Sociology Research Methods
Sociology Research Methods bmd23
Structured interviews are a quantitative method of research largely favoured by positivists for its ability to collect data using the principles of the scientific method. Following this, the first reason that researchers may decide to use structured interviews is due to their ability to provide data that is highly reliable in a variety of ways. Firstly internally, meaning that there is little room for extraneous variables to affect their results because the questions are set out in a highly specific and rigid manner that leaves no room for interpretation or deviation from the aim of the interview. Therefore, there are none of the issues present in unstructured interviews which can make one interview entirely different from another and not give a consistent set of results to analyse. They are also far more externally reliable, meaning that questioning the same person at a different time will provide a very similar set of results which also increases ease of analysis.
Structured
interviews
are a quantitative method of research
largely
favoured
by positivists for its ability to collect data using the principles of the scientific method. Following this, the
first
reason that researchers may decide to
use
structured
interviews
is due to their ability to provide data
that is
highly
reliable in a variety of ways.
Firstly
internally
, meaning that there is
little
room for extraneous variables to affect their results
because
the questions
are set
out in a
highly
specific and rigid manner that
leaves
no room for interpretation or deviation from the aim of the
interview
.
Therefore
, there are none of the issues present in unstructured
interviews
which can
make
one
interview
entirely
different
from another and not give a consistent set of results to
analyse
. They are
also
far more
externally
reliable, meaning that questioning the same person at a
different
time will provide a
very
similar set of results which
also
increases
ease
of analysis.
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