Why Some Sociologists Choose to Use Structured Interviews When Conducting Research free essay sample

Examine the reasons why some sociologists choose to use structured interviews when conducting research. There are three types of interviews; structured, unstructured and semi-structured interviews. The most commonly used types of interviews by sociologists are structured interviews and unstructured interviews. Structured interviews have various advantages, therefore, some sociologists, mainly Positivist sociologists, choose to use structured interviews when conducting research. Positivists are mainly interested in research methods that achieve their main goals of reliability, generalisability and representativeness, for this reason, they favour structured interviews as they achieve these goals. This is because structured interviews often have questions and answers that are standardised; they are reliable because they can be therefore replicated. Positivist sociologists also prefer to use structured interviews when conducting research because the pre-coded responses mean that quantitative data can be produced and so cause-and-effect relationships can be established. Also, structured interviews are representative and can therefore be generalised, because of the fact that they are often large-scale. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Some Sociologists Choose to Use Structured Interviews When Conducting Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There are also practical advantages to using structured interviews. For an example, training interviewers is relatively easy and inexpensive as no specialist skills have to be taught as the questions tend to be very straightforward as they often close-ended, and do not require too much thought. Also, because skills taught are minimal, the process of training interviewers will not cost too much. Another practical advantage, is that structured interviews are relatively cheap and easy to administer, so large quantities of interviews can be carried out, meaning that are large-scale , so sociologists, especially Positivists’, can generalise data as the data found will be representative. Also, another practical advantage is that they are relatively straightforward to carry out, and factual information can be found out quickly and cheaply, such as a person’s age. A final practical advantage, adding to why sociologists may choose structured interviews, is that because the questions are close-ended, the results can be easily quantified and so structured interviews are very suitable for hypothesis testing. An ethical advantage is that informed consent can be found, if the interview is carried out on the children, informed consent can be provided by the parents. Another ethical advantage, dding to why sociologists choose structured interviews, is that interviewees may feel more relaxed about answering questions, because they should be told that they have the right not to answer any question they do not want to. Another advantage, is that although the numbers that can be studied using structured interviews are relatively lower than that of postal questionnaires, structured interviews generally have a higher response rate. For an example, in the case of Young and Willmott’s study, only 54 out of 987 people that they asked to interview, refused to be interviewed, possibly because it is easier to simply not complete and post back a questionnaire than to turn down an interview, because with interviews, the request for one is often face-to-face, and many people will prefer interviews because of the chance to talk to someone about particular issues that they feel strongly about and have opinions about. Response rates may also be fairly high with structured interviews, making the interviews more representative, because the interviewer may make several call backs to people who initially fail to respond to questions, and therefore, a better basis for generalisation, which is required for Positivists’ research, can be provided.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Book Review

'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding - Book Review Lord of the Flies, a 1954 story of savagery and survival by  William Golding, is considered a classic. Modern Library rates it the 41st best novel of all time. The story, which takes place during an undefined war, begins when a group of English schoolboys survive a plane crash and find themselves stranded on a desert island without any adults. This might seem like an enticing opportunity for any teen seeking freedom, but the group soon degenerates into a mob, terrorizing and even killing each other. The Plot Without the usual authority figures to direct the boys, they must fend for themselves. Ralph, one of the boys, takes on a leadership position. He knows little more than any of the others, but he manages to gather them in one place and is voted leader. At his side is the compassionate, clever, but fatally clumsy Piggy, a nicely rendered character who serves as Ralphs conscience.Ralphs election is contested by Jack, a cool customer with his own squadron of followers, a former choir under his leadership. Jack is a force of nature with intentions of leading hunting parties deep into the primordial jungle. With Piggys planning, Ralphs reluctant leadership and Jacks energy, the castaways establish a successful, thriving village, at least for a day or two. Soon, the few sensible efforts such as keeping a fire burning at all times fall by the wayside.Jack grows bored, restless and resentful of Ralphs leadership position. With his hunters in tow, Jack splits off from the main group. From there, the rest of the book consists of the descent of Jacks tribe into base brutality. As Jack successfully recruits more boys, Ralph becomes more isolated. Then, Jacks tribe kills Piggy his glasses smashed in a moment of symbolism, signaling the end of rational thought and civilized behavior. Pig Worship Jacks tribe hunts and kills a real pig, and sticks the head of the animal on a spear. Group members paint their faces and begin a frenzied worship of the pigs head, including sacrifices to the beast. Golding later explained that the pigs head the lord of the flies is literally translated from the biblical Hebrew, Beelzababug, which is another name for Satan. During this satanic worship, the boys kill one another of their own, Simon. The Rescue Jacks troop having honed their hunting skills move in on Ralph. There is no use appealing to their better nature now. They have abandoned all compassion. Ralph is cornered and seems a goner when suddenly an adult a naval officer arrives on the beach, with his uniform gleaming. His appearance puts everyone in a state of shock. The officer is disgusted with the savagery of the boys, but then he eyes his cruiser in the distance. He has saved the children from their violent world, but hes about to pile them onto a military vessel, where savagery and violence will ostensibly continue. Goldings description on the final page of the novel clarifies the symbolic overtones: The officer ... prepares to take the children off the island in a cruiser which will presently be hunting its enemy in the same implacable way. And who will rescue the adult and his cruiser?