Resea

1. Instrument Development
Research Methods II
Presented by: Tanecia Stevens
International University of the Caribbean
2/27/2015 1Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

2. What is an Instrument
 Instrument is the generic term that
researchers use for a measurement
device (survey, test, questionnaire,
etc.). To help distinguish between
instrument and instrumentation,
consider that the instrument is the
device and instrumentation is the
course of action (the process of
developing, testing, and using the
device).
2/27/2015 2Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

3. What is a Questionnaire
 A questionnaire is a research
instrument consisting of a series of
questions and other prompts for the
purpose of gathering information from
respondents.
 A questionnaire is a list of written
questions that can be completed in
one of two basic ways.
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4. Postal Questionnaire
 In postal questionnaire the
respondents could be asked to
complete the questionnaire with the
researcher not present. This (loosely)
refers to any questionnaire that a
respondent completes without the aid
of the researcher.
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5. Structured Interview
 In structured interview the
respondents could be asked to
complete the questionnaire by verbally
responding to questions in the
presence of the researcher.
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6. Note
 Although the two variations are similar
(a postal questionnaire and a
structured interview could contain
exactly the same questions), the
difference between them is important.
If, for example, we are concerned with
protecting the respondent’s anonymity
then it might be more appropriate to
use a postal questionnaire than a
structured interview.
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7. Closed-ended Questions
 Closed-ended(or “closed question”) is
a question for which a researcher
provides a suitable list of responses
(e.g.Yes / No).
 This produces mainly quantitative
data.
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8. Open-ended Questions
 Open-ended (or “open question”) is a
question where the researcher doesn’t
provide the respondent with a set
answer from which to choose. Rather,
the respondent is asked to answer "in
their own words".
 This produces mainly qualitative data.
2/27/2015 8Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

9. What is an Interview
 An interview is a conversation
between two or more people where
questions are asked by the interviewer
to elicit facts or statements from the
interviewee. Interviews are a standard
part of journalism and media reporting,
but are also employed in many other
situations, including research
methods.
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10. Purpose of Interview
 Interviews are particularly useful for
getting the story behind a participant’s
experiences.
 The interviewer can pursue in-depth
information around the topic.
 Interviews may be useful as follow-up
to certain respondents.
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11. Types of Interview
 Structured Interview
 Unstructured Interview
 Semi-structured Interview
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12. Structured Interview
 Description and/or Aim of interview:
 Normally, structured interviews are
done in a face-to-face format or via
telephone using a standard set of
questions to obtain data that can be
aggregated because identical
questions have been asked of each
participant.
 Nature of questioning route: fixed,
given order, very standardized
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13.  Type of question format/structure:
 Open-ended
 Closed-ended with ordered response choices
 Closed-ended with unordered response
choices
 Partially closed-ended
 Role of probing: Little or none, perhaps only
repeating or clarifying instructions
 Aims of Analysis: Aggregate data across
participants and hopefully be able to project data
from a sample to a target population. Open-ended
data, which usually consists of phrases, sentences
and short paragraphs is usually subjected to
content analysis and notions of inter-rater
reliability are employed. 2/27/2015 13Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

14. Unstructured Interview
 Description and/or Aim of interview:
 Normally, unstructured interviews are done in
a face-to-face format and some would say
you are trying to get participants to share
stories. The researcher starts from a position
of wanting to be sensitive to how participants
construct their views and perspectives of
things. Therefore, a goal is to allow the
participant’s structure to dominate.
 Nature of questioning route: ask questions to
get people to talk about constructs/variables
of interest to the researcher.
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15.  Type of question format/structure:
 Open-ended – descriptive
 Reactions to a given situation presented by the
researcher
 Role of probing: Simply to get the participant of talk
about a topic area, normally probing questions are not
directed, but rather asked to encourage the participant
to keep talking or to get back to the subject of interest.
 Aims of Analysis: Rich, in-depth textual data is what is
available for analysis which usually consists of some
approach to coding such as the open, axial and
selective coding as described by Strauss and Corbin
(1990). Also, it is common to see discourse analysis
techniques employed to analyze this type of rich
textual data.
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16. Forms of interview
1. Personal Interview
2. Telephone Interview
3. Group Interview
4. Focus Group Interview
5. Depth Interview
6. Projective Techniques
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17. Personal Interview
 Personal Interview: Is a face to face
two way communication between the
interviewer and the respondents.
Generally the personal interview is
carried out in a planned manner and is
referred to as ‘structured interview’.
This can be done in many forms e.g.
door to door or as a planned formal
executive meeting.
2/27/2015 17Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

18. Telephone Interview
 Telephone interview the information is
collected from the respondent by
asking him questions on the phone is
called as telephone interview. The
combination of telephone and
computer has made this method even
more popular.
2/27/2015 18Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

19. Group Interview
 A group interview takes place when a
candidate is interviewed by more than
one interviewer at the same time.
Alternately, it can mean that a group of
candidates are interviewed at the
same time.
2/27/2015 19Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

20. Focus Group Interview
 Focus group interview is an
unstructured interview which involves
a moderator leading a discussion
between a small group of respondents
on a specific topic.
 Focus group interview results in
advantages summed up as 10 S. they
as follow.
 Synergism
 Snowballing 2/27/2015 20Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

21.  Stimulation
 Security
 Spontaneity
 Serendipity
 Specialization
 Scientific scrutiny
 Structure
 speed
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22. Depth Interview
 Depth interview is nondirective in
nature where the respondent is given
freedom to answer within the
boundaries of the topic of interest.
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23. Projective Technique
 Projective Techniques involve the
presentation of an ambiguous,
unstructured object, activity or person
that a respondent is asked to interpret
and explain.
 In Projective Techniques, the
respondents are asked to interpret the
behaviour of others and this way they
indirectly reveal their own behaviour in
the same situation. Some of these
techniques are discussed below.2/27/2015 23Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

24.  Word Association Test: Respondents are
presented with a list of words one at a time
and they are asked to respond immediately
with the first things that come to their mind
e.g. in a study on book reading habits the
respondents can be presented with words
like 2 states etc.
 Cloud Picture Test: This shows two or more
character conversing with each other and
cloud of one character is left empty as a
response to be filled by the respondents
according to his interpretation of what the
other characters are saying.
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25.  Sentence Completion Test: It is similar to
a word association test where instead of
a word, a sentence is left incomplete and
the respondent is asked to fill it with the
first thought that comes to his mind e.g.
People who enter politics
are……………………..
 Story Completion Study: A step further to
sentence completion, is the story
completion study: Under this a story is
created by the researcher which defines
the topic of research and the
respondents are asked to complete the
story. 2/27/2015 25Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

26. Advantages of Interview
Method
1. Opportunity for Feedback – Interviewer can provide
direct feedback to the respondent, give clarifications
and help alleviate any misconceptions or
apprehensions over confidentiality that the respondent
may have in answering the interviewer’s questions
2. Probing Complex Answers – Interviewers can probe
if the respondent’s answer is too brief or unclear. This
gives interviewers some flexibility in dealing with
unstructured questions and is especially suited for
handling complex questions
3. Length of Interview – If the questionnaire is very
lengthy, the personal interview is the best technique
for getting respondents to cooperate, without
overtaxing their patience
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27. Cont.
Complete Questionnaires – Personal ensures
ensure that the respondent will answer all
questions asked, unlike in telephone interview
where the respondent may hang up or in mail
questionnaire where some questions may go
unanswered
5. Props & Visual Aids – Interviewers have the
opportunity of showing respondents items such
as sample products, graphs ands sketches,
which can aid in their answers
6. High Participation – Interviewing respondents
personally can increase the likelihood of their
participation, as many people prefer to
communicate directly verbally and sharing
information and insights with interviewers
2/27/2015 27Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

28. Disadvantages of Interview
Method
1. Cost – Personal interviews are usually more
expensive than mail, telephone and internet surveys.
Factors influencing the cost of the interview include
the respondents’ geographic proximity, the length and
complexity of the questionnaire, and the number of
non-respondents
2. Lack of Anonymity – Respondents are not
anonymous in a personal (face-to-face) interview and
may be reluctant to disclose certain information to the
interviewer. Hence, considerable must be expended
by the interviewer when dealing with sensitive
questions to avoid bias effects on the respondent’s
part
3. Necessity for Callbacks – When a person selected
for interview cannot be reached the first time, a
callback has to be scheduled which result in extra
cost and time spent 2/27/2015 28Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

29. Cont.
4.Variance Effects – It has been shown that the
demographic characteristics of the interviewer can
influence the answers of the respondents. In one
study, male interviewers had a much larger variance of
answers than female interviewers in a sample of most
female individuals
5. Dishonesty – Interviewers cheat to make their life
easier and save time and effort
6. Personal Style – The interviewers individual
questioning style, techniques, approach and
demeanor may influence the respondents’ answers
7. Global Considerations – Cultural aspects may
influence peoples’ willingness to participate in an
interview (e.g. repressive Middle Eastern cultures
discourage females from being questioned by male
interviewers)
2/27/2015 29Tanecia Stevens BA G&C

30. References
 http://researchrundowns.wordpress.co
m/quantitative-methods/instrument-
validity-reliability/
 http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobsear
chglossary/g/groupinterview.htm
 http://www.sociology.org.uk/methodq.p
df
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