as unique and cannot be replicated 

Comments

Oliviasrevision

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Very helpful! :)

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