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Lesson 4:!
The structured interview!
Plan!
- The structured interview: basics!
- !Conducting structured interviews!
- !Problems with structured interviewing! Quantiative approaches!
1. The structured interview: basics!
Quantiative approaches!
Structured interview: definition!
!"A structured interview, sometimes called a standardized interview, entails the administration of an interview schedule by an interviewer. The aim is for all interviewees to be given exactly the same context of questioning. This means that each respondent received exactly the same interview stimulus as any other. The goal of this style of interviewing is to ensure that interviewees replies can be aggregated and this can be achieved reliably only if those replies are in response to identical cues. Interviewers are supposed to read out questions exactly and in the same order as they are printed on the schedule. Questions are usually very specific and very often offer the interviewee a fixed range of answers (this type of question is often called closed, closed ended, pre-coded, or fixed choice). The structured interview is the typical form of interview in survey research."! !(Bryman, p. 110)!
Structured interview: Standardization and
aggregation!
Goal : !Transformation of responses into numbers;! !aggregation of responses! Means 1 : standardization of the question (and of its context)!
- the same queestion for all participants!
- fixed order of questions!
- short, precise, one-dimensional question!
- interviewers put questions in the same manner!
- interviewers respond to questions of respondents in the same manner!
- interviewers do not induce biais throught their «"way of being"»! Means 2: standardization of responses!
- response possibilities are given/fixed!
Standardization : why important?!
!Why is the standardization of questions and responses so important?! !Otherwise, we would not know if the variation in the responses are due to :! ! !- differences between interviewees («"real variation"»)! ! !- differences between questions! ! !- differences between response options! ! !- differences between interview contexts! Quantiative approaches!
Basic idea: Finding true variability, reducing
error variability!
!Basic idea: there is a «"true variability"» of the phenomenon that interests us in the «"reality"». In order to measure this true variability, we try to reduce all possible «"error variabilities"» (due to context influences or translations of responses)! !The means of reducing error variability is the standardization of questions, interview context and responses. If we do this, we can be sure that all found differences are due to «"real"» differences between respondents.!! Quantiative approaches!
Structured interview: example 1!
!If you were to consider your life in general these days, how happy or unhappy would you say you are, on the whole...! !Very happy! 1! !Fairly happy! 2! !Not very happy! 3! !Not at all happy! 4! !Can’t choose! 9! ISSP Religion 2008
Conducting structured interviews!
Conducting interviews (1): basics!
- Know the interview well!
- Introduce the survey in a standardized way; give the goal of the research; trustworthiness of the institution, guarantee of anonymity!
- Be nice, but not too nice; show interest, but not too much interest.!
- Create a «"relationship"» with the respondent (sympathetic detachement)! Quantiative approaches!
Conducting interviews (2): asking questions!
- Put the question exactly as it is written; do not «"tune it to the respondent"»!
- If the respondent asks: «"in what sense"»?!
- !Do not explain the «"meaning"» of the question if it is an attitude question (if not otherwise instructed).!
- !Say: how do you understand the question?! Quantiative approaches!
Conducting interviews (3): recording
answers!
- If the respondent wants to give several responses (where only one is allowed)!
- Say: what is the response closest to your view!
- If the respondent seems to have forgotten the response possibilities:!
- enumerate again the response possibilities!
3. Problems with structured interviews!
Characteristics of interviewers!
!Attributes of interviewers that can have an influence on responses! !- ethnicity! !- gender! !- attractivity! !The responses often go in the direction of «"social desirability"».! Quantiative approaches!
Characteristics of interviewers: example!
!"Schuman and Presser (1981) cite a study that asked respondenets to nominate two or three of their favourite actors or entertainers. Respondents were much more likely to mention black actors or entertainers when interviewed by black interviewers than when interviewed by white ones."! !(Bryman, p. 126)! Quantiative approaches!
Characteristics of interviewers: solution!
!Use different types of interviewers, men and women, not too attractive, not too unattractive, etc.!
