Quantitative Methods of Informal In-Depth Interviewing - Coursework Example

?Quantitave methods informal in-depth interviewing: Research methods are a scientific process that applies both arithmetic and theoretical techniques to undertake a research study. This is a fairly wide area of social science and forms a fundamental basis of the society’s problem solving methods. It is an idea that various challenges found in the society today are always given a deeper thought and research to establish the cause-effect relation ship. However, a lot of procedure is always followed to establish the causes and the corresponding remedy on any single issue (Seidman, 2006). It should also be noted that there are different methodologies which are applicable in research methods. The issue of central interest in any matter is always to find a better solution than the existing one; this means that there are some issues that emerge as new in the society and therefore no information exists about them while on the other hand, better approaches are also being studied about issues that are already exist. In other words, the core reference point in any research study is the literature review. Research can either be from primary sources or secondary ones. Primary source research is obtained from initial findings from an original work while secondary are obtained from published materials. Research has never been perfectly done by man due to many challenges and this means that any research work assumed done perfectly still bears some information gap. It should be noted that these issues that have not been captured by past research studies may be vital in providing a lasting solution. Various concepts of research have always been under use but their effectiveness varies from one use to another. The Qualitative Interview Design is the latest research concept which is gaining weight especially in the business world. Informal interviews are a concept of qualitative research. It accords the same opportunity to acquire information just like in any other research method. Its applicability comes even in business management. In normal business operations, the daily occurrences that characterize business operations entail gathering and collecting data. This data is usually relevant in determining the fate of a business in terms of market survey and related factors. Consequently, it is always important to have concise information on the targeted market on what needs to be done in order to succeed in a particular market. Such is a predicament that would warrant carrying out of research. In view of this, informal interview would provide a relatively easier way of evaluating the market before making any business decision. In-depth interview entails asking of questions, listening to the answers and recording them. The researcher can also pose additional questions to clarify or expand on particular issues. In most cases the questions are open ended and this is meant to explore the ideas of the respondents without restriction since this is likely to give a true picture and their real perceptions. This concept is aimed at understanding the clear view of the beneficiaries of a program, there judgement and terminologies. The extent by which the three approaches in in-depth interviewing differ is basically dependent on standardization of the questions and how they are determined. These methods are semi-structured interview, the informal conversational interview and the standardized open-ended interview. Each of these approaches has different instrumentation requirements and preparation besides serving different purposes. Qualitative research design requires in-depth experience with methodology and one of its most important components is the concept of informal interview. Qualitative Interview Design is one of the sources of research in academics where the interviews provide wide information base pertaining to a participant's first hand experience and viewpoints on a specific topic of study. This research methods concept makes the best literature review base since the qualitative interviews provides a novice investigation by expanding on each interview's design practical component. Informal interviews present a rich source of data. This bears relevance since it entails interacting directly with the respondents. Consequently, it can be viewed as an unrivalled source of primary data. In business management, this would be helpful in deciding on any major business deal. Besides, interviews offer relatively fair ways of establishing facts and sealing information gaps since the questions are always open ended leading to unlimited and exhaustion of the ideas and perceptions of the respondents. When the respondents are not restricted on how to respond to questions, it will be easier to obtain none biased data which is very crucial in making relevant business decisions. Consequently, it is evident that business management benefits a great deal from informal interviews. Any form of research requires competence on the part of the research. This comes from the fact that the researcher would be compelled to relate the research to the objectives of carrying it out. Interpretation of primary data to give information that can be used in business management forms part of the analytical skills of the researcher (Stacks, 2010). By choosing an appropriate type of interview design process through the interpretation of the interview data, this method of carrying out qualitative research offers a practical way to perform and investigation based which is based on the recommendations and accepted principles of research practice. This makes informal interviews quite relevant to business management because of the simplicity that they confer on the process of data collection. In reference to informal interviews, however, guidelines have to be stipulated to act as benchmarks against which the accepted practices are evaluated. Every practice has to have guidelines or stipulations on how to conduct it. Bearing in mind that business management requires apt practices, it is imperative that the same is applied to informal interviews to make it relevant. Management is now seeking any mechanism to remain relevant in this global competitive environment. Planning departments work on different approaches to strategise on how to boost the returns for their various firms (Stacks, 2010). In this respect, the management of various bussiness entities across the world have adopted Qualitative methods informal in-depth interviewing as the best approach in undertaking their research in the market (Carson & Hine, 2007). For effective research studies, most firms are now interested in carrying out door to door promotion and reliable research (Carson & Hine,2007). In that respect the business management has been employing field studies through its planning department. The management employs research assistants who go out with structured questions and questionnaires. The respondents are given the oral interview and the questions are open ended so that the prospective clients or respondents can give their views freely about what should be done. Take a case where a firm wants to establish how to improve on its products quality to the clients with the aim of gaining a competitive edge; it will formulate exhaustive questions which are posed in a systematic manner that it would be easy to observe the trend in which the questions are answered. Any data from a qualitative inquiry is always people’s words and actions and this therefore makes it only appropriate to apply methods that allow the researchers to master language and capture behaviour. The best methods of collecting these data is through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, group interviews and any other gathered relevant documents. Interviews and observational data can be gathered by the researcher in the form of audio-taped interviews and notes taken from the field and these are later transcribed for use in analysis of data. Case study of literature review Examples of organizations Employing Informal Interviews There are business organizations which have adopted the use of informal interviews as a way of carrying out qualitative research. This business models are based on the fact that interview is a platform which accords a close interaction with the interviewee thus the data collected is more reflective of the actual situation being investigated compared to conventional ways of research. An example of such an initiative was as an association in the USA christened the Surgeons College. The organization sought to improve health services in its health institutions. Consequently, a qualitative research involving informal interview was conducted. This aimed at easing the cost of information search and improving the efficiency of the entire health fraternity in policy formulation, implementation and execution (Andrew & Halcomb, 2009). The research conducted at the time was effective and it enabled the management of the health facilities to get to know what they needed to do to improve healthcare delivery. For instance, through the interviews, it became apparent that communication was an important aspect of patient care. Marketing products is often a tricky affair. The right approach should be taken to guarantee success. In order to know what the market demanded of it, Weulo, a business dealing in beauty products conducted a series of interviews on various issues on its products to ascertain how to meet their customer’s demands (Lantos, 2011). This helped in guarantee of precise information that helped the company improve its packaging and service delivery. Consequently, the business returns for the company were turned around. Monette and Dejong (2011) highlight the importance of informal interviews in the conducting of social work. Even though social work is not usually involved in business, the report shows that the mode of interview serves in creating what could be described as product awareness. Consequently, application of such a strategy in the business world is likely to be beneficial in times of brand promotion. Conclusion From the studies above, it is evident that informal interviews offer an invaluable platform for doing business. Its relevance in collecting primary data which could be interpreted to give information to aid in business management is laudable. Given the changing trends witnessed in the world today, businesses should adopt informal interviews as a way of conducting qualitative research. References Andrew, S., & Halcomb, E. (2009). Mixed methods research for nursing and the health sciences. Chichester, U.K: Wiley-Blackwell Pub. Carson, D., & Hine, D. (2007). Innovative methodologies in enterprise research. Cheltenham [u.a.: Elgar. Dalla, R. L. (2006). Exposing the "pretty woman" myth: A qualitative investigation of street-level prostituted women. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Dana, L. P. (2007). Handbook of research on ethnic minority entrepreneurship: A co-evolutionary view on resource management. Cheltenham, UK [u.a.: Elgar. Gray, P. S. (2007). The research imagination: Qualitative and quantitative methods. Cambridge University Press. Gillis, T. L. (2006). The IABC handbook of organizational communication: A guide to internal communication, public relations, marketing and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Lantos, G. P. (2011). Consumer behavior in action: Real-life applications for marketing managers. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. LeCompte, M. D., & Schensul, J. J. (2010). Designing & conducting ethnographic research: An introduction. Lanham, Md: AltaMira Press. Marschan-Piekkari, R. (2011). Rethinking the Case Study in International Business and Management Research. Cheltenham: Elgar. Monette, D. R., Sullivan, T. J., & DeJong, C. R. (2011). Applied social research: A tool for the human services. Australia: Brookscole. Pritchard, A. (2007). Tourism and gender: Embodiment, sensuality and experience. Wallingford: CABI. Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. R. (2011). Research methods for social work. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage. Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York [u.a.: Teachers College Press. Stacks, D. W. (2010). Primer of public relations research. New York: Guilford Press. Zikmund, W. G. (2013). Business research methods. Mason, OH: South-Western. Read More