The Impact of Inequality - Report Example

Introduction

In the recent wake of calls for equality, the impact of inequality has been profound across the globe. To begin with, it is important to understand what inequality means from a personal perspective and supplement that with knowledge from a second party. As such, this paper seeks to understand the impact of inequality from both a personal and second party perspective. Such information was sourced from a semi-structured interview through open-ended questions. Such questions increased the level of interaction, which made the interview quite comprehensive. Only four questions were asked, but since they were open-ended, the level of information obtained was comprehensive. The questions involved gaining the interviewee’s perspective of what inequality is, the reasons why there is a gap between the rich and poor, the impact of inequality on economic growth, and the feasible steps to reduce inequality. The interview brought to perspective the general thinking about inequality and its impact of the world’s populations. The paper seeks to integrate the knowledge gathered through prior research regarding inequality and that obtained from the interview. In addition, the paper will discuss the research design and methods utilised as per interviews that take a semi-structured format. The ethical considerations experienced will also be described and an explanation on how they impacted the interview discussed. The extract of the interview will be included in the appendix in verbatim.

Reflection of Prior Knowledge and its Impact on the Interview

Prior to conducting an interview, individual research about the topic should be conducted to gather as much information as possible that would be used as a point of reference for the interview (Tuckman, and Harper 2012). Subject knowledge was key to indicate the modern trends and patterns that inequality take. For instance, the common knowledge among many people is that inequality relates to economic aspects. However, prior research was helpful in identifying the patterns that inequality takes. In addition, the research sough to identify the proliferation of inequality across the globe. This would assist in identifying the gravity of the topic of research in a bid to understand its prevalence among the world’s population. Prior research also sought to understand the stakeholders of inequality. Stakeholders in this case means the perpetrators and victims. In addition, this also sought to identify the reasons for inequality. The prior research would be relevant in formulating the interview and research design. For instance, the interview questions were crafted from the prior research conducted. The research was designed to have the perspective of a second party in relation to the definition, stakeholders (rich and poor), economic impact, and ways to reduce inequality. Prior knowledge of the subject dictated whether the interview would supplement or oppose such information. In addition, the decision for the research design to have open-ended questions was based on the need to have a second party perspective to evaluate whether information obtained from prior research can be expanded or done away with to its entirety (Drew, Hardman, and Hosp 2008).

Discussion About the Research Design and Methods related to Semi-Structured Interviews

Semi-structured interviews have specific research designs and methods that make them effective for the specific topic research. Semi-structured interviews research design considerations include;

Formality

Research that involves social sciences or aspects that are in touch with the common population require an informal approach. This is so because potential respondents have to understand the impact of the issue at hand and offer their perspective in a rather open and precise manner (Dearnley 2005). A topic such as the impact of inequality is one of social concern, requiring a research design that allows the respondent to issue his or her opinions. As much as the research will not be fully structured, it has to be semi-structured. The research design will be informal; hence, warranting a semi-structured interview. As such, the semi-structured interview applies to the research design required to handle a societal issue such as that of inequality.

Qualitative Research

In every research, the research design must take the shape of being qualitative, quantitative, or involve both. The two research designs dictate the specific methods to be employed. This means that it would be unnecessary to incorporate a quantitative research design for an informal research topic. The topic under discussion involves the impact of inequality. This is a social science topic, and it is evident that it would take an informal approach to sourcing information (Whiting 2008). This means that the research design ought to be qualitative. This is more so because the research involves understanding different opinions about the topic of study. As such, the research design being qualitative means that semi-structured interviews would be feasible to obtain as much information as required from the research.

Comparative Data

Semi-structured interviews create room to obtain quality comparative data. The informal grouping of questions enables respondents to air their opinions about the topic. Once this is done, the interviewer can compare the data easily to formulate a clear flow of knowledge. To begin with, research on topics in the field of social sciences require questions that are easy to read and simple to understand and respond. It is possible that, since it is a social topic, the respondents will have different school of thought. As such, since the research entails an informal grouping of questions, it would be easy to obtain reliable comparative data, which validates the utilisation of semi-structured interviews.

The methods utilised in researching about the impact of inequality ought to indicate the ease of conducting the research and obtaining information. As such, the methods, in relation to semi-structured interviews entail;

Face-to-Face Communication

Research that involves obtaining the opinion of others ought to be conducted through face-to-face communication. This means that the interviewer and respondent should have a physical conversation, with the interviewer documenting the opinions of the respondent in real time. As such, this method of conducting research for informal research topics yet important to the society requires that the interviews be semi-structured to allow the communication be two-way, meaning that there is interaction between the two parties involved.

Open-Ended Questions

Semi-structured interviews utilise open-ended questions as methods for sourcing information. Such questions achieve a level of interaction, which means that comprehensive information is obtained. Open-ended questions allow both the interviewer and interviewee to exchange knowledge, which makes the interview more personal and opinion-based. Open-ended questions are feasible in research involving social topics. As such, the use of semi-structured interviews favour the formulation of open-ended questions, which are feasible for research involving social topics.

Ethical Issues Related to Semi-Structured Interviews

Semi-structured interviews have numerous ethical considerations owing to the fact that they are mostly used in informal research where qualitative data is used. In addition, such interviews utilise open-ended questions. This means that semi-structured interviews grant the interviewer the discretion to conduct the research in a manner that suits him or her. As such, numerous ethical concerns arise due to the subjectivity of the research design and methods. Among the evident ethical considerations involved in conducting semi-structured interviews include;

Privacy and Confidentiality

This is the primary ethical issue when it comes to semi-structured interviews (Voltelen, and Ostergaard 2017). Owing to the fact that such interviews are informal, the interviewer may fail to observe privacy issues. In the interview conducted regarding the topic on the impact of inequality, the name of the respondent was withheld, only referring to them as Mr. C. It is important to maintain anonymity throughout the interview to ensure that the interviewee does not doubt the use of personal information relayed while responding. This is more so because, while responding, the interviewee may relay private information either voluntarily or involuntarily. It is upon the interviewer to affirm that every aspect of the interview will remain private and confidential and only be used for the purposes of the research.

Informed Consent

Researchers must obtain permission for conducting research regardless of the research design or methods adopted. There is no research work that is exempt from this requirement. However, it is a common ethical issue for informal research, which involve the use of semi-structured interviews. An interviewer may fail to seek permission before involving a potential respondent to the research. It is important to brief potential interviewees before involving them in the research. Such briefing involves informing them the purpose of the research and what is required of them. Such briefing is what forms informed consent (Allmark, Boote, Chambers, and Clarke 2009). Individuals who fail to be convinced in the briefing phase must not be forced to partake in the interview. There should be no cases of coercion. In addition, an interviewee is at liberty to walk out of such an interview without providing prior notice. As such, only the information documented must be of the respondents who were actively involved in the interview from the briefing phase to the end of the activity. For instance, Mr. C granted permission to be interviewed on the impact of inequality, and the information provided in the appendix is a clear indication that he was actively involved in the interview till completion.

Conclusion

The interviewee, Mr. C, provided precise answers to the interview questions indicating that inequality has a global impact. The interviewer was keen to confirm that inequality is not only confined in economic aspects, but in the fundamental aspects such as education. The research design and method were effective in attaining the purpose of understand the impact of inequality.