...Asses the strengths and limitations of unstructured interviews for the study of boys underachievement at school Unstructured interviews have advantages and disadvantages and as a qualitative method they are expressed through words and relay people’s thoughts, feelings and motivations. Unstructured interviews are interviews that don’t have certain questions meaning it’s more free and relaxed. They give us a deep understanding of the interviewee’s world because we can use the answers they give to shape our questions so that they are appropriate and relevant. However, using unstructured interviews can also cause problems, for example they take a long time to conduct. When looking at the advantages and disadvantages we need to look at how this effects what we are trying to research boys underachievement at school as this will affect whether the advantages and limitations are relevant to the study. A few advantages of using unstructured interviews when studying the underachievement of boys are that the informality of the interview allows the interviewer to gain the trust of the interviewee which is important in this example. Boys at school will not feel comfortable explaining their time at school and why they do/don’t enjoy school if the interviewer is very formal and makes them feel intimidated whereas by using an unstructured interview it allows the boys being interviewed and the interviewee feel more comfortable around each other meaning the boys will be more open and truthful...
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...Assess the strengths and weaknesses of using structured interviews to investigate the victims of crime DAT- structured interviews are similar to questionnaires both involve asking people a fixed set of prepared question. The questions are usually closed ended with pre coded answers. The topic is based on victims of crime which would produce quantitative data. This researcher method will produce quantitative data as it identifies and measures behaviour pattern as well as establish cause- effect relationships. P- Characteristics is a factor of practical advantages as the researcher doesn’t have to change to way he acts or behaves as it is closed ended questions with only one answer given which doesn’t involve such interactions. Access is a disadvantage as the group studied is sensitive as well as difficult because it is dealing with victims of crime. Some individuals may not want to be interviewed about their past situation and be scared that they may reveal something that will lead to the police getting involved. For example if a person has been affected by domestic violence and is always staying at home, this makes the researcher to gain access. Age could be a disadvantage because if it is a child or teenager this can have an effect on them as they are the most venerable groups to study. It may cause distress within the interview and this may produce invalid data as the interview may not carry on. Gender is another factor the sociologist may have to consider because women...
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...the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face interviewing. Face-to face interviews are conducted between a market researcher and a respondent. Data is collected on a survey. Some surveys are very rigid or 'structured' and use closed questions. Data is easily compared. Other face-to-face interviews are more 'in depth,' and depend upon more open forms of questioning. The research will probe and develop points of interest. Advantages of face-to-face interviews: 1. They allow more 'depth' 2. Physical prompts such as products and pictures can be used 3. Body language can emphasize responses 4. Respondents can be 'observed' at the same time Disadvantages of face-to-face interviews: 1. Interviews can be expensive 2. It can take a long period of time to arrange and conduct. 3. Some respondents will give biased responses when face-to-face with a researcher. What is necessary for the success of this method? Studies found that using interviews was more reliable than random assignment to positions. Structured interviews, question format, and rating scales are three mechanisms that enhance the likelihood of an interviewer getting the necessary information and evaluating it to make the best hiring decision. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of telephone interviewing. Telephone ownership is very common in developed countries. It is ideal for collecting data from a geographically dispersed sample. The interviews tend to be very structured and...
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...Examine the advantages and disadvantages of using both positivist and interpretivist methods of research (20) Positivism is a theoretical point of view which concentrates on social facts, scientific methods and quantitative data. The research methods that are commonly used by positivists are questionnaires, structured interviews, structured non-participant observation and official statistics. These methods are used as they are objective and reliable. One sociological study that used positivist methods was Durkheim’s Suicide Study. Durkheim used official statistics to study suicide and demonstrate society as a science with its own distinct subject matter. One advantage of using positivist methods of research is that the data is that the data is easy to analyse. Using quantitative data means that there is less information which makes it easier to categorise and therefore makes it easy to create tables and graphs allowing easy analysis and making trends more identifiable. Also with the data being easy to analyse and categorise it also makes it easy for comparisons to make against existing research and data. A second advantage of using positivist methods of research is that the data is high in reliability. Positivists often use questionnaires and structured interviews to test reliability as the questions are controlled and therefore can be repeated. Research is considered reliable if other researchers can find similar results asking the same questions and showing consistency...
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...selecting potential employee, interview is arguably is the most powerful method for employer to select potential employee. Well, hiring qualified employees should be the primary focus for a company and organization. If a manager does not have a good interviewing skill or perhaps chosen the wrong selection method, he may ended up with hiring someone who might not able to fit the job position and therefore, the job could never be done nicely and perfectly. Thus, choosing a right method of recruitment and selection process has been known as an art as well as science within a business cultural. However, the hardest part of conducting an interview is for the manager to makes the applicant able to open up and willing to gives them the real answer of the question. What is employee selection? Employee selection can be explained by; it is a process of putting and selecting the right person on a right job position. In order to get a right person, selection process has to be done nicely so that it would match with the organization’s requirement as well as with the skills and qualification of the applicant. However, an effective selection process could be done or complete if only there is effective of matching. The organization has to look into the qualification of the applicant in order to select the best candidates. By putting the right person in a right job, it would definitely benefit the company by providing best quality performance and also lead advantages such as saving time and cost...
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... Examine the advantages for sociologists in using unstructured interviews for their research. Sociologists use different types of interviews in their research, these ranging from structured to unstructured interviews. The difference between them lies in how free the interviewer is to vary the questions and how they are asked. In its simplest form, a structured interview involves one person asking another person a list of predetermined questions about a specific topic. This involves minimal conversation between the interviewee and interviewer. An unstructured interview however has a specific topic, but there are no set questions, allowing the interviewer to gain an insight on the interviewee and their answers. The main difference is that in unstructured interviews, there is usually no set time limit, and the interviewer is free to ask any questions relevant to the topic, and these are usually asked as open questions. A theoretical advantage of using open questions is that the answers you get are more detailed, and therefore increases validity. However a disadvantage of using open questions may be that it is much more harder to draw conclusions from the findings – linking it back to the time consumption issue. Unstructured interviews are useful when exploring unfamiliar topics, as you have an idea of the subject, but you use unstructured interviews to gain a deeper understanding on the topic itself. This allows sociologists to use unstructured interviews as a starting...
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...techniques used in each. An example of a research design project will be included to identify the benefits and limitations of one type; the author of this assignment has chosen to demonstrate a quantitative method of research. Qualitative research will be explored first. Bauman and Greenberg (1992) explain how qualitative research is used to find out what people think. It is an effective was to gather opinions and can be used to get people to talk about issues being explored. It allows the researcher to understand the participants’ motivations and feelings. It allows researchers to use a variety of many methods to carry out the research. One common method of qualitative data collection is the use of interviews (Bauman and Greenberg, 1992). Kvale (1996) describes an interview as a ‘meeting in...
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...fit) • Identify development needs and/or capacity to obtain knowledge • Organization and cultural fit (Person-organizational fit) • Talent and HR philosophy alignment to business strategy • Other attributes; personality, attitude, motivations, teamwork and interests (Person–group fit) and (Person-vocation fit) • Validity/reliability and accuracy of method to achieve staffing goals • Minimize adverse impact, ethical and legal concerns • Maximize ROI/costs of hiring • Candidates reaction (fair, consistent and objective) Source: Strategic Staffing 2nd edition – Phillips and Gully. Chapter 9 Assessing External Candidates page 233- 240 2) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both structured and unstructured interviews. Which would you prefer to use? Why? Unstructured Interviews Disadvantages • Standard approach is absent variances by candidate/interviewer • Formal scoring may be lacking impacts the ability compare candidates effectively • Interviewer approach and questions may be irrelevant to competencies. • Perceptions conflicts of interviewers •...
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...RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & INFORMATION – STUDY NOTES Definitions: 1. BRAINSTORMING 2. CASESTUDY 3. CLUSTER SAMPLING 4. CONVENIENCE SAMPLING 5. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH 6. DESCRIPTIVE DATA 7. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH 8. FOLLOW-UP 9. LONGITUDINAL STUDY 10. NON PARAMETRIC STATISTIC 11. NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING 12. PARAMETRIC STATISTIC 13. POPULATION 14. PILOT TEST 15. PURPOSIVE SAMPLING 16. PROBABILITY SAMPLING 17. QUOTA SAMPLING 18. RESEARCH ETHICS 19. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 20. SAMPLING FRAME 21. SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL RATING SCALE 22. SIGNIFICANCE TESTING 23. SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING & SNOWBALL SAMPLING 24. STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLING 25. SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING 26. CRITICAL VALUES: The value of the standard statistic (z or t) beyond which we reject the null hypothesis. It is the boundary between the acceptance & rejection regions. Eg. For a 2 tailed hypothesis test being tested at α = 5% the critical values are ± 1.96. 27. TYPE I ERROR (OR) LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE (OR) PRODUCER’S RISK (α): A value indicating the % of sample values that are outside certain limits, assuming that the null hypothesis is true. It is the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is true. Eg: α=5% indicates that 5 times out of 100 the null hypothesis gets rejected when it is true. 28. TYPE II ERROR (OR) CONSUMER’S RISK (β): It is the probability...
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...2. Experiments |Type of Experiment |Information |Practical issues |Ethical Issues |Theoretical issues | | | | | | | |Laboratory experiments |• A laboratory experiment is controlled and is |1. Open systems – Can only |1. Informed consent |• Positivists – experiments are good because of| | |in an artificial environment. |work with science. Society is an open system |2. Harm to subjects - everything, including |their reliability. This is because | | |• There must be two groups , an experimental |where the factors cannot be controlled. |risks, must be explained but what if you are |they can control the variables, produces | | |and control group. |2. Individuals are complex – it |Milgram? |quantitative data and is detached. However, it | | ...
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...Effective Learning Service Introduction to Research and Research Methods University of Bradford, School of Management Introduction to Research AN INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH & RESEARCH METHODS This workbook is a short introduction to research and research methods and will outline some, but not all, key areas of research and research methods: Definitions Research approaches Stages of the research process Background reading & information gathering Data collection Ethical issues in research This workbook does not cover a number of important areas of the research process, particularly Data analysis Writing up the research There are, however, books to assist you in these two important areas, and to take your general understanding of research and research methods beyond the introductory notes in his booklet; see page 44. Students should also consult their own course guidelines on writing research up the results of their research projects. YOUR RESEARCH Research can be one of the most interesting features of any degree course as it offers you a measure of control and autonomy over what you learn. It gives you an opportunity to confirm, clarify, pursue – or even discover – new aspects of a subject or topic you are interested in. RESEARCH IS… … a process of enquiry and investigation; it is systematic, methodical and ethical; research can help solve practical problems and increase knowledge. Effective Learning Service 1 University of Bradford...
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...of those who best fit the job description and our workforce planning system. Job Analysis Information A job analysis is the process used to collect information about the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills, outcomes, and work environment of a particular job. The most popular methods used to conduct a thorough job analysis include: job performance, observation, interviews, critical incidents, and structured questionnaires (Cascio, W. F., 2006, Ch. 8). Within every situation there lie advantages and disadvantages for utilizing each method; therefore, it is important to thoroughly evaluate each situation before deciding on which method to utilize. For the purpose of this particular job analysis of InterClean, the more appropriate methods include the use of structured questionnaires, interviews, and observation. In order to get the best feel for the job description, the structured questionnaire will be used while observing the work environment throughout the process. Although questionnaires may be deemed costly and time consuming in developing, in this situation the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Not only can we save time by using a previous applicable questionnaire, but costs will be saved by not taking away from production time. The completion of the questionnaire will have a short reasonable time table and will provide the information needed to accurately provide the best...
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...Expert System Robert Savageau CIS 501 ABSTRACT In the creation of an Expert System the knowledge base is in the center of it all. Understanding the process which is done through identifying, conceptualizing, formalizing, implementing, and testing followed by reiterating the stages thereby insuring knowledge acquisitioned is in its totality. There are many knowledge elicitation techniques and their success is in choosing the right method(s) used for the knowledge being acquired. The five general stages of knowledge acquisition will be discussed, as will a few knowledge elicitation methods. It is not the intent of this paper in giving a complete listing and discourse of elicitation methods, rather an introduction of knowledge acquisition design steps and methods of elicitation. Knowledge Acquisition is extracting the knowledge from any source and Knowledge Elicitation deals with attaining that knowledge specifically from people (Burge, 1998). There five general stages in knowledge acquisition giving knowledge engineers (KE) certain activities preparing the knowledge /deliverables from that stage to be used as input in the next (Marakas, p246). Hayes-Roth (1983) as referenced by Marakas (2003) and by De Kock (2003) views knowledge acquisition as consisting of five stages, having the output from one stage becoming the input for the next consecutive stage. The five stage model is a reiterative process of constant improvement and fine tuning to ensure the systems correctness...
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...various specific tools or ways data can be collected and analysed, e.g. a questionnaire, interview, etc.” (Neville, C, 2007). Methods | Advantages | Disadvantages | Validity | Questionnaires are “a series of questions asked to individuals to obtain statistically useful information about a given topic” (Bryant, L, 2014). There are different types of questionnaires that include face to face, phone, post and online. | -Practical-Large amount of information from a large amount of people can be collected in a cost effective way.-The results can be easily quantified.-It can be carried out by the researcher or any number of people without affecting its validity and reliability.-The results can be analysed more ‘scientifically’ and objectively than other forms of research (University of Surrey, 2014). | -Format makes it difficult to for the researcher to examine complex issues and opinions.-The person which the questionnaire has been send to may not actually fill it.-If the researcher is not present it may be hard to tell whether the participant has understood the question.-The meaning of the questions may be different to the each participant.-In postal questionnaires, the number of them being returned tends to be very low (Bryant, L, 2014). | Low validity because it does not explore questions in any detail or depth. | Interviews can be grouped into three main groups which are structured, semi-structured and unstructured. They can be conducted face-to-face, by telephone or using chat messaging...
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...Job Summary 15 Responsibilities & Duties 16 Person Description 17 Interview Questions 19 Questions 20 Scoring Guide 22 Appendix 3 References 1 Executive Summary This report is made for RecordsCo by WestAus for their project of digitizing over 3million handwritten data. The recruitment plan made here consists of Recruitment Process, Recruitment Yield Pyramid, Reverse Critical Path method, Recruitment Methods, Job Description, and Person Description that is derived from the Job Analysis and also based on understanding of the estimates during lectures. Further a set of Interview questions are drafted to understand and score candidates on the behavioural traits showcased during the interview sessions. Behavioural Based Interview questions are used as a tool to determine the right behavioural descriptor for the job. Various external sources of recruitment will be deployed to attract candidates. Introduction WestAus is making this recruitment plan for RecordsCo detailing the recruitment plan for sourcing 5 important positions for their project of transcribing over 3 million hand -written and typed data into the electronic format. The recruitment plan contains information about various methods used for recruitment and why are they used. Job Description and Person Description is drafted based on the Job Analysis that was made available. Candidates will be evaluated based on interview questions on various behavioural descriptors and these are further analysed...
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