Survey research II Interviewing

In person surveys ► Instead of respondents reading questionnaires and recording their own responses, ► Interviewers ask the questions orally and record the answers ► Small scale study might use one interviewer ► Larger studies have a staff of interviewers

Interviewer ► More personal, higher response rates (80- 85%) ► Usually decreases no answers and don’t knows ► Can clarify questions (control of clarifications) ► Make observations about surroundings, nonverbal, reactions to questions

Interviewers ► Use of probes ► Reliability of interviewers a potential problem—will different interviewers get different answers? ► Interviewers must be trained

Training interviewers ► Appearance: depends on the target population ► Norm: middle class standards ► Businesses: business attire ► More casual for street people, incarcerated individuals ► May want to ask members of target population

Training ► Pleasant nonjudgmental demeanor, put participants at ease ► Be familiar with the questionnaire, understand it ► use of laminated responses sheets as a guide ► Some example interviews

Probes ► Silence, pencil poised ► How is that? In what ways? Anything else? ► Must be neutral, must not lead the interviewee ► Probes should be indicated next to the question

Conducting the study ► Training ► Interviewers should understand the questionnaire, what the study is about to the degree that they can properly ask the questions ► Practice sessions ► Conducting interviews and feedback

Supervision ► Verifying that interviews have been completed ► Random checks, verify with participants ► Reviewing questionnaires as completed to ensure that questions are understood

Computer assisted ► Computer-based self-administration ► Faxes, web ► Disk-based or CD at a computer

In person computer assisted ► Interviewers might read questions from a computer screen and then key in respondent’s answers ► Or, interviewers might hand computers over to subjects who then key in the responses themselves (might seem more confidential) ► studies indicate that subjects admit to more with this technique

Advantages of computers ► Data analysis ► Complex contingency questions can be automated ► Less monotonous, especially when combined with face to face ► Different languages

Disadvantages ► Costs ► More programming ► Computer problems

Specialized interviews ► Unstructured interviews, open ended ► Rather than very specific questions, a list of general questions or topics with each subject ► Directed conversation rather than a formal interview ► Interview guide more like a checklist

Focus groups ► 8-15 people ► Assembled to engage in a guided group discussion ► Used originally by market researchers ► Ask some open ended questions, specific questions or issues, somewhat controlled ► Example: determining market acceptability of a new program

Focus groups ► Generalizability ► Selecting the right participants to be representative of a larger group ► Hopefully the members will bounce ideas off each other that will provide useful information for the researchers

Telephone ► Structured interviews ► Still need training ► Dress not an issue, nor demeanor ► Pleasant telephone voice ► Need to state purpose quickly, because of telemarketing (do not call lists) ► Structured introduction

Telephone ► 94% of household have telephones, which means that representative samples are likely to be obtained ► Exceptions: very poor, transient, homeless, unlisted numbers (RDD) ► Will cell phones change telephone surveying? ► Potential language problems

Computer assisted telephone interviewing ► Computers can generate and dial phone numbers ► Interviewers wear headsets at computer stations ► Program dials numbers ► Interviewer reads questions from computer screen, records responses

Computers ► Software formats responses into a data file ► Nationwide opinion polls typically use such a technique ► Some simple polls can be automated so that an interviewer is not needed (i.e., how people will vote in an election ► There could be a privacy issue

Which method to use ► 1. Self-administered cheapest and fastest, but only works if groups can assemble and can read reasonably well (with offender populations—might want to tape record or read the questions)

Four methods ► Interviews get more in-depth information, and are better for less educated populations who might not be able to manage written questionnaires (again particularly relevant to offender populations), because interviewers can read and explain the questions

Four methods ► Interview studies get good response rates ► However, face to face interview studies will be more expensive and time-consuming than other types of studies

Four methods ► Mailed surveys can reach large numbers of people relatively quickly, and the costs are relatively low—but return rates are problematic ► More structured and more impersonal ► Best when the answers to closed ended questions are sought

Four methods ► Telephone surveys are best for short questionnaires when the results are needed quickly ► Also better than mailedif literacy is problematic ► Return rates better than mailed, not as good as face to face, but acceptable

Surveys in general ► People might not be truthful or might not know the truth ► Somewhat superficial, do not give us the social context of field research