Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using telephone interviews to assess anxiety. You should include a conclusion in your answer.
Marks: Question requires discussion; always plural of each argument, and always requires conclusion.
1 mark for each advantage/disadvantage (however detailed) and related to the question up to 4 max. 2 marks max for two strengths/weaknesses unrelated to the question. 1 mark for conclusion.
Most likely answer (other appropriate responses to be credited):
Advantages
· interviews allow people to present their side of the study in full detail (gather qualitative data);
· interviews can be done in a safe and private environment (e.g. at home);
· an Interview could be unstructured, allowing free interaction; it could be structured allowing ‘essential’ questions to be included with every participant (quantitative data).
· The interview can be recorded providing evidence of what was said should it be needed.
Disadvantages
· people can more easily withdraw (put down telephone/hang-up)
· people may get bored if interview is longer than 20 average call time.
· people not understand rating scale/questions being asked and repeating takes time.
· Any choice of responses needs to be simple/easy to compare options for respondents.
Conclusion: any appropriate conclusion drawn from the discussion that has been presented. 1 mark if appropriate. A conclusion is a ‘decision reached by reasoning’ and so a summary of points already made scores 0 marks.