1 / 15

The Pros and Cons of Face-to-Face Interviews

The Pros and Cons of Face-to-Face Interviews. Barbara Fleeman IS 280: Social Science Research Methods Fall 2009. Social Cues. Synchronous in Time. Synchronous in Place. Recording Interview Data. Termination. Face-to-Face is best when…. Social cues of the interviewee are very important

step
Download Presentation

The Pros and Cons of Face-to-Face Interviews

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Pros and Cons of Face-to-Face Interviews Barbara Fleeman IS 280: Social Science Research Methods Fall 2009

  2. Social Cues

  3. Synchronous in Time

  4. Synchronous in Place

  5. Recording Interview Data

  6. Termination

  7. Face-to-Face is best when… • Social cues of the interviewee are very important • Interviewer has time and budget for travel, if necessary • Standardization of the interview situation is important. ~Opdenakker 2006

  8. References • Birch, Maxine and Tina Miller. “Inviting Intimacy: the Interview as Therapeutic Opportunity.” International Journal of Social Research Methodology 3 (2000): 189-202. • Opdenakker, Raymond. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Four Interview Techniques in Qualitative Research.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 7, no. 4 (2006), http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/viewArticle/175/391 • Rosenthal, Robert and Ralph L. Rosnow. Essentials of Behavioral Research. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008.

  9. Email Interviews: Asynchronous communication of place and time

  10. Email Interviews Advantages Disadvantages • Saving costs and time • Extended access to participants • Noise • Time • Interviewer has no view on the situation in which the interviewee is situated • Lack of social cues • Time • No spontaneity

  11. Using e-mail interviews for collecting information is preferred, when: • social cues of the interviewee are not important information sources for the interviewer; • the interviewer has a small budget and less time for travelling; • looking for access to people on sites which have closed or limited access; • it is necessary to remain anonymous; • there is a huge time difference; • the interviewer and the interviewee both have access to computers; • it is necessary that the interviewee takes time to respond (Opdenakker, 2006)

  12. Telephone Interviews

  13. What are the advantages of telephone interviews? • Greater access to people • Makes it easier to reach hard to interview populations • Access to closed sites • Opportunity to obtain more readily sensitive accounts • Dangerous or politically sensitive sites are more easily accessible • Greater opportunities for spontaneous replies from interviewees • Interviews can be recorded and later transcribed

  14. What are the disadvantages of telephone interviews? • There is a decrease in social cues • Greater opportunities for a weak interview ambience • More possibilities for interruptions • Greater concentration is needed on the questions asked and answers supplied

  15. References • Opdenakker, Raymond. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Four Interview Techniques in Qualitative Research.” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 7, no. 4 (2006), http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/viewArticle/175/391

More Related