Importance Of Interview Research In Political Science

There are many forms of research techniques in the field of political science and subfields. That is because researcher intends to discover loopholes undiscovered by others. One valuable method of research professor of political science Layna Mosley (2013) identifies in the book Interview Research in Political Science. Mosley introduces the foundations of an interview as a direct tool to research bridging the gap of both quantitate and qualitative analysis. Meaning to obtain information directly from the primary source rather than from secondary studies to form the hypothesis and theory. Fieldwork like interviews require asking the right questions or as Moseley termed "the frame and phrase [the] questions" (2013, p. 3). In other words, failure

The advantage to an open-ended question broadens the scope of research by allowing the interviewee to touch upon additional information perhaps adding a new viewpoint. Whereas; closed responses reach a vast number of interviewees but simplify answers to a yes or no. Once the interviewer formulates questions about the open or closed response, then the selection of the right people is crucial to answering the questions (Mosley, 2013). To clarify depending on the interviewer and topic interviewees range from scholars, state representatives, or average a person. Lastly, the interviewer must know about the topic, learn how to ask and change questions to curtail to a new study and research advances (Mosley, 2013). In doing so, personal interaction must coincide with the methodological approach to an interview as ethics and evolution play a crucial role in the development of social

But, such techniques are not always accurate according to Mosley (2013), and Malici & Smith (2013). However, the interviewer learning the appropriate steps to a successful interview blocks inaccurate information, validity, and correct analysis (Malici & Smith, 2013). The derivation of formulated questions occurs due to the methodology. Thus, as Professors of political science Bernstein & Allen (2013) explain "questions of how we come to know what we think we know" (para. 3). That is, confirming that the interview methodology is appropriate to pose questions adequate for research. For example, in Mosley's interview, she suggests staying far away from the why questions because that is for analytical study of the interviewer (2013). Also, she highlights interviews from African Americans and recent immigrant Afro-Caribbean whether they carry political consensus due to race and culture. The interview utilized open-ended, qualitative structural research. Surprisingly, the research pointed to African Americans exposure to the civil rights era or born into social evolution were more likely to experience or believe in racial inferiority than the Afro-Caribbean’s (Mosley, 2013). In this way, the conducted interview was correct in utilizing a mixed-method approach taking samples of fifty-nine New York city resident of Afro-Caribbean decent combined with interviews of fifteen Afro-Caribbean leaders (Mosely, 2013). Although,