The interview as a social interaction

The interview as a social interaction

1. All interviews involve social interaction between the interviewer and interviewee. The danger is that the interviewee’s responses may vary depending on the social situation in which they are asked questions. Social interactions can threaten the validity of interviews in several ways:

   • The interviewer may ask ‘leading questions’, and inadvertently ‘tell’ the interviewee the correct answer. The way in which the interviewer phrases a question can imply that they believe the interviewee has given a ‘wrong’ answer, and even body language and facial expressions can give away the interviewer’s own beliefs. This is less likely to occur within structured interviews, due to the fixed way in which the interview must be conducted. Interviewer bias can also occur when the interviewer identifies too closely with the interviewees. For example, Oakley admits that she found it difficult to remain detached when interviewing other women about maternity and children, given that she had children herself.
   • Even the most relaxed of unstructured interviews is still an interview, as opposed to a normal conversation. Both the interviewer and interviewee are aware of this fact, and there is an undeniable misbalance of power. Under these artificial circumstances, the truthfulness of the obtained answers can be questioned.
   • Inequalities between the interviewer and interviewee may affect the interviewee’s honesty or willingness to participate. Generally, it has been found that the bigger the status difference, the less valid the data will be. For example, Rich shows that when adults interview children, the child’s desire to please the adult will alter their answers. Similarly, gender differences in power and ethnic inequalities between interviewer and interviewee can shape the interview. The latter actually led to Griffin to abandon interviewing and instead turn to participant observation. While all interviews run the risk of distorting the data as a result of these inequalities, structured interviews may be less susceptible; in a structured interview, there are more controls over the nature of the interaction.
   • There are relatively few ethical problems with interviews. Nonetheless, because the interview is a social interaction, the interviewee may feel under pressure to answer questions they do not feel comfortable with. Researchers should gain interviewees’ fully-informed consent, guarantee anonymity, and make it clear that they have a right to refuse to answer any question, should it make them feel uncomfortable. Interviews regarding sensitive information, or with vulnerable people, can also risk causing psychological harm, and interviewers must be aware of this.
   • In social interaction, people often wish to seek approval, and do not want to appear ignorant or uninteresting. As a result, they may give answers that show them in a favourable light, but may not be accurate.
   • Cultural differences may also undermine validity. There may be misunderstandings regarding the meaning of a word, for example. The cultural gap may also mean that interviewers cannot tell when the interviewee is being dishonest. For example, Mead was criticised after interviewing Samoan adolescents because she didn’t speak the same language as her subjects, and subsequently failed to realise when her interviewees lied to her.

2. Some researchers use techniques to improve the chances of obtaining valid data. To reduce the chance of interviewees giving false answers, Kinsey asked questions in rapid succession, giving interviewees little time to think about their response. He also conducted follow up interviews eighteen months later as a way of checking on earlier answers. Becker used aggression, disbelief, and ignorance as a way of extracting sensitive information from schoolteachers regarding how they classified pupils in terms of the social class and ethnic background. The success of these tactics depends largely on the researcher’s skills, however, and the tactics would also be difficult to replicate. Some researchers avoid the issue of cultural differences by ensuring that interviewers and interviewees are ethnically matched; Nazroo’s survey of the health of Britain’s ethnic minorities were carried out in the language of the interviewee’s choice. These techniques can help to improve the validity of answers.