Compare and contrast structured observation and structured interviews, noting the strengths and limitations of each

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In structured observation, an investigator sets up a laboratory situation that evokes the behavior of interest so that every participant has an equal opportunity to display the response. When using structured observation, the conditions are the same for all participants. The major strength of this method is that it permits greater control over the research situation than does naturalistic observation. In addition, structured observation is especially useful for studying behaviors that investigators rarely have an opportunity to see in everyday life. A limitation of structured observation is that participants may not behave in the laboratory as they do in their natural environments. An additional limitation of structured observation is the risk of observer influence and bias.
In structured interviews, each participant is asked the same set of questions in the same way. This approach eliminates the possibility that an interviewer might press and prompt some participants more than others. Structured interviews are brief and efficient, and researchers can obtain written responses from an entire group at the same time. It permits comparisons of participants' responses and efficient data collection. Researchers can specify answer alternatives that participants might not think of in an open-ended interview. Its limitations are that it does not yield the same depth of information as a clinical interview, and it can be negatively affected by inaccurate reporting.