Definitions
-
Upload
liliana-reyes -
Category
Documents
-
view
75 -
download
0
Transcript of Definitions
DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES; QUESTIONNAIRES AND INTERVIEWS
LUIS ALFREDO MARTINEZ DIAZ
TRABAJO DE GRADO I
MAG. SONIA JEREZ
UNIVERSIDAD DE CÓRDOBA
LIC. EN EDUCACIÓN BÁSICA CON ÉNFASIS EN HUMANIDADES-INGLÉS
XI SEM B
MONTERÍA – CÓRDOBA
2011
INTERVIEWS IN EDUCATION RESEARCH
The qualitative research interview seeks to describe and the meanings of
central themes in the life world of the subjects. The main task in interviewing is
to understand the meaning of what the interviewees say. (Kvale,1996)
A qualitative research interview seeks to cover both a factual and a meaning
level, though it is usually more difficult to interview on a meaning level.
(Kvale,1996)
Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant's
experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic.
Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires,
e.g., to further investigate their responses. (McNamara,1999)
TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
Informal, conversational interview - no predetermined questions are asked,
in order to remain as open and adaptable as possible to the interviewee's
nature and priorities; during the interview the interviewer "goes with the flow".
General interview guide approach - the guide approach is intended to ensure
that the same general areas of information are collected from each interviewee;
this provides more focus than the conversational approach, but still allows a
degree of freedom and adaptability in getting the information from the
interviewee.
Standardized, open-ended interview - the same open-ended questions are
asked to all interviewees; this approach facilitates faster interviews that can be
more easily analyzed and compared.
Closed, fixed-response interview - where all interviewees are asked the
same questions and asked to choose answers from among the same set of
alternatives. This format is useful for those not practiced in interviewing.
Telephone Interview, Telephone interviews enable a researcher to gather
information rapidly. Like personal interviews, they allow for some personal
contact between the interviewer and the respondent; there are some
disadvantages such as some people may not have telephones, people often
dislike the intrusion of a call to their home, telephone interviews need to be
relatively short or people feel imposed upon, many people don't have publicly
listed telephone numbers.
OTHER TYPES OF INTERVIEWS IN QUALITATIVE RESERACH
Several types of interviews exist: topical oral history, life history, evaluation
interview, focus group interview, and cultural interviews.
Topical interviews: are concerned with the facts and sequence of an event.
The interviewer is interested in a reconstruction of the experience and what
happened; for instance, what happened at the In SEA Conference in Brisbane
Australia. The researcher actively directs questions in pursuit of precise facts.
Life histories: deal with individual experiences or rites of passage. In oral
histories, one collects information about a dying lifestyle or art skills. These
result in narratives and stories that interpret the past.
Evaluation interviews: examine new programs or school developments and
suggests improvements. Since evaluation deals with incorrect behaviors as well
as positive ones, justifications [accounts] of behaviors result. The result may
consist of myths and unresolved tensions (Patton, 1990).
Focus group interviews: people meet to share their impressions and changes
of thinking or behavior regarding a product or an institution. Participants may be
strangers and make an effort to preserve their competency and may not admit
faults.
Cultural interview focuses on other forms, values, understandings, and taken-
for-granted rules of behavior of a group or society (p. 28). This type of interview
reports on TYPICAL shared activities and their meanings. The style of interview
is relaxed and questions flow naturally with no fixed agenda. People are
interviewed several times so that emerging themes are pursued later. The
interviewer, for example, may ask them to DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY. The
partner then relates what is important with examples. The truth of the fact is not
as important as how well it illustrates the [cultural] premises and norms (p.29).
For example, in a Christian culture, you may be told about the significance of
the value of behaving with concern for other people (p. 29). In the cultural
interview, the interviewer is partner and co-constructs the interview and report.
The cultural report, besides being the experts story, is credible because it
consists of the words of members of the culture. We assume that people are
basically honest and that they share similar views. The researcher can mix
types of interviews and approaches.
Qualitative interview is different from everyday conversation in the following
ways. First it is a research tool and a good interviewer must prepare questions
in advance, and later analyze and report results. The interviewer guides the
questions and focuses the study. Good interview skills require practice and
reflection. Finally, beyond the acquisition of interview skills, interviewing is a
philosophy of learning. The interviewer becomes a student and then tries to get
people to describe their experiences in their own terms. The results are
imposed obligations on both sides. The qualitative researcher or philosophy
determines what is important, what is ethical, and the completeness and
accuracy of the results (Rubin & Rubin, 1995, p.2).
Several researchers have argued that structured interviews are unnatural and
restrictive. Informal interviews get deeper. For example, if you want to find out why
someone acted in a certain way, ask him/her. One must negotiate an explanation
that consistent and believable. This results in an explanation of the meaning of the
action for the people (Alasuutari, 1998, p. 143). The interviewer follows up an
interview with more questions for clarification or understanding.
OTHER APPROACH OF TYPES OF INTERVIEWS IN RESEARCH PROJECT
There are three types of interviews that can be conducted when carrying out a
research project. Those are structured, semi-structured, and unstructured. This
article will describe what each one involves and the differences between them.
Structured Interviews require adherence to a very particular set of rules. Each
question that is outlined should be read word for word by the researcher without
any deviation from the protocol. In some cases, the interviewer is also required
to show consistency in behavior across all interviews. This includes bodily
posture, facial expressions, and emotional affect. Reactions to participant
responses should be kept to a minimum or avoided entirely. Structured
interviews are the type used most often by quantitative researchers. The style is
most useful when looking for very specific information. The benefits are that it
keeps the data concise and reduces researcher bias.
Semi-structured Interviews are a bit more relaxed than structured interviews.
While researchers using this type are still expected to cover every question in
the protocol, they have some wiggle room to explore participant responses by
asking for clarification or additional information. Interviewers also have the
freedom to be more friendly and sociable. Semi-structured interviews are most
often used in qualitative studies. The style is most useful when one is
investigating a topic that is very personal to participants. Benefits include the
ability to gain rapport and participants' trust, as well as a deeper understanding
of responses. Data sets obtained using this style will larger than those with
structured interviews.
Unstructured Interviews, they have the most relaxed rules of the three. In this
type, researchers need only a checklist of topics to be covered during the
interview. There is no order and no script. The interaction between the participant
and the researcher is more like a conversation than an interview. Unstructured
interviews are most often used in ethnographies and case studies (types of
qualitative studies). They are best used when researchers want to find as much
information as possible about their topic. The benefit is that unstructured interviews
often uncover information that would not have been exposed using structured or
semi-structured interviews. The researcher and participant are not limited by the
protocol. Data sets collected using unstructured interviews will be larger than the
rest. Continue reading on Examiner.com: Interview types: Structured, semi-structured, and unstructured - San Jose
Scholarly Research | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/scholarly-research-in-san-jose/interview-types-structured-
semi-structured-and-unstructured#ixzz1NBScxNw2
QUESTIONNAIRES IN EDUCATION
A questionnaire is a means of eliciting the feelings, beliefs, experiences,
perceptions, or attitudes of some sample of individuals. As a data collecting
instrument, it could be structured or unstructured. The questionnaire is most
frequently a very concise, preplanned set of questions designed to yield specific
information to meet a particular need for research information about a pertinent
topic. The research information is attained from respondents normally from a
related interest area. The dictionary definition gives a clearer definition: A
questionnaire is a written or printed form used in gathering information on some
subject or subjects consisting of a list of questions to be submitted to one or more
persons.
Advantages
Economy - Expense and time involved in training interviewers and sending
them to interview are reduced by using questionnaires.
Uniformity of questions - Each respondent receives the same set of questions
phrased in exactly the same way. Questionnaires may, therefore, yield data
more comparable than information obtained through an interview.
Standardization - If the questions are highly structured and the conditions under
which they are answered are controlled, then the questionnaire could become
standardized.
Disadvantages
Respondent’s motivation is difficult to assess, affecting the validity of response.
Unless a random sampling of returns is obtained, those returned completed
may represent biased samples.
Two types of questionnaires
Closed or restricted form - calls for a "yes" or "no" answer, short response, or
item checking; is fairly easy to interpret, tabulate, and summarize.
Open or unrestricted form - calls for free response from the respondent; allows
for greater depth of response; is difficult to interpret, tabulate, and summarize.
Characteristics of a good questionnaire
Deals with a significant topic, a topic the respondent will recognize as important
enough to justify spending his time in completing. The significance should be
clearly stated on the questionnaire or in the accompanying letter.
Seeks only that information which cannot be obtained from other sources such
as census data.
As short as possible, only long enough to get the essential data. Long
questionnaires frequently find their way into wastebaskets.
Attractive in appearance, neatly arranged, and clearly duplicated or printed.
Directions are clear and complete, important terms are defined, each question
deals with a single idea, all questions are worded as simply and clearly as
possible, and the categories provide an opportunity for easy, accurate, and
unambiguous responses.
Questions are objective, with no leading suggestions to the desired response.
Questions are presented in good psychological order, proceeding from general
to more specific responses. This order helps the respondent to organize his
own thinking, so that his answers are logical and objective. It may be wise to
present questions that create a favorable attitude before proceeding to those
that may be a bit delicate or intimate. If possible, annoying or embarrassing
questions should be avoided.
Easy to tabulate and interpret. It is advisable to preconstruct a tabulation sheet,
anticipating how the data will be tabulated and interpreted, before the final form
of the question is decided upon. Working backward from a visualization of the
final analysis of data is an important step in avoiding ambiguity in questionnaire
form. If mechanical tabulating equipment is to be used, it is important to allow
code numbers for all possible responses to permit easy transfer to machine-
tabulation cards.
Question Types samples
Researchers use three basic types of questions: multiple choice, numeric open end
and text open end (sometimes called "verbatims"). Examples of each kind of
question follow:
Rating Scales and Agreement Scales are two common types of questions that
some researchers treat as multiple choice questions and others treat as numeric
open end questions. Examples of these kinds of questions are:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTERNET SOURCES
http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-56614-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/interviews/inthome.htm
http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/QUESTS/index.htm
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/ctl/assessment/iar/research/plan/method/
interview.php