Self-Report Techniques - Interviews:
Structured –
Made up set of pre-determined questions
o Questions are asked exactly as they are written down, in a particular
standardised format
o Produces quantitative data which can be compared
o Interviewer skills are not so important
Unstructured –
Has general aims but subsequent questions are based on answers given
o Sometimes called a ‘clinical interview’ as similar to one with a doctor
o Questions are more open
o Requires skill at interviewing eg. not to ask leading questions
Semi-structured –
List of questions made up in advance but also free to ask follow up questions
o Interviewee has more freedom to talk about what is of interest or relevance
o Requires considerable skill at interviewing
Advantages –
o Enables researchers to gain subjective meanings
o Enables complex issues to be explored
o Researchers able to identify personal aspects of behaviour
Limitations –
o Complex, highly labour intensive and requires specialist training
o Interviewer must be detached in order to avoid bias
o Aspects of the interviewer can result in interviewer effects eg. age, gender
o Problem of demand characteristics through social desirability bias
o Qualitative data obtained from unstructured interviews may not be easy to
analyse
Structured –
Made up set of pre-determined questions
o Questions are asked exactly as they are written down, in a particular
standardised format
o Produces quantitative data which can be compared
o Interviewer skills are not so important
Unstructured –
Has general aims but subsequent questions are based on answers given
o Sometimes called a ‘clinical interview’ as similar to one with a doctor
o Questions are more open
o Requires skill at interviewing eg. not to ask leading questions
Semi-structured –
List of questions made up in advance but also free to ask follow up questions
o Interviewee has more freedom to talk about what is of interest or relevance
o Requires considerable skill at interviewing
Advantages –
o Enables researchers to gain subjective meanings
o Enables complex issues to be explored
o Researchers able to identify personal aspects of behaviour
Limitations –
o Complex, highly labour intensive and requires specialist training
o Interviewer must be detached in order to avoid bias
o Aspects of the interviewer can result in interviewer effects eg. age, gender
o Problem of demand characteristics through social desirability bias
o Qualitative data obtained from unstructured interviews may not be easy to
analyse
