NCJ Number
47004
Date Published
1975
Length
107 pages
Annotation
THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE INTERVIEW AS THE MOST COMMONLY USED METHOD OF SOCIAL RESEARCH ARE ANALYZED TO GUARD AGAINST DISTORTION OF ACTUAL SOCIAL CONDITIONS.
Abstract
THE PRINCIPAL PROBLEM OF SOCIAL INTERVIEWS IS THAT THEY MEASURE A COMPLEX OF NORMS (I.E., THOSE OF SOCIETY AS A WHOLE, THOSE SPECIFIC TO THE INDIVIDUAL'S GROUP, AND THOSE SPECIFIC TO THE INTERVIEW SITUATION), SO THAT DISTORTIONS CAN ONLY BE ESTIMATED IF THE SOCIAL SITUATION INTERVIEW IS CONSTRUCTED IN SUCH A WAY THAT RESULTS CAN BE CHECKED. THIS IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF EXPLANATIONS FOR DISTORTION CAN BE FOUND OR AN ACCURATE BACKGROUND THEORY CAN BE POSTULATED; THE INTERVIEW IS THUS ACTUALLY A SPECIAL FORMULATION OF A GENERAL THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE SOCIAL INTERVIEW MUST BE AS SIMILAR AS POSSIBLE TO THE THEORY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR TESTED, A VIEW OF THE INTERVIEW NOT GENERALLY ACCEPTED. IT IS PROPOSED THAT INTERVIEWEES DISTORT THEIR ANSWERS WHEN THEY EXPECT PUNISHMENT FOR A TRUTHFUL ANSWER FROM THE GROUP TO WHICH THEY BELONG; PUNISHMENT EXPECTATIONS ARE THUS DEPENDENT ON THE SURVEY TOPIC AND ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND INTERVIEWER STIMULUS. BY TESTING THE THEORY ON A QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGNED TO MEASURE THE MEDICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUITABILITY OF CANDIDATES FOR THE FLYING PHYSICIAN UNIT OF THE SWISS AIR FORCE IT IS SHOWN THAT: THE THEORY NEEDS FURTHER REFINEMENT, WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE FURTHER COMPLEXITY OF THE INTERVIEW; OTHER METHODS (E.G., EXPERIMENTS OR OBSERVATION) MUST SUPPLEMENT THE INTERVIEW AS AN INSTRUMENT OF MEASUREMENT, INCREASING THE EXPENSE OF THE PROCEDURE; INTERVIEWEES ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE SCEPTICAL ABOUT INTERVIEWS, MAKING EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT; AND FINALLY, THE INCREASED EXPENSES AND RAPID CHANGE IN SOCIETAL VALUES WILL RENDER SHORT-TERM ATTITUDE SURVEYS IMPRACTICAL. A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND 44 REFERENCES ARE APPENDED. --IN GERMAN. (KMD)