Strengths and Weaknesses of Research Methods - Essay Example

Strengths and Weaknesses of Research Methods Affiliation: Interviews Introduction Interviews are a techniques for gathering data through the researcher asking the questions which the respondent or participant then answers as best as they can. There are two major categories of interviews which are structured and unstructured interviews. The structured interviews involve a series of predetermined questions being asked and responses recorded without further probing of the interviewee. The unstructured interview involves a combination of pre-determined questions combined with random questions asked with the sole purpose of probing further in order to gather more in depth information and gain more data in the process (Tracy, 2012, pg. 152). These two main categories have been further subdivided into different types of interviews which range from telephone interview to the most common which is face-to-face interview. Telephone interviews are carried out through the telephone. It is most common in cases where the respondent is far probably in another country or is too busy to grant a face to face interview. The face-to-face interview is where the interviewer and the participant face each other and the series of questions and answers exchanged (Stewart, Chadwick & Gill, 2008, pg. 292). Interview has several strengths and weaknesses depending on the type. Strengths The main strength of the interviews is the ability to probe further depending on the response that has been provided. The probing questions are not pre-determined but lead to collection of more detailed information leading to more knowledge about the topic of discussion. Interviews can be combined with other forms of research data collection tools to enable the researcher collect more data with little effort. The other forms of tools include observation of the non-verbal cues when the interviewee is answering the questions as well as when asked a particularly sensitive question. The non-verbal cues will caution the interviewer on the issues to trend lightly so as not to annoy the interview which may cause a premature termination of the interview, and will also lead to the interviewer marking the areas of the discussion that will need verification later on. Interviews and especially the face-to-face interviews lead to high responses to the interview questions compared to other forms of data collection tools such as questionnaires. This is so because the interviewee faces the interviewer and hence has no way of avoiding to respond. The responses will either be from verbal or non-verbal communication and hence the researcher will have gathered the data either way. This strength of the interview as a form of research method is what makes it among the most popular research method employed by most researchers. Research is usually governed by time and hence even the interviews have to be time conscious. The interviewee also may have provided the specific amount of time the interview will take and hence the researcher must be time conscious when carrying out the interview. The structured interviews come in handy during such time constraints as the researcher will have the interview questions already planned and hence will delve directly into them without any preamble. The structured interview will allow the interviewer to gather all the necessary data and within the specified amount of time of the interview even if no probing or follow up is done. The telephone interview which is an example of the structured interviews allows the researcher to gather data from the interviewees despite the time or geographical constraints and the expenses will be less than carrying out a face-to-face interview (Kothari, 2004, pg. 98). Weaknesses Every research method has its own weaknesses and interviews are no exception. The first and most common of the weaknesses are on the expenses. Face-to-face interviews are very costly. This is because of the travelling expenses to where the interviewee is found. Then there are other expenses such as of accommodation, research assistant who may be recording the responses through filming or writing them down in order not to disrupt the interview among many other miscellaneous expenses. Telephone interviews even though are relatively cheaper than the face-to-face interviews also incur calling expenses and especially when the call is an international one and scheduling has to be carried out before hand, followed by confirmation and then the actual interview call (Eloise & Worth, 2001, pg. 518). Other than expenses, the other weakness is on the interview skills of the interviewer. Most people have poor interview skills and hence end up with little meaningful information even if the interview lasted for longer than just a few minutes. The poor interview skills range from constant interruption of the interviewee not even letting him or her complete explanations before asking other questions. There is also writing down important points in the middle of conversation hence mission out some other important points that would have required further probing for clarification. These combined with reactive effects on the interviewee’s part lead to disastrous ending. Focus Groups Introduction Focus group is a way of collecting data through group interaction. The researcher chooses a topic of discussion from the research and shares it with the group of respondents who in turn discuss it among themselves giving facts and opinion as well as experiences. The researcher throughout this group discussion talks minimally and only observes as well as records the important and relevant discussion points (Stewart, Shamdasani & Rook, 2007, pg. 57). The researcher can ask probing or follow up questions to encourage more discussion, reduce boredom, and encourage more group members to participate in the discussion as well as reduce monotony of discussing only one thing. Depending on the type of discussion, the participants of the focus group ranges in knowledge, skills, profession and even age and it is this combination that makes the focus group among the best research methods as the data gathered has variety of experiences and is loaded with factual information from different professions and opinion. This type of research method has its own share of strengths and weaknesses just like the other research methods. Strengths One of the strongest advantage of focus group is the fact that it gathers more information through the discussion as the group explores ideas and concepts is much more detail. Their diversity in thinking also leads to diversified responses that are not only useful in this particular forum and research but can form basis for future research. With the multiple discussion avenues and discussion partners, the focus group members explore each other’s internal thinking through the experiences and opinions provided opening up the discussion further in depth (Krueger & Casey, 2009, pg. 176). Similarly to an unstructured interview, the focus groups allow room for probing and follow up of the points raised during the discussion. With the researcher not being in control of the group, he is in a good position to hear and understand all the points being raised with minimal or no interruption. When an important point is therefore raised during the discussion, the researcher can halt the discussion and seek further clarification of the point. This not only gathers more in depth information but allows for the rest of the group to gather their thoughts, get moment of reprieve and hence once the clarification phase is over, the other group members are ready to delve further into the discussion with renewed rigor. The other strength of the focus group which is not common in other forms of research methods is the ability of the discussion to take a turn and discuss a completely new thing which adds more information or provides a different angle of the topic altogether which is good. This happens during further probing where new information is brought into the light and provides a platform for a turnaround in the discussion as people focus on the new information which is still related to the topic of discussion but gives a different view (Jowett & O’Toole, 2006, pg. 89). Weaknesses The major weakness just like that of interviews discussed above is on the expenses of conducting a focus group. The members of the focus group have left their various activities to participate in the research and hence most need to be reimbursed their fuel or bus fare as well as other fees. Even if they are not being paid, they need snacks of lunch as the focus group unlike the interview takes much longer. As mentioned above, time taking is another weakness of focus group. The discussion due to having many people participating gets more exciting and also as a result of the probing, takes much longer than other research methods like interviews and questionnaires. Researchers undertaking a focus group as a research method should ensure that their research schedule will not be affected or allows enough time to accommodate the time take by a focus group discussion failure to which the whole research will be interrupted and the results late to be submitted. The other weaknesses is that without proper facilitation skills, the focus group discussion can deviate from the main topic of discussion to other personal issues which are bound to bring up arguments and unhealthy debates. Once the discussion becomes personal, emptions are bound to cause tempers and hence disrupting the whole group. The researcher should be keen to steer the discussions away from getting personal or emotions coming into play during the group discussion. All this is possible with proper training of the researcher on how to facilitate or hiring a facilitator (Liamputtong, 2011, pg. 166). Reference Eloise, C. J. & Worth, A. (2001). “The use of the telephone interview for research.” Journal of Research in Nursing, vol. 6(1), pp. 511-524. Jowett, M., & O’Toole, G. (2006). “Focusing researchers’ minds: Contrasting experiences of using focus groups in feminist qualitative research.” Qualitative Research, vol. 6(4), pp. 453–472. Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Delhi: New Age International. Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2009). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research, (4th Ed). California: Sage. Liamputtong, P. (2011). Focus Group Methodology: Principle and Practice. California: SAGE. Stewart, D. W., Shamdasani, P. N., & Rook, D. W. (2007). Focus groups: Theory and practice, (2nd Ed). California: Sage. Stewart, K., Chadwick, B. & Gill, P. (2008). “Methods of data collection in qualitative research: interviews and focus groups.” British Dental Journal, vol. 204, pp. 291-295. Tracy, S. (2012). Qualitative Research Methods: Collecting Evidence, Crafting Analysis, Communicating Impact. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Read More