GROUP INTERVIEWS

Question 1

What are group interviews?

Answer 1

When the researcher interviews multiple people in one sitting
-can be structured or unstructured

Question 2

What are the strengths of group interviews?

Answer 2

• group dynamic can stimulate discussion and ideas and participants can build on each others responses
  -helps the researcher to understand how opinions are shaped through social interaction
• saves time-researcher can get a range of views at once
• researcher can observe group dynamics and power relations

Question 3

What are the limitations of group interviews?

Answer 3

• some individuals may monopolise the conversation, while quieter people dont participate-reduces validity
  -social desirability - participants may base their answers on who will make them likeable
• managing a group is more complex
• reduced privacy may lead to less honest answers

Question 4

What example can be used?

Answer 4

-Willis’ study explored how boys interpreted schooling and created their own subculture.
-Group interviews were ideal because they captured collective attitudes and behaviours that individual interviews might miss.
-The method helped show how peer culture reinforced resistance to authority — central to his conclusions about the reproduction of social class.