This research applies the use of qualitative research method. In collecting data for a research as this, a primary method would be most appropriate; it gives first hand information on the attitudes of the interviewees. The qualitative method to be used here is interviews whose purpose will be to gather descriptions of the life-world of the interviewees with respect to interpretation and meaning of the described phenomena. In collecting information, through interviews, several methods will be applied, but the main one will be the face to face method.
Besides the face to face interviewing, other methods include telephone and internet interviews. A sample of two families will be used in data collection. Interviews will be conducted on the two families to find out the impact of television on their behavior and how they relate. Impact of the television in their lives may be positive or negative. Structuring of the questions for the parents will be different from that of the children. Parents can be interviewed on issues like the influence of television on their children, whether they have regulated T.
V time or not, what their children think about television entertainment among other questions. On the other hand, the children will tell lessons learnt from T. V, what kind of programs they would prefer to watch if they were not restricted by their parents and whether they can live without T. V and rely on other methods of entertainment. Use of a tape recorder in the interview The use of a tape recorder increases the effectiveness of the face to face interview in the sense that the interview report will be more accurate than when notes are written.
Although the interviewer may find it unnecessary to make notes during the interview, he should not ignore the fact that notes may be useful too. Notes are important, first of all, because they help to check if all the questions have all been answered. Listening alone may distract the attention of the interviewer, which can lead to the omission of an important question. Also, by taking notes, the interviewer is in a better position to understand the interviewee, than when he’s just listening. The second importance of the notes arises should the tape recorder malfunction.
In case such accidents occur, the notes taken may be helpful, especially if the interviewer is unable to conduct the interview again, or if the interviewee is unavailable. Ignorance of the interviewer may be saved by his notes. For example, he may be conducting a recorded interview, but forgets to push the record button on the tape, and hence fail to record anything. A lot of time is taken in the transcription of the tape recorded during the interview, a disadvantage of tape recording an interview. Advantages of in-depth face to face interviews
Face to face interviews are characterized by synchronous communication in both place and time. Synchronous communication is advantageous in that the interviewer can conduct a good interview ambience. The direct communication is important because it has an advantage over the social clues, like the interviewee’s body language or the voice intonation. These provide the interviewer with extra information, which can be added to the verbal answer of the interviewee. The importance of the social clues are dependent on what the interviewer wishes to know from the interviewee.
In face to face interviews, there is no significant time delay between the question and the answer, and the two parties can react directly on what the other says or does. It’s also an advantage that the answer of the interviewee in the in-depth interview is more important without an extended reflection. The interviewer must therefore concentrate more on the questions to be asked and the answers to be given. Ending a face to face interview is easy, compared to other methods. Disadvantages of the interview Alternatively, the interview can be disadvantageous, considering the time and cost.
It may take a lot of time to get the interviewer to cooperate, and if his schedule is always busy, allocating time for the interview may be difficult. Cost expenses may occur if the interviewee is far from the interviewer, which causes transport expenses and time. The interviewee could be ill or unavailable and fail to communicate with the interviewer to reschedule the interview. Other respondents have to be paid in order to be interviewed, increasing the research budget. The use of face to face interviews is preferred when the social clues of the interviewee are very important information sources for the interviewer.
Interviews can also be used when the interviewer has enough budget and time for traveling, or if the interviewees live near the interviewer and when standardization of the interview is important. At the end of the interview, the interviewer should be informed on the impact of television on the two families, from which a conclusion should be drawn. The data collected should be analyzed based on the principle and techniques if Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), since the methodology of the paper aims at finding out what children think about television and its influence on them.
Bibliography 1) Gubrium J. F, Holstein. J. A, Handbook of Interview Research: Context & Method, Sage, 2001, pp 103 2) Opdenakker Raymond, 2006, Advantages and Disadvantages of Four Interview Techniques in Qualitative Research: Forum qualitative social research. Volume 7, issue number 4, ISSN 1438-5627 3) Steinar Kvale, 4th edition, Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing, Sage, 1996