Group Interviews Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Group Interviews - Essay Example Also called as focus groups and panel interviews, group interviewing has, still, its own share of advantages and disadvantages. Several suppositions on its advantages as a research method has made group interviewing an extensively used technique (Robinson, 1993). Comparing this technique with individual or one-on-one interview, group interviewing is presumed to generate a wider variety of response, which in turn, is highly valuable in marketing and social researches. Companies use this technique in job screenings as well, to see leadership and character of the candidates in an open discussion. In this way, they could spot the strong and competent ones who are suitable for their open positions. In terms of time, group interviewing is an efficient technique in social researches to meet deadlines yet still generate sufficient and reasonable data set. With these share of positive attributes, the charisma of group interviewing has come to be equated with â€Å"qualitative research† (Robinson, 1993). In most cases, the effect of group interviewing on interview space and environment is treated as an advantage. As most people feel tension when set for an individual interview, the setting of several interviewees at one session somehow relieves the pressure of the situation. The intimidating feel of the one-on-one interview is also lessened during a group interviews as interviewees get the comfortable feeling along with the each other, rather than alone with a respectable moderator. In this case, the apparent view of the moderator or researcher as an authority, which makes the situation intimidating, is avoided. Interaction among the interviewees is also seen as an advantage in many cases, as it not only creates a comfortable environment but rather an opportunity for a sensible discussion and data set. It is in this lively interaction and rich discussion that the data emerges (Cohen & Manion, 1994). Thus, group