Which term describes the ways in which an interviewer may influence participant responses by their characteristics or verbal cues?

Which term describes the ways in which an interviewer may influence participant responses by their characteristics or verbal cues?

• A. Focus group
• B. Subjectivity
• C. Hawthorne effect
• D. Interviewer effect

Answer: (D)

Interviewer effect describes how the interviewer’s own characteristics and the way they phrase questions or respond to answers can shape what participants say. If the interviewer is seen as senior, neutral, or tense, respondents may answer differently to fit perceived expectations, or they may reveal more or less sensitive information depending on tone, prompts, or body language. This is a bias that arises during data collection from the interaction itself, not from what the participants would normally say on their own. Hawthorne effect, by contrast, is about people changing their behavior simply because they know they’re being observed, not because of who is interviewing them. Subjectivity refers to a researcher’s personal views shaping interpretation or approach, rather than the real-time influence of an interviewer on responses. A focus group is simply a method of collecting data in a group setting, not a bias introduced by the interviewer.

Interviewer effect describes how the interviewer’s own characteristics and the way they phrase questions or respond to answers can shape what participants say. If the interviewer is seen as senior, neutral, or tense, respondents may answer differently to fit perceived expectations, or they may reveal more or less sensitive information depending on tone, prompts, or body language. This is a bias that arises during data collection from the interaction itself, not from what the participants would normally say on their own.

Hawthorne effect, by contrast, is about people changing their behavior simply because they know they’re being observed, not because of who is interviewing them. Subjectivity refers to a researcher’s personal views shaping interpretation or approach, rather than the real-time influence of an interviewer on responses. A focus group is simply a method of collecting data in a group setting, not a bias introduced by the interviewer.