GSSR
Research Methodology and Methods of Social Inquiry
www.socialinquiry.wordpress.com
December 13, 2010
I. The Interview
II. Survey Research
I. The Interview
Basic rules:– Courtesy, tact, and acceptance;– Appearance (dress);
– Confidentiality
The interview as social situation
Structured (scripted) & Unstructured intreviews; semi-structured interviews
- Advantages
- Disadvantages
Procedures in Conducting an Interview
- Gaining entry (trust)
- Introduction (explaining the study; confidentially, voluntary participation)
- Asking the Questions (structured/semi-structured/ unstructured)
- Probing
- Recording the Response
- Concluding the Interview
Focus Groups
Functions:- exploratory: test methodological techniques, try out
definition of concepts; identify key informants; pre-testing question wording; measurement
scales, ...
- triangulation: used to complement survey; but also participant observation
Methodological challenge: Interviewer also moderator- Avoid that 1/few person(s) dominate the group;- Encourage recalcitrant respondents;- Obtain responses from entire group to have fullest
coverage of topics
Advantages: inexpensive; data rich; flexible, stimulating to respondents,
recall aiding, cumulative and elaborative, over and above individual responses
Problems: - emerging group culture interferes with individual
expression; - threat of domination- group format makes inquiry on sensitive topics difficult- interviewer skills must be v. high due to group dynamics
II. Survey Research
Survey Designs
Cross-sectional studies:
data are collected from a sample at one point in time;
- Contextual studies;
- Social network studies.
Longitudinal Studies:
- Trend studies
- Panel Studies
Polish Panel Survey, POLPAN, conducted in 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008
- supported & administered by the Polish Academy of Sciences;
1st wave (1988): national random sample of adult population, aged 21-65 (N=5,817).
For 2nd wave (1993): random sample from the sample of 1st wave (N=2,500)
For the next waves (1998, 2003, and 2008) the same people were followed + samples of new cohorts.
1988-2008 panel: n = 938 respondents, aged 46 – 84 years in 2008
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