The concept of research is vital to any field of study or expertise. Scholars have since undertaken research and analysis of the data gathered in order to make informed assertions about any subject matter. Research strategies have been classified into either qualitative or quantitative research methods. Qualitative research methods have generally been defined a research that seeks to find data about subject matter that goes beyond simple numerical data. Some of the methods employed by qualitative research include interviews, observation, questionnaires and detailed document analysis. Interviews have been relied on in most instances of qualitative research due to many reasons and advantages that accompany the data collection process. However, the manner in which an interview is carried out is vital for the outcome of the research process. This research paper evaluates the use of descriptive questions in a research based on interviews. The paper will provide the advantages of descriptive questions alongside providing some examples that would be used in a typical interview.
Interviews
An interview can generally be defined as a conversation between two or more parties, where the interviewer asks questions of interest to the interviewee . The interviewee would then answer the questions at will providing the necessary information regarding the research. However, in order to obtain meaningful information, a typical interview process has to undergo two stages. The first stage of the interview process is to develop a rapport with the interviewee. After a good rapport has been established the interviewer would then proceed to obtain meaningful information from the interviewee.
Holliday (2004) argues that structured questioned rely on a very good relation between the interviewer and interviewee. This is due to the basic reason that descriptive questions do not have any structures appended to it. Here the interviewer may ask a question that is not predetermined and thus for the sake of meaning results, the interviewee must feel at ease in order to sufficiently answer the questions.
In order to develop meaningful rapport with the interviewee, the rapport process may be divided into four basic steps. The first stage is apprehension where by the interviewer introduces the interview and demystifies any previously known uncertainties. The second stage of the rapport process is to explore areas that the interviewee seems quite comfortable about. After such an exploration process, the interviewee then develops a sought of cooperation with the interviewee to enable a hearty interview. The final stage of the rapport is to participate with the interviewee in answering the questions without necessarily distorting the ideas projected by the respondent .
Descriptive Questions
The concept of descriptive questions is that an interviewer can take advantage of an open language to get more meaningful information based on the rapport established. The interviewer has to know at least one setting or environment that the interviewee is associated with. Here, the interviewer must be aware of something that describes the interviewee and make that person the best for the interview . For instance, if the interviewee was a former inmate of a particular jail, a good descriptive question would be “could you elaborate on the kinds and organization of gangs inside the jails?” This then allows the interviewee an open ended option within which to respond to the question.
Patton (2002) explains that that there are several kinds of descriptive questions that can be in an interview. The first kind is the grand tour question where, interviewee is not limited in the manner and scope within which to answer the question. An example of such a question is “take me through your time as a priest.”
A second kind of descriptive question is the minor question. Here the interviewer simply limits the interviewee to a specific aspect. A good example can be “please describe a typical day at school”. Here the interviewee can only describe what would happen on a single day. Thus a limited version allows the interviewee obtain the target of the research without going beyond the scope.
The other kind of descriptive question is the experience questions. The interviewer here seeks meaningful information about a situation that only the interviewee has the ability to respond. For instance, one can know the living situation in the jails and prisons by asking the question such “what was your experience at the maximum correctional facility?” Or “what was your experience at the International criminal Court of Justice?” Here the interview appreciates the fact that very few people share the same experience and the best way obtain meaningful information is by use of descriptive questions.
The importances of descriptive question are quite varied. Just as open-ended questionnaires, the idea of allowing the respondent is perhaps the most important aspect in qualitative research. Qualitative research is meant to find data that is beyond simple numerical data. With a good rapport with the respondent, descriptive questions provide rich meaningful information.
Conclusion
Qualitative research methods allow the researcher to go beyond simple data collection and comprehend the causes that lead to the conclusion of the research. Qualitative research may best be implemented via descriptive questions.
References
Holliday, A. R. (2004). Doing and Writing Qualitative Research, 2nd Edition. London: Sage Publications.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods ( 3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage Publications.
Pawluch, D., Shaffir, W., & Miall, C. (2005). Doing Ethnography: Studying Everyday Life. Toronto, ON Canada: Canadian Scholars' Press.
