Business Research Methods - Essay Example

Business Research Methods Interview Interview is a source of getting information regarding theexperience of the participants. The interviewer by asking a number of questions may gather in-depth information about the topic. Interviews are considered to be useful as they are also a source of further investigation for the respondents’ answers. The interviewer while conducting research must ask more open-ended question, as it will help in collecting more precise information. Before coming on the types interview that are considered appropriate for research lets discuss some of the characteristics that are considered important for a qualitative research interview (Anon., 2013). The interview is completed by the interviewer based on the responses of the respondent. Interview is considered to be a more personal form of research than questionnaires. Interview is a source of gathering more qualitative information, as the interviewer directly communicates with the interviewee in this process. Interviews are time consuming and they are resource intensive too. Interview is a source of face of face interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee hence it may also reduce conflict. Types of interview that can be used in conducting business research There are three main types of interviews that are conducted during the business research. These are structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews (Anon., 2013). Unstructured interviews Unstructured interviews are also known as the in-depth interviews. These interviews are conducted in informal manner for generating hypothesis concerning the nature of the subject that is being investigated. Adopting unstructured interviews as the research instrument helps to gather all the necessary data about the subject under observation. Such interviews are controlled by a list of thesis and they are not based on a defined set of questions (Anon., 2009). The unstructured interviews are considered to be preliminary step in the business research, as it helps in generating ideas about the subject that is under observation. Such interviews are not at all formal and are not followed by a set of detailed questions. In the unstructured interview the interviewer is guided by a pre-defined list of problems. Such interviews are merely a source of conversation with the subject. Informal interview may not be concerned with the fact that how many respondents think in the same way about the issue. It is more concerned with the fact that how people think about a particular issue and how they finally react to it; therefore the survey questions are framed along the line that are considered natural to the respondent. During the interview the respondent is encouraged to discuss freely about the subject. The respondents are asked to reveal everything that they think about the points being discussed. The interviewer must tape, mark or note down the responses and pursue the respondents until they are completely satisfied and have collected all the relevant information. The unstructured interviews that are conducted properly give the researcher/interviewer a right feel for the subject that is being surveyed. Semi-structured Interview The semi structured interviews possess the characteristics of both the structured as well as the unstructured interviews. It is considered to be helpful when the interviewer is not quite sure that what kind of interview should be conducted. Structured Interviews Structured interviews usually involve a specific set of questionnaires and this type of interviews is usually used for conducting quantitative survey. Such interviews do not restrict the ability of the interviewer to make any sort of changes in the questions being asked from the interviewee or removing or adding any of its sequence. These interviews are conducted in a formal way and the response of the respondent is recorded on a standardized questionnaire form at the time of the interview. The purpose of the structured interview is to gather information from a large group of people and ensure that there is consistency in their responses. This is the reason that these interviews are more likely to be associated with the quantitative research. A structured interview is used for standardizing the order in which the interviewer is asking questions from the survey respondents, therefore the questions are also being answered in the same context. Such interviews help in lowering the impact of the context, where the answers that are being given by the respondents to the survey questions are related to the preceding questions. The interviewer while conducting a structured interview plays a neutral role. He may act friendly but he is not allowed to insert his opinion in the interview. There are number of ways through which the interviewer may collect data or record the interview. The data collection methods of the structured interview may include (but are not limited to) noting down the response on paper, recording the response or filling the responses of the participants (Gill1, et al., 2008). Comparative advantages and disadvantages One of the major advantages of unstructured interview is that the respondents are willing to even discuss some painful and sensitive experiences of their lives if they think that the interviewer is friendly, understanding and sympathetic. Such interviews give opportunities and time to the interviewer to develop questions they think can be helpful during the interview. It allows the respondent to take control and to direct the answer into the areas they find interesting and important. This may also help the researcher to gain important insight. The interviewer may also explore the interests, opinions and beliefs of the respondent, as there are not such limitations regarding the preset questions. The disadvantage of the unstructured interview is that the interviewer may end with affecting the opinion of the respondents. Biasness to some extent can be unavoidable in the unstructured interview. It may develop in all sorts of directions. People usually like to present the positive image about them. They even end up exaggerating some of the aspects of their behavior that they find sociably desirable. Respondents may also tell lies while answering the question in an unstructured interview. Such interview may take a great deal of time and are resource incentive (Lazar, et al., 2010). The strengths of the structured interview are that it helps the research to examine the amount of understanding the respondent has about the issue. All respondents are being asked the same question that also in the same manner. This makes the replication of the decision much easier for the researcher. The researchers find this method of research easy to standardize and regulate. It is considered to be an influential form of the formative assessment. It helps to discover the views of the respondent about a specific topic (Anon., 2013). This research method can be easily applied to a large population and the findings from the sample can also be easily simplified. However this method of research can be time consuming if the sample size is big. This is because the researcher or its representatives have to be available at the time of the dialog. The interviewer is not allowed to change the questions as they all have to be the same (Cohen & Crabtree, 2006). The structure interview needs an extensive amount of pre-planning. The validity of this research method is not considered to be high. It is difficult to get in-depth information, as the responses are restricted. The format of the questionnaire of the structured questions can be tricky for the research and it can be difficult for the researcher to examine complicated issues and opinion. Even in the case of the open ended questions the depth of the answers provided by the respondents are limited than in any of the other research methods. Conducting semi structured interview Topic: Reasons for and reactions to a new ‘greener’ practice at your workplace. The topic being research holds a great significance in the today’s world where the modern practices are killing our green environment. The interview will help us to evaluate that what are the views of the corporate employees about the “greener practice”. We will be conducting a semi-structured interview from the employees of 3 renowned corporations. The interview will not last more than 10-15 minutes depending on the interest of the respondent in the interview (Anon., 2013). Following is the list of the questions that will be asked during the unstructured interview. However the scope of the questions is not at all limited, as we are allowed to ask the questions we think will clarify the answers and will give us a better idea about the respondent’s opinion on the topic. In your words define what exactly you think about greener practice. What you think is the value of going green in the environment like today where almost every corporate practice is contributing towards the instability of environment. What are the strategies and plan of your business to contribute towards greener practices? Do you think that corporation fostering greener practices help in retaining more talented employees? Does your company have a green team? If not what to you thing are the disadvantages of it? Bibliography Anon., 2009. Interview types: Structured, semi-structured, and unstructured. [Online] Available at: http://www.examiner.com/article/interview-types-structured-semi-structured-and-unstructured [Accessed 6 July 2014]. Anon., 2013. Greening Business. [Online] Available at: http://www.earthshare.org/greening-business.html [Accessed 6 July 2014]. Anon., 2013. Interviewing. [Online] Available at: http://www.qualres.org/HomeInte-3595.html [Accessed 6 July 2014]. Anon., 2013. Structured Interviews. [Online] Available at: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/structured_interviews.htm [Accessed 6 July 2014]. Anon., 2013. Types of Interviews. [Online] Available at: http://www.success.uwo.ca/careers/prepare_for_interviews/types_of_interviews.html [Accessed 6 July 2014]. Cohen, D. & Crabtree, B., 2006. Qualitative Research Guidelines Project. [Online] Available at: http://www.qualres.org/HomeStru-3628.html [Accessed 6 July 2014]. Gill1, P., Stewart2, K., Treasure, E. & Chadwick, B., 2008. Methods of data collection in qualitative research: interviews and focus groups. British Dental Journal, pp. 291-295. Lazar, D. J., Feng, D. J. H. & Hochheiser, D. H., 2010. Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction. 1st ed. New Dehli: John Wiley & sons Ltd.. Read More