Designing psychological research — Edexcel GCSE Psychology
Test yourself on Designing psychological research with PEARSON EDEXCEL GCSE practice questions.
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Designing psychological research explained
An interview is a self-report method where a researcher asks participants questions directly.
Read the full explanation
A structured interview uses a predetermined set of questions in a fixed order, making it easy to replicate but lacking flexibility. An unstructured interview resembles a guided conversation with no set questions, allowing the researcher to explore responses in depth, though it is harder to analyse. A semi-structured interview combines both approaches, using a list of set questions but allowing the interviewer to ask follow-up questions. For example, a psychologist might use a semi-structured interview to cover specific topics while allowing the participant to elaborate on their experiences, balancing reliability with rich qualitative data.
Your focus
- Distinguish between structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each type of interview structure.
- Apply knowledge of interview types to select the most appropriate method for a specific research scenario.
Designing psychological research exam tips
Marking Points
- Define a structured interview as having predetermined questions asked in a fixed order.
- Define an unstructured interview as having no set questions, allowing for a free-flowing conversation.
- Define a semi-structured interview as having a set of core questions but allowing for flexible follow-up questions.
- Evaluate structured interviews as being higher in reliability but lower in validity compared to unstructured interviews.
- Evaluate unstructured interviews as producing rich qualitative data but being difficult to replicate and analyse.
Examiner Tips
- 💡When evaluating interviews, link the type of structure to the type of data produced (for example, structured often yields quantitative data, unstructured yields qualitative).
- 💡Use the concept of interviewer bias as a potential weakness for all types of interviews, especially unstructured ones.
- 💡Be ready to select the most appropriate type of interview for a given research scenario and justify your choice.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing structured interviews with questionnaires. Correction: While both use predetermined questions, structured interviews are conducted verbally by an interviewer, whereas questionnaires are typically completed in writing by the participant.
- Assuming unstructured interviews have no focus at all. Correction: Unstructured interviews still have a general research topic or aim, even though the specific questions are not predetermined.
- Stating that semi-structured interviews only use closed questions. Correction: Semi-structured interviews typically use a mix of open and closed questions, and the follow-up questions are usually open-ended to gather more detail.