1. The questionnaire: This must be carefully prepared and tested to check its value. Words and phrases must be familiar and simple; questions must not be ambiguous; it should demand short and easy-to-analyze answers; it should be value-free and it should provide the data from which the hypothesis can be tested. The researcher must decide whether to use it in a face-to-face interview or to send it through the post. Questionnaires are normally sent by post to the respondents.
2. Interviews: Interview is a conversation between an investigator and an informant for the purpose of gathering information. A number of the social sciences use the interview as one of their techniques of data collection. The interview-schedule is filled by the researcher himself while engaged in the face-to-face interview of the respondent.
There are two types of interviews:
(a) The structured, formal interview follows a set pattern. All the questions are decided beforehand and the exact wording remains the same in each one. It is standardized and controlled.
(b) The informal unstructured interview allows the respondents to expand and develop answers. A recorder may also prove very handy if allowed by the respondent. The interviewer must be skilled and able to direct the respondents in order to obtain information relevant to the study.
The choice of the interview method depends on the aim of the study, the time and funds available and the skill of the researcher. The more standardized answers may help to provide a more specific picture of attitudes and opinions since comparisons can be made between answers. The more open-ended answers help to provide a more detailed picture which is particularly useful in a case study.
These methods are not necessarily exclusive. There can be a combination of them. The purpose of all these methods, in a way, is to try to answer the question: 'why do people behave the way they do?' Sociological theories and concepts have emerged as a result of these studies. These methods are not necessarily alternatives: they can be used in conjunction with each other. It depends on what you wish to discover. One method may be more appropriate than another for different aspects of the same study. A survey, for example, also requires observational detail to supplement it.
