Interviews - methods in context

Investigating parental choice, 6 paragraphs (3 adv, 3 disadv)

Reliable

• Researcher has minimal role

• Characteristics not influencing

• Same questions asked to everyone e.g did you get your first choice of school?

• Compare answers

Quick and easy, representative

• Large scale

• Can carry out in oversubscribed and undersubscribed schools

• Make generalisations

• e.g - parents in OSS may have more cultural and economic capital e.g attend open evenings

Ethical

• Parents have consented

• No psychological harm

• Ask questions about aspirations and factual info like postcode

• No probing or prying

No verstehen

• Cant ask any follow up questions

• May want to know more about class backgrounds or home life that cant be grasped off of just by asking question

• You cant identify lengths that parents went to get into school e.g tutor?

No rapport

• May lie about job or income

• They may be embarrassed

• Socially desirable answers

• May lie about where they live, false address

• May lie about ofsted reports and league tables

Parents are hard to access

• Outside school setting

• They would need permission to interview parents

• Need data from school (data protection)

• Majority privileged school choosers - privileged and may need incentives to pursuade disconnected local choosers to encourage to take part