Deck 10: Collecting Primary Data Using Semi-Structured, In-Depth and Group Interviews

Question 1

An informal, unstructured conversation is not a valid type of research interview.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Which of these is NOT a type of research interview?

A) Surface
B) Structured
C) Semi-structured
D) In-depth

Answer 2

Surface

Question 3

A structured interview is also known as ________.

A) A respondent-led research
B) A flexible interview
C) An interviewer-administered questionnaire
D) A self-administered questionnaire

Answer 3

An interviewer-administered questionnaire

Question 4

"The interviewer has a list of themes and questions to be covered but may omit or change the order of some." What type of interview is being described here?

A) Structured
B) Semi-structured
C) Unstructured
D) None of these

Question 5

"Additional questions may be asked as needed to obtain data." In which type of interview would this NOT be appropriate?

A) Structured
B) Semi-structured
C) Unstructured
D) All of these

Question 6

What is another term for an 'informant interview'?

A) A telephone interview
B) A structured interview
C) An anonymous interview
D) An in-depth interview

Question 7

In descriptive studies, what sort of interview is useful to identify general patterns of behaviour?

A) Unstructured
B) Group
C) Structured
D) Multi-stage

Question 8

Semi-structured interviews can be used to explore and explain findings from questionnaire research.

Question 9

Your research objectives are to find out why consumers prefer a particular type of product packaging to another. What type of interview would be best suited to your purpose?

A) Qualitative
B) Quantitative
C) Both
D) Neither

Question 10

Probing a respondent means ________.

A) Sending a follow-up email after the interview
B) Asking further questions to explore an issue
C) Persuading them to answer sensitive questions
D) Obtaining the names of subsequent interviewees from them

Question 11

Which of these is not a benefit of qualitative interviews for interpretivist research?

A) They may lead to new topics
B) They have a high degree of replicability
C) The interviewee can 'think aloud'
D) They allow flexibility

Question 12

"The dress, manner and body language of the interview will influence the way the interviewee answers the questions." What effect is being described here?

A) Interviewer effect
B) Respondent bias
C) Perception effect
D) Question bias

Question 13

Interviews are less effective than questionnaires in assuring respondents how their data will be used.

Question 14

Interviews are especially effective where questions are complex.

Question 15

Which of these is NOT an issue in the data quality of qualitative interviews?

A) Reliability
B) Bias
C) Irrelevance
D) Generalisability

Question 16

"The interviewee continually explains her actions in a positive way." What sort of bias might be present here?

A) Interviewer bias
B) Question bias
C) Design bias
D) Response bias

Question 17

Why is it usually inappropriate to use qualitative interview data to make statistical generalisations to a wider population?

A) Because samples are usually not representative
B) There is no sampling strategy
C) The sample will not yield valid data
D) All of these

Question 18

The validity of well conducted interviews is not usually in question.

Question 19

Qualitative interviews cannot be replicated because ________.

A) The samples are not representative
B) They are not valid
C) They are context-dependent
D) None of these

Question 20

Why is it a good idea to gain knowledge of your host organisation before beginning your interviews?

A) To raise your credibility
B) To check the respondents' answers
C) To triangulate your data
D) To make your findings more reliable

Question 21

How are themes for an interview schedule developed?

A) From the literature
B) Your own common sense
C) Your own experience
D) All of these

Question 22

Which of these affect the respondents' answers to interview questions?

A) The way the question is worded
B) The interviewer's body language
C) The physical setting of the interview room
D) All of these

Question 23

"Sarah is researching 'peak performance' in the creative industries. Her sample is graphic designers and she asks her interviewees to describe an example where they feel they did their very best work." What is this an example of?

A) Biased questioning
B) Critical incident technique
C) The interviewer effect
D) Closed questioning

Question 24

Generalisability is possible from qualitative interview data when the generalisations are to ________.

A) Theory
B) Other interviewees
C) A wider population
D) Objectives

Question 25

"Abdul's study is on social bonds among home or remote workers. He asks his interviewees to tell him how they keep in contact with their work colleagues." What is this an example of?

A) Sensitive questioning
B) Poor questioning
C) Open questioning
D) Closed questioning

Question 26

As an interviewer, why is it important to consider your body language?

A) To keep yourself focused
B) To comply with ethical codes of conduct
C) It may encourage or inhibit respondents' answers
D) To encourage strandardisation

Question 27

You should not make notes if you audio-record your interviews.

Question 28

Sensitive questions should be asked ________.

A) First
B) Last
C) Never
D) Any time

Question 29

Which of these is NOT an element of interviewer competence?

A) Coding transcripts
B) Listening
C) Testing and summarising
D) Dealing with difficult participants

Question 30

"Shania is researching ethical consumption habits among young women. She is finding that her participants seem more interested in knowing her own opinions on the topic than in volunteering theirs." Which of the following would be the best strategy for her to use in dealing with this problem?

A) Ignore them and repeat her own questions until they answer
B) Welcome their interest and answer their questions at the end of the interview
C) Answer their questions as they ask them and then change the subject
D) Do nothing, it is not a problem

Question 31

A closed question should be used to ascertain a definite fact or opinion.

Question 32

Adrian is researching performance management systems among graduate trainees, using critical incident technique. He asks his participant to recall an example where they feel they did not perform at their best. Adrian is shocked when the participant gets very upset and starts to cry. Which of the following courses of action should he NOT do?

A) End the interview
B) Give them time to calm down
C) Remind them they do not have to answer the question
D) Be patient

Question 33

A strict and non-changing order and logic of questioning is crucial for standardised interviews.

Question 34

Sam is interviewing companies about their recycling habits. Her interviewees are very passionate about the topic, but keep digressing onto subjects unrelated to Sam's research objectives. Which of the following is the best course of action for her to follow in this situation?

A) Do nothing, she should let them talk about whatever they like
B) Do nothing, she can change her research objective to suit the data
C) Politely steer the conversation back to her research agenda
D) End the interview as soon as she can

Question 35

It is not good practice to ________.

A) Examine progress during fieldwork
B) Interview more than one person at a time
C) Base decisions on early interviews
D) Tape record interviews

Question 36

In terms of protecting a respondent's privacy, which is the odd one out?

A) Door to door interviewing
B) Street interviewing
C) Home interviewing
D) Workplace interviewing

Question 37

Which method will encourage respondents to help the researcher by posing questions to other respondents?

A) Groups
B) Depths
C) Delphi
D) Observations

Question 38

Which of these is a disadvantage of audio-recording interviews?

A) Interviews can be listened to again at a later date
B) Allows direct quotes to be used in your project
C) Interviewer can concentrate on listening in the interview
D) Participant may be focused on the recording device

Question 39

Which of these is an ethical issue to consider when audio-recording interviews?

A) Participant's permission must be asked
B) Control of the recording device should be given to the participant
C) Participant should be allowed to switch the recording device off at any time
D) All of these

Question 40

Which of these is the most important way a "focus group" differs from a "group interview"?

A) It doesn't, they are interchangeable terms
B) They have a clearly defined topic for discussion
C) They are only carried out for studies in marketing
D) They are conducted with a larger sample

Question 41

If one or two people dominate a group discussion it is best to ________.

A) Let them speak since they are the most knowledgeable
B) Ignore them
C) Actively invite contributions from others
D) Ask them to keep quiet

Question 42

Which of these is a negative effect of group dynamics in group interviews and focus groups?

A) Reported consensus
B) Inter-participant discussion
C) Breadth of viewpoints
D) Sample can be more representative

Question 43

"Keeping a group within boundaries, generating interest but not leading the discussion." What role is being described here?

A) Focus group participant
B) Focus group moderator
C) Focus group analyser
D) None of these

Question 44

Which of these is NOT a disadvantage of telephone interviews?

A) Body language is missing
B) Can be hard to establish rapport
C) Geographical distance is overcome
D) Note-taking is very difficult

Question 45

"Electronically mediated communication not undertaken in real time." This definition refers to communication that is ________.

A) Asynchronous
B) A chat room
C) Synchronous
D) Depth

Question 46

Louise is researching MBA distance learning students' experiences of combining work and study. She decides to gather data by 'hanging out' in the online course 'chat room'. What method of communication are her participants using here?

A) Asynchronous
B) Synchronous
C) On-offline
D) Focus group

Question 47

Which of these is most likely to be a benefit of conducting group interviews in a chat room compared to a face-to-face setting?

A) Influence of age, gender and appearance is reduced
B) People will always be able to join in
C) The questions will be more relevant to the group members
D) The data will be richer

Question 48

A company's own internal 'Internet' is called a ________.

A) Forum
B) Chat room
C) Grapevine
D) Intranet

Question 49

How does an 'email interview' differ from a internet-mediated questionnaire?

A) It is shorter
B) It is a series of questions and replies
C) It is longer
D) None of these

Question 50

Ethical issues do not apply to internet mediated, electronic interviews.