Primary Research Methods The advantages and disadvantages (adapted with permission from a resource found at http://www.esociology.co.uk/ ) 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Advantages and Disadvantages of Questionnaires Low response Often well below 50% for postal questionnaires Therefore not representative Respondents might misunderstand or misinterpret the questions Answers may be incomplete, illegible or incomprehensible Closed questions limit what respondents want to say – lack of validity 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Advantages and Disadvantages of Structured Interviews Here the interviewer goes through the questions and records responses 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Advantages and Disadvantages of Structured Interviews Response rate is good Interviewers can help to explain things This can result in more information Respondents who can’t read or write can be included Good for :facts :Comparable data :quantitative data reduced interviewer bias 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Advantages and Disadvantages of Structured Interviews More expensive – training and paying interviewers Cost increases if the sample is spread over a large area Interviewer bias can affect responses Takes more time than a postal questionnaire 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Pilot studies help to improve clarity by removing ambiguous questions These are a small scale study carried out before the main study to test the questions, the responses, train interviewers etc. Thus any problems can be ironed out at this stage before committing a lot of money to the project. Pilot studies help to improve clarity by removing ambiguous questions However, despite careful preparation problems can occur. 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Semi-structured interviews The questions are in order but the interviewer has the right to ask the respondent to elaborate on answers 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Unstructured interviews These are more like a conversation Rather than set questions there are a list of topics to cover Q’s are open and the respondent has space to answer as fully as they want 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Group interviews The interviewer usually meets 8-10 people at one go Focus groups are a type of group interview where the group discusses various pre-set issues 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Semi-Structured interviews - advantages Share many of the advantages of structured interviews Plus interviewer can probe for more information Adds depth and validity to research data 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Semi-Structured interviews -disadvantages Loss of standardisation & comparability Probes make each interview slightly different More chance of interviewer bias than in structured interviews Less quantitative data – less scientific 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Group interviews - advantages Focus groups are becoming more popular Can produce rich qualitative data 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Group interviews - disadvantages Individuals can be influenced by the group Individuals may feel that they haven’t had a chance to give their own view Individuals may dominate the group interview 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Unstructured Interviews- advantages Sensitive issues can be researched Interviewee is put at ease and may open up more Answers can be developed and explained further Interviewer can ask further questions Data has greater validity 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Unstructured Interviews- disadvantages Interviewer bias is more of a problem Age, gender, ethnicity etc of interviewer may affect responses Social desirability – interviewees want to present themselves in a certain way Truth – some tell lies intentionally 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Unstructured Interviews- disadvantages Some genuinely forget details Reliability may be questioned Comparability is difficult with the qualitative data produced Difficult to code and quantify data Difficult to see correlations 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

How to Conduct Interviews When Conducting interviews the standard advice is to be non-directive i.e do not lead the respondent. However, Becker adopted a more aggressive approach when interviewing Chicago teachers and found as a result the answers given were more frank (1971 study of racism in schools) 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Participant observation Participant is when the researcher joins the group he/she is studying. This can be overt (i.e. the participants know) or covert (they don’t!) 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Participant Observation- Gaining Entry Getting in and staying in can be difficult – particularly with covert observation Even overt observation can cause resentment Observers may be dismissed as interfering e.g. Oakley took a long time to be accepted by traveller-gypsies she studied in 1984 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Participant Observation- Conducting Research Observers need to fit in and be as inconspicuous as possible Watching and listening are crucial but sometimes careful questions should be asked Recording findings can be difficult in the field Marsh made notes on scraps of paper in toilets and shoved them down his jeans Many researchers have to rely on memory and write up diaries at the end of the day 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Participant Observation- Advantages Validity – people are observed in their natural settings With covert observation they act naturally Things are witnessed which could never be unearthed by interviews or questionnaires Sometimes it is the only practical method – particularly with crime 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Participant Observation- Disadvantages Time and money – expensive and time consuming Personal cost – stress and danger in some cases Loss of objectivity – researcher can become too involved – ‘going native’ Sometimes researchers see the group on a negative light thereby reducing objectivity 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Non- Participant Observation- This is where an individual observes without taking part. E.g. observing children playing in the playground from a classroom window. 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Non- Participant Observation- Compared to Participant Observation Non Participant Observation has a number of advantages and disadvantages 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Non-Participant Observation- Advantages Observer less likely to be influenced by the group – research data may therefore be more objective Researchers can use more aids for recording information as the researcher is not hiding his/her role. 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

Non-Participant Observation- Disadvantages Presence of researcher can affect group (Hawthorne Effect) The group may not act naturally There are only limited opportunities to ask further questions This can make it difficult to discover the meanings attached to events Researchers are more likely to impose their own subjective interpretations on events they witness 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk

The End Click Here to Return to the Research methods Home Page 2/24/2019 http://www.educationforum.co.uk