POLSCI 2NN3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Social Desirability Bias, Structured Interview
27 Nov 2017
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Document Summary
Different forms are useful for different purposes: structured interviews. Think of them as being like closed-ended surveys: where the survey is delivered by the researcher rather than through the mail. Useful for gathering standardized data that is amenable to larger generalizations. Interviews should follow the interview schedule as written both question wording and question order. Only the respondent should provide answers to survey questions (directly or indirectly) This means that the interviewer must keep her personal opinions to herself: she must appear apolitical and non-judgemental. C. where clari cation and elaboration are required, this should be provided through the use of neutral probes. In effect, the interviewer is to be a neutral recording machine. This means that both the interviewer and the interviewee are rigidly controlled. Several factors can affect the reliability/validity of responses: interviewer effects, social desirability bias, reactivity. Given that they are like surveys, the same concerns regarding question wording and question order must be addressed.
