Deck 10: Qualitative Interviewing

Question 1

In collecting data,qualitative interviewing has been used in conjunction with

A) experimental methods.
B) closed-ended surveys.
C) observational techniques.
D) cross sectional survey designs.
E) all of these

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following is not a benefit to group interviewing?

A) Group sessions are less time consuming.
B) Group sessions are cost effective.
C) Members in group can help other respondents recall information.
D) Group sessions can be stimulating to respondents.
E) All of these are benefits of group interviews.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

In Enos's research on Managing Motherhood in Prison,a semi-structured interview was appropriate because

A) there was limited research in this area.
B) this sort of interview works well with groups with which the interviewer may be unfamiliar.
C) this sort of interview can be completed in less than 90 minutes.
D) this sort of interview provides flexibility yet organizes paths of investigation for the researcher to pursue.
E) this was an exploratory research project.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A researcher has prepared a list of topics he wishes to cover and the order he plans to ask them in an interview.This plan is called a(n)

A) semi-structured interview.
B) group interview.
C) consent form.
D) focus group.
E) interview guide.

Question 5

Visual methods have limitations,including all of the following,except

A) issues of privacy.
B) representativeness.
C) incompleteness.
D) questions of probability sampling.
E) access to digital equipment.

Question 6

The advantage of an unstructured interview is that

A) the researcher doesn't have to make up the interview questions.
B) they are relatively inexpensive.
C) it focuses on the respondent's understanding of the social world and allows the researcher to understand their viewpoints.
D) it helps the researcher to narrow the focus of his or her interests.
E) it allows the researcher to change his or her research questions during the interview.

Question 7

The purpose of qualitative interviewing is to

A) understand how individuals subjectively see the world and make sense of their lives.
B) test theoretical propositions.
C) obtain comparable data from a larger population.
D) engage respondents in a conversation that may help them to understand their situations.
E) provide data for statistical analysis.

Question 8

Locating respondents in qualitative research

A) is not always a simple process.
B) often involves gatekeepers.
C) sometimes requires snowball sampling.
D) may entail posting notices on bulletin boards.
E) all of these are part of locating respondents in qualitative research.

Question 9

A researcher is interested in gaining in depth stories from individuals about their experiences with violence.A pilot test has shown that individuals take anywhere between 10 and 15 minutes to relate these experiences.What interview approach is most appropriate here?

A) standardized questionnaire
B) unstructured interview
C) focus groups
D) none of these
E) both standardized questionnaire and unstructured interview

Question 10

A researcher asks participants to share a photo that "best represents their childhood." This researcher is using

A) quantitative methods.
B) structured methods.
C) group methods.
D) visual methods.
E) unstructured methods.

Question 11

The key difference between a group interview and a focus group is

A) how many individuals are involved.
B) the financial reimbursement offered to respondents.
C) the moderator's management of the discussion.
D) the number of questions addressed by the group.
E) the structure of the questions.

Question 12

Structured and qualitative interviews do have all of the following in common,except:

A) both include questions of interest to the researcher.
B) they both provide an opportunity for respondents to tell their life stories, as they understand them.
C) both rely on self reports.
D) in both cases, the interviewer manages the exchanges by asking questions or prompting the respondent.
E) neither offers simple ways to analyze data.

Question 13

What kind of interview style did Sandra Enos use in Managing Motherhood in Prison?

A) completely structured
B) completely unstructured
C) semi-structured
D) a mix of structured and unstructured
E) none of these

Question 14

A disadvantage of interviews conducted in groups is

A) minority opinions can be suppressed.
B) group culture may make opinions more extreme than they would be otherwise.
C) it may be difficult for some group members to abide by premises of confidentiality.
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 15

Qualitative interviews vary in terms of

A) number of times each respondent is interviewed.
B) the length of each interview.
C) the degree of structure of each interview.
D) the number of interviewees and interviewers participating in the session.
E) all of these

Question 16

Unstructured interviews

A) start with a sense of what information is needed and formulate questions as the interview unfolds.
B) are fairly open.
C) are flexible.
D) lend themselves to people telling the researcher about their own lives.
E) All of these are true.

Question 17

Qualitative interviews are very appropriate when the purpose of the research is

A) investigatory.
B) explanatory.
C) critique.
D) exploratory.
E) causal.

Question 18

Semi-structured interviews

A) are designed ahead of time but are modified as appropriate for each participant.
B) are truly, not at all structured.
C) never changed once constructed.
D) never added to once the interview is underway.
E) seldom have follow-up questions.

Question 19

Shulamit Reinharz labels the unstructured approach

A) an "interviewee­guided" interview.
B) the "reality constructing" approach.
C) a quantitative researcher's optimal method.
D) an "interviewee­guided" approach and the "reality constructing" approach.
E) none of these

Question 20

Selecting an interview method is dependent on

A) the amount of structure desired.
B) the time available.
C) the age of participants.
D) the research question.
E) the representativeness of the sample.

Question 21

A joint interview has one interviewer and two or more interviewees.

Question 22

Typically,the analysis of interviews is

A) intuitive.
B) inductive.
C) hypothetical.
D) deductive.
E) none of these

Question 23

The questionnaire used by Sandra Enos in Managing Motherhood in Prison included some open ended questions,but mostly closed ended questions.

Question 24

Analyzing the data from qualitative interviews usually involves

A) transcribing interviews from tape recordings or notes and creating files for use with computer software.
B) transcribing interviews from tape recordings or notes and reading this for themes and patterns.
C) developing ways to transfer these data to quantifiable forms.
D) developing ways to transfer these data to qualitative formats.
E) coding the data by narrowing common ideas.

Question 25

Qualitative data processing is

A) difficult as it requires statistical manipulation of variables.
B) time consuming.
C) often rewarding.
D) difficult as it requires statistical manipulation of variables and is time consuming.
E) time consuming and often rewarding.

Question 26

When we are concerned about the impact that a specific researcher may have on the interview process,we are dealing with

A) research ethics.
B) qualitative interviewing.
C) the interviewer effect.
D) informed consent.
E) sampling.

Question 27

An unstructured interview can also be thought of as "interviewee guided".

Question 28

As Enos learned in Managing Motherhood in Prison,it is highly unlikely that individuals will reveal personally damaging information in a qualitative interview.

Question 29

Imagine that you have conducted qualitative interviews with a small sample of nurses about their jobs.You have done 25 interviews,each about 30 minutes long,resulting in about 20 pages of transcription.Now that you have about 500 pages of data,how would you go about analyzing the data?

A) select topics that participants have talked about
B) create categories through coding
C) look for patterns
D) subject to quantitative statistical manipulation
E) select topics that participants have talked about, create categories through coding, and after categorizing, look for patterns

Question 30

Consent forms

A) provide information to the respondent on the nature of the research.
B) ensure confidentiality and anonymity.
C) provide contact information on the principle investigator.
D) are approved by the Institutional Review Board prior to the interview.
E) all of these

Question 31

Research has found that almost everyone prefers to be interviewed by

A) young, White men.
B) middle-aged, White women.
C) older men.
D) Hispanic women of any age.
E) men, of any age.

Question 32

Visual methods are typically used alone.

Question 33

Typically,ethical concerns are greater in qualitative interviewing because the personal identity of the respondent is known and because individually identifying data may be collected.

Question 34

A joint interview is when several individuals complete a questionnaire in the presence of a researcher.

Question 35

Because of their high level of engagement,qualitative interviews have a high response rate.

Question 36

In standard interviews,the researcher has the flexibility to alter questions as needed.

Question 37

Conducting and transcribing interviews is

A) cheap and easy.
B) time consuming.
C) labor intensive.
D) relatively quick.
E) both time consuming and labor intensive.

Question 38

Claudia is the director of an agency.She is the only one who can give the researcher permission to interview participants.Claudia is a(n)

A) interviewer.
B) consenter.
C) informer.
D) gatekeeper.
E) facilitator.

Question 39

Semi-structured interviews are prepared ahead of time,and are infrequently modified.

Question 40

An informed consent form should include information about the purpose of the study,sponsorship,the benefits and risks to self and others,and

A) a clause about releasing the researcher from liability.
B) who has access to the records and for what purpose.
C) mention of funding the researcher has received to conduct the research.
D) the name of the director of the Institutional Review Board to contact with complaints.
E) the amount of time the subject is involved.

Question 41

In most interviewing protocols,it is usually better to establish rapport before proceeding with difficult or sensitive topics.

Question 42

A focus group is organized to bring together as diverse a population as possible.

Question 43

An unstructured interview has the advantage of yielding comparable data from many respondents.

Question 44

What are some elements and strategies that are likely to enhance the chances of a successful interview?

Question 45

If an individual at the end of an interview expresses distress or requests help,it is appropriate for the researcher to identify resources that might be of interest.

Question 46

Describe what happens after the interviews have been completed.

Question 47

Describe the issues of validity for qualitative interviews.

Question 48

Gatekeepers are those individuals who are empowered to grant access to certain populations.

Question 49

Imagine that you have been asked to work as an interviewer in a project looking at abusive parents.Think about your age,your sex,your social status and other issues related to bridging the "great divide." What are the difficulties you would anticipate in this project? Would you expect to get truthful answers? What advice can you lend to the sponsor or designer of the research about interviewers,the site of the interview and the general design of the interview instrument?

Question 50

Compare and contrast any two types of qualitative interviews.