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Methods Of Enquiry In Psychology

Question
CBSEENPS11021888

Differentiate between an interview and questionnaire.

Solution

Interview: The interview method of collecting information is used in diverse kinds of situations. In this method, two or more persons sit face-to-face with each other in which one person or interviewer asks questions and the other person or interviewer answers the questions related to a problem. An interview is a purposeful activity conducted to derive factual information, opinions and attitudes, and reasons for particular behaviour, etc. from the interviewer. It is generally conducted face-to-face but sometimes it can also take place over the phone.

Questionnaire: It is the most common, simple, versatile and low cost self-report method of collecting information. It consists of a predetermined set of questions. Questionnaires can be distributed to a group of persons at a time who write down their answers to the questions and return to the researcher or can be sent through mail.