What is survey research?

Types and forms of interviews

B.A (Hons.) Political Science (CBCS 527)

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 ASSIGNMENT

Q. What is survey research? Discuss different types and forms of interview.

Ans: Survey research is one of the most important areas of measurement in
applied social research. The broad area of survey research encompasses any
measurement procedures that involve asking questions to respondents.
In political science, empirical research and findings play an integral part shaping
the discipline. Surveys, as old as predicted, have aimed to gain a deeper and
elaborate study of every election, public opinion on government decisions and
government’s performance. Survey research on public opinion and elections was
the central force in shaping empirical methods for the discipline as a whole.
Survey research was initially a path along which insights from sociology and
psychology were imported into political science. Nevertheless, with time political
scientists came to dominate.
Survey research is defined as ‘the collection of information from a sample of
individuals through their responses to questions’ (Check & Schutt, 2012). This
type of research allows for a variety of methods to recruit participants, collect
data, and utilize various methods of instrumentation. Survey research can use
quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated
items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both
strategies (i.e., mixed methods).
Information has been obtained from individuals and groups through the use of
survey research for decades. It can range from asking a few targeted questions of
individuals on a street corner to obtain information related to behaviours and
preferences, to a more rigorous study using multiple valid and reliable
instruments. Common examples of less rigorous surveys include marketing or
political surveys of consumer patterns and public opinion polls.
Survey research has historically included large population-based data collection.
The primary purpose of this type of survey research was to obtain information
describing characteristics of a large sample of individuals of interest relatively
quickly. More recently, survey research has developed into a rigorous approach
to research, with scientifically tested strategies detailing who to include
(representative sample), what and how to distribute (survey method), and when
to initiate the survey and follow up with non-responders (reducing non response

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error), in order to ensure a high-quality research process and outcome. Currently,
the term ‘survey’ can reflect a range of research aims, sampling and recruitment
strategies, data collection instruments, and methods of survey administration.

DATA COLLECTION METHODS IN SURVEY RESEARCH

Survey research may use a variety of data collection methods with the most
common being questionnaires and interviews.
Questionnaires
Questionnaires may be self-administered or administered by a professional. They
include a series of items reflecting the research aims. Questionnaires may include
demographic questions in addition to valid and reliable research instruments.
Questionnaires can be administered individually or in a group.
Interviews
Conducting interviews is another approach to data collection used in survey
research. Interviews are qualitative research technique mostly conversing an
interaction involving open ended questions. Interviews may be conducted by
phone, computer, or in person. In interviews, it is easier to identify non-verbal
responses of the interviewee visually and subsequently being able to clarify the
intended question. An interviewer can use probing comments to obtain more
information about a question or topic and can request clarification of an unclear
response (Singleton & Straits, 2009). Interviews can be costly and time intensive,
and therefore are relatively impractical for large samples.
Characteristics of Interviews
Interviews encompass unique characteristics that distinguish them from other
types of communication. In what follows, are five characteristics of interviews:
1. Goal driven
Interviews are generally more goal-driven than other types of communication,
especially those taking place between two people. All communication achieves
something beyond the simple exchange of symbols, but these achievements and
creations are not always purposeful and intended. Interviews have a clear
purpose, a goal to be achieved.
2. Question–Answer
Another characteristic of interviews is the question–answer nature of the
transaction. The majority of an interview consists of one person (sometimes more

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than one) asking questions and another person answering those questions.
Interviews are not random, casual or sudden. Unlike in everyday communication,
interviews are characterised with one person in charge of asking the questions
while the other person is in charge of answering them.
3. Structured
Interviews also tend to be more structured than other types of communication.
Whereas a casual interaction between two people may happen spontaneously and
have no clear focus, interviews involve planning and preparation and also tend to
have a clear sequence. Certain actions are expected during an interview in order
to reach the clearly defined goal discussed previously.
4. Controlled
Interviews are generally controlled by an interviewer, who is responsible for
moving the interview toward its intended goal. The amount of control exerted
during an interview depends on this goal, which is achieved in part by the
questions asked and the communication environment established.
5. Unbalance
A final characteristic of interviews is that the time spent talking by an interviewee
and an interviewer is usually unbalanced. Typically, an interviewer will be
speaking much and his/her job is only to present the questions. It is the
interviewee who has to do most of the talking since responses are expected from
the interviewee for the purpose of the interview. The type of interview will dictate
exactly how much time each party spends talking, but more often than not, an
interviewee will talk more and an interviewer will talk less.

Types of Interview
A researcher has to conduct interviews with a group of participants at a juncture
in the research where information can only be obtained by meeting and personally
connecting with a section of their target audience. Interviews offer the researchers
with a platform to prompt their participants and obtain inputs in the desired detail.
There are three fundamental types of interviews in research:
Unstructured interviews: These are interviews that take place with few
interview questions. They often progress in the manner of a normal conversation
concerning the research topic under review. It is a relatively formless interview
style that researchers use to establish rapport and comfort with the participant,
and is extremely helpful when researchers are discussing sensitive topics. The

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researcher is expected to probe participants in order to obtain the most rich and
in-depth information possible.
This is an advantageous interview type because-
▪ The maximum nature of informality is its first advantage. This exists
because of the unstructured constitution of interviews. The acquired
rapport prepared is a result of friendly interactions as any formal structure
of interviewing is absent. This leads to gaining insights in extreme detail
without much conscious effort.
▪ The participants can clarify any doubts about the questions and the
researcher can take each opportunity to explain his/her intention for better
answers.
▪ There are no questions which the researcher has to abide by and this usually
increases the flexibility of the entire research process.
Disadvantages of this interview consist-
▪ The absence of a structure in the interview process, makes it difficult for
researchers to ask direct questions regarding the research and thus, take
time to execute these interviews.
▪ The absence of a standardized set of questions and guidelines indicates that
the reliability of unstructured interviews is questionable. This may not lead
to a proper research outcome.
▪ In many cases, the ethics involved in these interviews are considered
borderline upsetting.

Semi-structured interviews: These are interviews that use an interview protocol

to help guide the researcher through the interview process. While this can
incorporate conversational aspects, it is mostly a guided conversation between
the researcher and participant. It does maintain some structure unlike unstructured
interviews, but it also provides the researcher with the ability to probe the
participant for additional details.
The semi-structured interviews have these advantages-
▪ Questions of semi-structured interviews are prepared before the scheduled
interview which provides the researcher with time to prepare and analyse
the questions.
▪ Flexibility exists to an extent while maintaining the research guidelines.
▪ Unlike the structured interviews, researchers can express the interview
questions in the format they prefer.

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This interview type is criticised because-
▪ Flexibility poses a problem to some extent. Participants may question the
reliability factor of these interviews due to the flexibility offered.
▪ Comparing two different answers becomes difficult as the guideline for
conducting interviews is not entirely followed. No two questions will have
the exact same structure and the result will be an inability to compare are
infer results.

Structured interviews: These are interviews that strictly adhere to the use of an
interview protocol to guide the researcher. It has a more rigid interview style and
only the questions on the interview protocol are asked. As a result, there are not
a lot of opportunities to probe and further explore topics that participants bring
up when answering the interview questions. This method can be advantageous
when researchers have a comprehensive list of interview questions, since it helps
target the specific phenomenon or experience that the researcher is investigating.
It makes for expedient interviewing and will gather the correct information that
you need, so there should not be much need for you to do follow-up interviews
for missed or forgotten questions.
Structured interviews are excessively used in survey research with the intention
of maintaining uniformity throughout all the interview sessions.
Advantages of structured interviews-
▪ Structured interviews focus on the accuracy of different responses due to
which extremely organized data can be collected. Different respondents
have different type of answers to the same structure of questions – answers
obtained can be collectively analysed.
▪ They can be used to get in touch with a large sample of the target
population.
▪ The interview procedure is made easy due to the standardization offered
by structured interviews.
▪ As the scope of detail is already considered while designing the interview,
better information can be obtained and the researcher can analyse the
research problem in a comprehensive manner by asking accurate research
questions.

FORMS OF INTERVIEWS

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Personal Interviews: Personal interviews are one of the most used types of
interviews, where the questions are asked personally and directly to the
respondent. For this, a researcher can have a guide likr online surveys to take note
of the answers. A researcher can design his/her survey in such a way that they
take notes of the comments or points of view that stands out from the interviewee.
These are used to probe the answers of the respondents and at the same time, to
observe the behaviour of the respondents, either individually or as a group. One
of the main reasons why researchers achieve good response rates through this
method is the face-to-face nature of the personal interview survey. Unlike
administering questionnaires, people are more likely to readily answer live
questions about the subject simply because they can actually see, touch, feel or
even taste the product.
Telephonic interviews: Telephonic interviews are widely used and easy to
combine with online surveys to carry out research effectively. Using telephones
to conduct in-depth interviews is a faster, easier way to approach primary
research. It takes less time to schedule and conduct than a face-to-face interview.
However, just like a face-to-face interview, with a telephone interview, the
interviewer can gain a deeper insight to specific answers by treating the
questionnaire like a meaningful discussion and deducing the validity of each
response. Telephonic interviews can deliver similar quality data. Such interviews
are able to gather multiple points of view and multiple interviews. These can be
conducted over a wider geographic scope, even globally.
Online interviews: The increase in people with Internet access has made it
popular that interviews via email or web page stand out among the types of
interviews most used today. An online interview is an online research method
conducted over instant messaging, email, or video. Online interviews require
different ethical considerations, sampling and rapport than practices found in
traditional face-to-face interviews. Online interviews, like offline interviews,
typically ask respondents to explain what they think or how they feel about an
aspect of their social world. In online interviews, data is primarily generated
through conversations between a researcher and respondent. Online interviews
can utilize a selection of formats and employ varying means of computer-
mediated communication (CMC).
Interviewing may be the most common method utilized by qualitative
researchers.

CONCLUSION

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