essay_on_interviews

8/7/2019 essay_on_interviews

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Assess the strengths and weaknesses ofinterviews as a method of sociological enquiry.

ssay titles which ask you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a particularsociological method are a favourite of examiners. It means simply looking for the

strengths and weaknesses of a particular approach or issue. The most important thing todo is offer a balance, in this case, of interviews. However, do be careful; if you concentrateon the strengths of interviews and just tag on the weaknesses, you will not be able to achievehigh marks. You should also be aware that there are two types of interview, structured andunstructured. This means that you have to write about the strengths and weaknesses ofboth methods. There is a lot of information to cover in this essay and it is therefore essentialthat you plan your answer carefully. You will not do yourself any favours by mismanagingyour time. You must aim for balance.


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Question

example, did you vote in the last general election, yes or no? Thmajor strength of using structured interviews as a method of sociological enquiry is that they are useful in providing a large amountof factual information in a short amount of time, at a relativelycheap cost. This method is most commonly used when thresearch involves large samples of respondents. A further strengthis that the data collected are easily codified (translated into numerical form) and quantified (presented in numerical form, such agraphs). The data can be mathematically manipulated and thipermits multivariate analysis which allows the sociologist to loofor cause and effect relationships.

An additional strength of using structured interviews is thathe data obtained are considered reliable. This means that if thresearch were repeated at a later date, using the same methodsand a similar research sample, then the results would be the samor similar to those of the first enquiry. This means that researchwhich uses structured interviews is testable.

This paragraph introduces a Various criticisms have been made of structured interviews a


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when more in-depth information is needed. They are usually usedin research which involves a small sample of subjects, e.g. Oakley'sstudy The Sociology of Housework, for which only 40 housewiveswere interviewed. Unstructured interviews are more likely to use'open ended' questions which allow the interviewees to respondin any way they like. This method of enquiry also enables theresearcher to follow up topics and issues of interest which mayarise during the course of the interview.

The major strength of unstructured interviews is that they canproduce qualitative information which looks further than statistics. Unstructured interviews can be used to uncover beliefs andmotives for actions and attitudes. Those who use them believethat unstructured interviews provide information which is rich invalidity, that is, that they produce a true picture of the socialactivity under investigation.

In addition, they are useful when studying areas which arenot accessible to investigation by any other method. The researchmethod of participant observation would have not been possiblein Ann Oakley's investigation of housework.

Nevertheless, a number of criticisms have been put forwardto show the weaknesses of unstructured interviews. Althoughthey may be considered valid, they are not considered reliable.

unstructured interviews. Note thereference to Oakley. Try to use arelevant study to illustrate yourpoint. You could get marks forapplication and evaluation if youdo this.

You should note the words andphrases which are used tointroduce each paragraph. Words


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Question1 -Nowthe essay has moved tocriticising all types of interview.The example of self-report studiesand youth crime is a good one touse as a critique because itcovers two issues, the fact thatpeople lie and the problem ofbasing a research method aroundmemory. Ifyou ever run out ofthings to criticise in any essay,try to introduce something aboutvalidity and reliability.This islikelyto earn you marks,providingof course that whatyou've said is relevant.

It can be argued that there are weaknesses in any type of iview as a method of sociological enquiry. One weakness isthe researcher has no way of knowing whether the interviewetelling the truth or not. Interviewees may lie for a varietyreasons. If teenagers are given a 'self-report' survey to compwhich asks them to list any crimes that they have committheir answers may be determined by who is present at the tIf they complete the survey in front of a teacher or parent,may 'forget' their criminal activities. On the other hand, iffriends are present, they may exaggerate their criminality in oto gain 'street credibility'. The researcher needs to be awarewhat people say they do and what they actually do are not alwthe same thing. The idea that interviews can provide informawhich is rich in validity is open to criticism.

Another weakness in using interviews as a sociologresearch method is that people may not always be aware of wthey do, and thus be unable to answer interview questions


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You need a good knowledge and understanding of interviews to answer this question thoroughly.The advantages and disadvantages of different types of interview can be used in other essays,and may be particularly useful when analysing a particular piece of research. For example, if youwere writing an essay about housework, you could criticise Oakley's use of interviews as aresearch method. Some students will write essays about interviews as if there is only one type.This is to be avoided at all costs as it will prevent you from achieving the higher grades.

Related questions1. Compare and contrast two methods of sociological enquiry.2 Discuss the use of interviews in sociological research.3 'Interview situations always contain an element of interaction, therefore they lack validity.'

Evaluate this statement.

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