Limitations of Interviews in Social Research

Limitations of Interviews in Social Research Why might you decide to use in-depth interviews for a research project? What are the potential limitations? Give examples of studies which have employed this technique well and discuss critically why in your opinion they are good examples. In the social research an interview/interviews are a frequently used mode of data collection. The aim is for the interviewer to elicit from the interviewee or respondent all manner of information. (Bryman, 2008:192). In-depth interviewing is more commonly known as a method that enables the researcher to explore the deeper structure of ideas presented by the participants. Many sociologists use in-depth interviewing to explore a multitude of substantive and theoretical topics (e.g., Bell and Hartmann 2007; Quark 2007; Read and Oselin 2008). (Healey-Etten, V., Sharp, S.,2010: 157). There are many types of interviews that can be used to carry out research however, I am going to describe why it may be beneficial to use in depth interviews for a research project and the potential disadvantages and previous examples of in-depth interviews that have been used to carry out research. Sociologists commonly use this popular method because it enables further detailed exploration about peoples subjective experiences, meaning-making, accounting processes, and unspoken assumptions about life and the social world in general.Two primary objectives of in-depth interviewing are exploration and verification (Johnson, 2002). One reason why it would be useful to conduct an in-depth interview, would be to reduce error due to interviewer reliability. The aim of this concept is to keep error down to a minimum, as should error occur it would have an adverse effect on the validity of the measure. The validity would be compromised if there is a high possibility of error occurring. However, due to the benefit of standardisation in depth interviews are useful to clarify any potential confusion. For example, in a self-completion questionnaire the participants. However, with the help of an interviewer the ambiguity can be clarified and the responses given by the interviewee are more li kely to be valid, based on the fact their answers where given under full understanding of the question. Interview control questions (ICQs) are in fact investigation questions aiming at both verification and exploration. A study that has exemplified the use of in depth interviews, was reported by Ramji Hasmita that focused on exploring commonality and difference in in-depth interviewing: a case-study of researching British Asian women. This research focuses on the experience British South Asian womens lives in London, and how a female British Asian researcher to explores this topic by investigating how and to what extent common social attributes are a result of influence. It examines these issues through a discussion of how the shared cultural identity of the researcher and the interviewees emerged as both a point of commonality and difference in the research process; with the researcher being positioned in terms of both because of the interviewees agency in interpreting their cultural commonality. Issues regarding Indian culture and religion emerged as points on which interviewees exercised agency and interpreted the researchers cultural identity. This was the basis on which they claimed commonality or difference and this assessment consequently impacted on their interaction with the researcher. The article suggests that more attention needs to be given to how assumptions made by interviewees regarding the cultural identity of the researcher through their agency and interaction in the research process shapes interview dynamics. (Ramji, H.,2008) Regardless of the differences between therapy and research interviews, and considering the similarities in approach and outcomes, I am suggesting the argument that participating in in depth interviews can be inherently therapeutic. Additionally, qualitative researchers must recognise the importance of this therapeutic possibility because it can and should affect participants reactions, interviewers approaches, and how researchers can make a difference in peoples lives. As well as clinical interviews, the social research interview context is a space for sharing stories, which can provide credible information for researchers and provide a platform for alleviation and healing. It has been recognised by several health practitioners and researchers that engaging in conversation can be liberating, as it encourages emotional release and can provide a sense of comfort at times. Sharing information and feeling building relationship by trying to understand ones mindset can also raise self-awar eness and perhaps even reform their perspectives on certain topics. This organization of thoughts can trigger new perspective and aid in promoting resolutions. The in-depth interviews are not aimed to act therapy, but it is therapeutic in that it offers a space for relaxation through sharing. In 2013 Yvonne Kahl, Johannes Jungbauer published an article reporting qualitive research regarding, Challenges and Coping Strategies of Children with Parents Affected by Schizophrenia: Results from an In-Depth Interview Study. The research consisted of thirty-four children undergoing in depth interviews to find out different forms of coping mechanisms they used to deal with their parents who were battling the mental health disorder, schizophrenia. The children who were being interviewed, expressed many obstacles in which they face daily, and in conclusion the report recognised through what was said by the interviewees that there is a desperate need for more professional support, to assist the children who are affected to discover more and appropriate forms of coping. (Kahl Jungbauner, 2013). The reason I believe an in-depth interview was more useful in understanding the question being researched here is due to the sensitive nature of the Schizophrenia and the stigmatisation of ment al health disorder. Through the in depth interviews the children conveyed many aspects of fear in relation to fear, frustration and stigmatisation as emotions they regularly feel concerning the relationship with their parents. As previously mentioned, in- depth interviews can be therapeutic and can offer a space for relaxation through sharing therefore would have been more useful as oppose to questionnaire, in enabling the interviewees to be as open as possible. Of course, with any form of research comes limitations. Regarding in depth interviews, there are many ethical issues. Although interviews may naturally be therapeutic for participants, and offer rich data, this quality can pose challenges to interviewers. As researchers encourage sensitive disclosures, role confusion may occur (Dickson-Swift, James, Kippen, Liamputton, 2006; Weiss, 1994). Participants could mistake the interview as therapy and, as such, the interviewer as a therapist. Researchers must carefully maintain boundaries to protect the researcher-participant relationship and ethical obligations to do no harm (Birch Miller, 2000; Dickson-Swift et al., 2006; Haynes, 2006). Boundaries can be achieved through minimizing personal disclosure, debriefing (Dickson-Swift et al., 2006), recognizing distress signals (Kavanaugh Ayres, 1998), drawing back when responses become negative (Haynes, 2006), and being direct about the research relationship. Because researchers are not train ed counsellors, they might experience emotional vulnerability, guilt, fatigue, and burnout (Dickson-Swift et al., 2006). The researchers role is listener, learner, and observer, not counsellor or therapist. A list of local counselling resources should be available for participants to highlight this distinction. References Willis, G. B. (2005). Setting the stage for cognitive interviewing: first principles of questionnaire design. In Cognitive interviewing (pp. 12-33).: SAGE Publications Ltd doi: 10.4135/9781412983655.n2 Healey-Etten, V., Sharp, S. (2010). Teaching Beginning Undergraduates How to Do an In-depth Interview: A Teaching Note with 12 Handy Tips. Teaching Sociology, 38(2), 157-165. Free, C., Lee, R., Ogden, J. (2002). Young Womens Accounts Of Factors Influencing Their Use And Non-Use Of Emergency Contraception: In-Depth Interview Study. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 325(7377), 1393-1396. Retrieved from http://0-www.jstor.org.serlib0.essex.ac.uk/stable/25453157 Ramji, H. (2008). Exploring commonality and difference in in-depth interviewing: A case-study of researching British Asian women. British Journal of Sociology, 59(1), 99-116. doi:http://0-dx.doi.org.serlib0.essex.ac.uk/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2007.00184.x Kahl, Y., Jungbauer, J. (2014). Challenges and coping strategies of children with parents affected by schizophrenia: Results from an in-depth interview study. Child Adolescent Social Work Journal, 31(2), 181-196. doi:10.1007/s10560-013-0316-2

49ers :: essays research papers

There are great times noted in the past. One of those great teams in the San Francisco 49ers. They have made history and are known as one of the type franchises in the history of the NFL. The 49ers are considered a dynasty to the media and fans. The 49ers are respected greatly for their Super Bowl achievements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It all started in 1946 when the San Francisco 49ers first began their franchise. In 1950 is when the moved to the National Football League. They earned their name from the gold miners who surged in San Francisco, in 1849, in search for gold so they could start a new life. Their first owner, Anthony J. Morabito, who was from the University of Santa Clara alumnus, had a dream of bringing a football team to the west. He had been moderately successful in the lumber hauling business. To make this happen, Anthony was put in touch with Arch Ward, an editor of the Chicago Tribune. Mr. Ward is credited with the All-American Conference, which was first held in October 1944. Anthony, after a long talk and negotiating with Mr. Ward, was granted a franchise with help from his younger brother, Victor, and partners in his lumbering business, Allen E. Sorrell, and E. J. Turre (â€Å"Niner’s history† www.49ersparadise.com).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Morabito’s first year he signed many famous and talented people such as Frankie Albert, Joe Vetrano, and Alyn Beals. With Lawerecneh T. (Buck) Shaw as the head coach, the 49ers slowly but surely won continuously, as they tried to get a spot in the National Football League. In their first four years in the ACC, the 49ers finished second behind the talent- packed Cleveland Browns. Finally, in 1950, fans celebrated for the entry of the 49ers into the NFL. They joined great teams such as the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Colts (â€Å"Niner’s history† www.49ersparadise.com). As soon as they got in, it seemed, they were making changes to make them a top contender in the league. Joined by Y.A. Tittle, and shared quarterback Frankie Albert, the 49ers missed the Conference Finals by half game. From then on they were in the race for the prize except in the years 1955, 1956, and 1958. Just as everything looked like it would turn out great, a tragic event happened that scared players and fans for life. During a game on October 27, 1957, Tony Morabito died of a heart attack.

Summary of Courtroom Observations

On October 8, 2009 I attended a general sessions court at the Lexington County Courthouse. At this time the Judge was hearing guilty pleas. There were many people in the rather large courtroom that day. The courtroom was much larger than the one I had visited during drug court here in Spartanburg. Before the day’s session began I could see many defense attorneys going over their cases with their clients, some of whom were wearing bright orange jumpsuits that told me they were held in jail prior to their court hearing. Some of the defense lawyers appeared to have more than one client. I noticed that there were two gentlemen seated at the state solicitor’s table and another, younger, gentleman would periodically walk up to them and hand them some documents. The two state solicitors already had a large stack of papers next to them. Seated down and to the left of where the judge would sit, once he arrived, was a woman at a computer, the court reporter and a little further to the left of her was the clerk of court. Stationed at a door to the left and behind the large raised desk that was the judge’s desk was a bailiff. There was another bailiff stationed at the rear door of the courthouse where I walked in through while entering. The judge walked in and before he did so we were told of his approaching and were asked to raise. The judge was a tall older man with gray hair. He looked very bored with what was about to fill up his day; ready to get it over with. Before he gave his instructions to the prosecution to begin with their first plea bargain, he took his time going over some of the paperwork placed on his desk by the clerk of court. Then finally he was ready to begin the day’s court session. When given the nod of approval, the prosecution stood up and called out their first case. The first defendant that was called forth was a young woman who had pled guilty to check fraud. I do not remember the exact amount, but I do remember that it was not very much money. She was given two years on probation with a suspended sentence on top of that. Another case that was called a little bit later was for armed robbery of a convenience store. This case stuck out to me because the store that was robbed was one I had been to many times. The young man who pled guilty to this crime received much more time than the check fraud woman. He was also one of those individuals dressed in bright orange and they took him away immediately. I noticed for the most part there were not very many family members of the individuals there. There seemed to be a small group of students from USC Columbia doing the same thing I was, observing court proceedings. They appeared to be a little older than me and could have been law students. To all of the people who were the normal courtroom players I could tell that the day’s proceeding were nothing new to them. The judge would ask the defendant how he or she pled and they would say guilty. The prosecution would then tell the judge what they felt the punishment should be as determined by the plea bargain that they had made and the judge would agree with it and would sentence the offender. The whole process seemed very repetitive and scripted. There was seldom a deviation from the way that one trail was conducted to the way the next was conducted. I defiantly knew that all of the courtroom dramas on television would never last if they showed plea bargains instead of full jury trails. The plea bargains seemed like little more than a official ritual that needed to take place just to get a paper signed. There is probably a much faster way to conduct plea bargains but I’m sure it probably would conflict with an offender’s due process laws.

How Does White Privilege Affect Society Today - 2444 Words

Privilege affects everyone, regardless of if they are affected positively or negatively. Being the majority in America, the white populations bears an automatic stamp of privilege on their foreheads, although they would care very strongly not to admit it. On the surface, privilege does not seem like such a bad thing, but when you pay attention to the differentiation of struggles between white men and everyone else in America, you can see it is a very large issue. Whether it is in the classroom, in the workforce, in real estate, or even in your own home, white privilege is affecting you. White privilege in America is counterproductive to the growth of equality in society today because it affects the quality of living and level of opportunity for the rest of the country’s inhabitants. Within all facets of life, you can find extreme examples of white privilege. Ask yourself, if a policeman pulled you over, would you assume automatically that the crime was the color of your skin? And would you wonder if that crime could cost you your life? The unanimous answer should be no, but it is guaranteed that within different races and communities, the answer will differ. Because of this, it is clear that different people of different races get treated differently. What are cultural luxuries? Many people may wonder what that is and when it will be so kindly afforded to them. The idea of cultural luxury comes from the extra opportunities afforded to a certain population or group ofShow MoreRelatedWhite Privilege And Black Privilege1529 Words   |  7 PagesMany Caucasians do not realize that they possess white privilege, while people of color do. White privilege has been around ever since society had considered â€Å"white† as the dominant race. White privilege is unfamiliar to many people because it is the inconspicuous elements white people take for granted. 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