A Life Experience in, Which I Applied Interviewing as a Data Collection Instrument

As an ardent follower of the qualitative research methodology in the trajectory of social science, using the interview as a data collection method has been my preserve to date. In particular, I have been having a vested interest in using the instrument in a way that is more scientific to make credible any research I conduct. A memorable research experience in, which I used interviewing was when I was researching on 'the Impact of YouTube on Speech in Children.' In this case, the parents of children aged from between ages 4-8 years were the respondents.

Part of making the results credible and reliable was by using interviewing as an instrument. Open-ended questions that allowed for more disclosure from respondents were helpful. While I made use of especially secondary data from books, websites, and reputable journals on the material, published material increased the credibility of the research incredibly. Moreover, combining both secondary kinds of research with the primary component through the mixed methods research design made the methods more reliable. Credibility was enhanced via using empirical findings from previous studies on the phenomenon in conjunction with a real evidence-based practice where respondents were interviewed in primary research. The use of more than one instrument of data collection, that is, administering a survey besides the interview schedule further contributed to more credible research. Backing up the findings with practical interview-retrieved information from participants and past studies on the phenomenon also made the analysis more evidence-based and supported. Since the research was empirically supported by evidence from previous studies and related scientific findings on the impact of YouTube on speech delivery, the study yielded credible results. To this end, therefore, the experience revealed that for social research to be evidence-based, empirical, and reliable, instruments of data collection and analysis such as peer reviewing and triangulation are a must-use.