Disadvantages Of Interviews

In interviews information is obtained through inquiry and recorded by rearchers.

There are two kind of interviews which are

• Open-ended interviews

Open interviews are notes taken while talking with respondents. The notes are subsequently structured (interpreted) for further analysis.

Open-ended interviews cover a variety of data-gathering activities, including a number of social science research methods.

Focus groups are small (5-15 individuals) and composed of representative members of a group whose beliefs, practises or opinions are sought. By asking initial questions and structuring the subsequent discussion, the facilitator/interviewer can obtain, for example, information on common gear use practices, responses to management regulations

• Job interview

2.1.3 Advantages and disadvantages of interviews

The main advantages of interviews are:

• They are useful to obtain detailed information about personal feel-ings, perceptions and opinions

• They allow more detailed questions to be asked

• They usually achieve a high response rate

• Respondents' own words are recorded

• Ambiguities can be clarified and incomplete answers followed up

• Precise wording can be tailored to respondent and precise meaning of questions clarified (eg for students with English as a Second Language)

• Interviewees are not influenced by others in the group

• Some interviewees may be less self-conscious in a one-to-one situation.

The main disadvantages of interviews are:

• They can be very time-consuming: setting up, interviewing, tran-scribing, analysing, feedback, reporting

• They can be

• Observations may enable you to see things that are taken for granted by participants in the learning and teaching context. Their perceived lack of importance by participants may mean that they would not be picked up by other methods that explore participant perceptions.

Main disadvantages of observation:

• Observations can be time consuming. Getting a representative pic-ture of the implementation over the duration of a pilot or embed-ding phase of a change in learning and teaching will involve attending more than one learning and teaching activity or event.

• Observation of activity may affect the behavior of those involved in it and hence what you observe. Participants may be concerned about what you are actually evaluating. Academic staff may be concerned the quality of their teaching is being evaluated and students may be concerned their academic performance is being assessed.

• The thinking that underlies participants’ observed actions cannot be observed. Observations are therefore used with other methods that seek insight into this