Political Science 3324F/G Lecture 3: 3324
4 Feb 2019
School
Department
Professor
Document Summary
Structured interviews are used because they produce standardization in the asking of questions and the recording of answers. Variation should be attributable to the characteristic being measured not the interview process. Variation related to the interviewer or the interviewing process is variability due to error. They skew the data and thereby the findings. Intra-interviewer variability: an interviewer is not consistent in asking questions or recording answers (with the same respondent or a different one). Inter-interviewer variability: lack of consistency in asking questions or recording answers between different interviewers. Reduces the chance of variation due to error on the part of the interviewer/interview process. Enhances the accuracy and ease of data processing, because of the use of closed" or fixed choice" questions. The interviewees ultimately put themselves into categories when they select answers. The characteristics of the interviewer may influence the responses given. Sex, social class, and race of interviewer are key reactive issues.
