With interviewer- administered interviews it is not usual for respondents to try to enter into the conversation between the interviewer, to give their views and elaborate their responses. Only when the interviewer insists on reducing the answer to one the pre-codes questionnaires does the respondent appreciate that this is not really a conversation but an interaction in which they have a specific and limited role to play.
The lack of conversation can mask incorrect answers. Through elaboration of answers such as ‘ Yes, but….’ or ‘I agree, except that …..’ it can become more clear if the true answer is ‘ No’ or ‘ I disagree .If respondents are not allowed to elaborate in this way , then their true answer may not become apparent , and an incorrect answer may be recorded. With self completion surveys we rely on respondents to think it through , to in effect elaborate to themselves, and not necessarily give their first reaction . The , whilst we conceptualize the questionnaire as medium of conversation , we must recognize that it is not a true conversation; that this may mean that we do not acquire all the information that respondents could give ; and that it , on occasion, leads to incorrect answers being recorded. Schober(1999) points out two key differences between having a conversation with your aunt and carrying out an interview with a structured questionnaire , known as ‘ audience design’ and ‘grounding’.
Audience Design
When one person who knows another asks the second person a question or makes a statement, it is framed to be heard specifically by that other person , and draws on the knowledge that each has of the other. This is known as audience design . The person to whom it is said is the adresse. Addresses are likely to give interpretation and responses to the question. How many hours a week do you work? Depending on whether it is asked by their aunt , their boss or someone from the tax office. Addresses will use their knowledge of relationships to determine what type of response the questioner expects to hear .
In a survey questionnaire , the questions are not framed for specific respondents , but to have general applicability to as many people as possible . Interviewers are specifically instructed to deviate from the question script not to tailor the question to the individual. In quantitative research , as hard as questionnaire writers may try , they cannot write a questionnaire to be one side of conversation.
Grounding
Grounding occurs in a conversation when the participants establish that each has understood what one of them has said , and that it has entered their common ground. This can come from an acknowledgment of question or statement or a request for elaboration as to what is meant from the adresse, or clarification volunteered by the questioner if it is clear that the adresse has not been understood.
Some level of grinding is available in an interview , but the interviewers are deliberately restricted in the procedures that they can use in order to avoid bias. Often when asked for clarification , all an interviewer can do is repeat the question. Elaboration of individual words is the question to be avoided. These difficulties in audience design and grounding can lead to a number of response effects from prompt material .