1. Primary Research Methods
The advantages and disadvantages
(adapted with permission from a resource found at )
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2. 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
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3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Structured Interviews
Here the interviewer goes through the questions and records responses
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4. 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
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5. 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
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6. 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.
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7. Semi-structured interviews
The questions are in order but the interviewer has the right to ask the respondent to elaborate on answers
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8. 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
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9. 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
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10. 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
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11. 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
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12. Group interviews - advantages
Focus groups are becoming more popular
Can produce rich qualitative data
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13. 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
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14. 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
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15. 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
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16. 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
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17. 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)
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18. 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!)
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19. 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
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20. 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
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21. 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
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22. 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
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23. Non- Participant Observation-
This is where an individual observes without taking part. E.g. observing children playing in the playground from a classroom window.
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24. Non- Participant Observation-
Compared to Participant Observation Non Participant Observation has a number of advantages and disadvantages
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25. 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.
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26. 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
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27. The End Click Here to Return to the Research methods Home Page
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