Methods in context - interviews

Powney and Watts

Young children tend to
- be more literal-minded
- often pay attention to unexpected details in questions
- use a different logic from adult interviewers

Training needs to be more thorough if interviewing children, which adds to the cost.

Bentley

Performed structured interviews in an informal style.
- cannot be standardised = cannot be compared = reduced reliability

Field

Parental permission is required for interviews in schools - likelihood of this being granted varies. Study of pupils' experiences of sex and health education in schools had a 29% refusal rate, mainly because parents were withholding consent.

Greene and Hogan

To improve validity of interviews with pupils, interviewers should:
- use open-ended questions
- not interrupt children's answers
- tolerate long pauses
- recognise that children are more susceptible
- avoid repeating questions.

Bell

Pupils may see interviewer as a teacher in disguise.