All interviews are interaction situations. Both the interviewer and the interviewee come to the situation with a whole set of characteristics. Discuss in a group each of the following characteristics and explain in what ways each might affect the interview situation – even in a structured interview. Gender Ethnicity Age Social class Appearance Manner (e.g. … [Read more...]
Choosing a Sample
Read pages 180 to 185 to prepare for this activity. Working as a small group or in pairs, imagine that you have been asked to carry out research on students’ career aspirations at a local college. The college has 1200 full-time students aged 16-19. Some are on a two-year A level course; others are on vocational courses such as Construction, IT and Business. The town has a mixed ethnic … [Read more...]
How Representative?
Read the following descriptions of two imaginary social surveys and answer the questions below: Survey A In order to gain answers to her survey on people’s leisure habits, an interviewer stands on the corner of a shopping precinct in Exeter, Devon. She works from 10.30am until 3.30pm. She asks every 15th person who passes and has completed 27 successful interviews by the end of the … [Read more...]
Social Surveys : Answers to QuickCheck Questions
Closed: respondents must choose their answer from a limited range of possible answers that the researcher has decided upon in advance. Open: respondents are free to give whatever answer they wish. It gives direction to the research and a focus to the question asked An aim is a statement of what the researcher intends to investigate or find out; a hypothesis is a statement of an explanation … [Read more...]