Interviews; Structured and unstructured as a social interaction

The interview as a social interaction

Interviewer Bias

• May ask 'leading' questions where the wording 'tells' the interviewee how to answer
• Less of a danger to structured interviews because the interviewer is restricted to a fixed set of questions and fixed wording
• May consciously or unconsciously influence the answer by their facial expressiom, body language or tone of voice.
• Interviewer may also identify too close to the interviewee. ANN OAKLEY; as a mother found it difficult to be neutral when interviewing other mothers

Artificiality

• Both parties know it is an interview
• One side takes initiative and asks questions
• Sometimes doubtful whether truthful answers can be obtained

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