As a beginning interviewer, you
may want to find the easiest way to recruit potential subjects. Students often
want to select people with whom they already have relationship, such as:
family, friends, coworkers, students they know, or others they may know. While
it is understandable to want to use people you know, it is problematic and
complicates, and even contaminates, your interviews.
Family
and Friends
Sometimes it is tempting to use
family or friends as participants in the study; however, this carries with it
some serious issues. First, your prior relationship influences the comfort
level they have with you, as the interviewer. Thus, they may be more likely to
reveal things to you other people would not, providing a false picture of your
sample. Similarly, they may be uncomfortable answering personal questions
others would answer (picture asking your grandmother about her sex life, not
very comfortable for you or her!).
The other issue with friends and
family is you may assume you know what they are talking about and not explore
in the depth needed in a research interview. It is a good rule that you do not
personally know your subjects.
People
You Supervise
Conflicts of interest occur when
you interview people you supervise. An example might be a principal
interviewing the teachers she/he supervises. However, in the situation of
interviewing supervisees, you are placing them in a difficult position. They
cannot risk be totally honest with you, if you are also in a position to affect
their job. It is advisable to seek similar individuals you do not supervise.
As you can see, there is no easy
way to recruit participants. Do not fall for the trap of thinking you can
"cheat the system," you will only waste your and your participants'
time in conducting unethical research.
Next time we will consider how
best to recruit subjects. Do
you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future
post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas!
leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu
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