Deakin University
Browse
powell-errorsinthe-2013.pdf (169.53 kB)

Errors in the identification of question types in investigative interviews of children

Download (169.53 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2013-01-01, 00:00 authored by Martine Powell, Mairi Benson, Stefanie SharmanStefanie Sharman, Belinda GuadagnoBelinda Guadagno, R Steinberg
This study examined the incidence and nature of the errors made by trainee coders during their coding of question types in interviews in which children disclosed abuse. Three groups of trainees (online, postgraduate and police) studied the coding manual before practising their question coding. After this practice, participants were given two-page field transcripts to code in which children disclosed abuse. Their coding was assessed for accuracy; any errors were analysed thematically. The overall error rate was low, and police participants made the fewest errors. Analysis of the errors revealed four common misunderstandings: (1) the use of a ‘wh’ question always denotes a specific cued-recall question; (2) ‘Tell me’ always constitutes an open-ended question; (3) open-ended questions cannot include specific detail; and (4) specific questions cannot elicit elaborate responses. An analysis of coding accuracy in the one group who were able to practise question coding over time revealed that practice was essential for trainees to maintain their accuracy. Those who did not practise decreased in coding accuracy. This research shows that trainees need more than a coding manual; they must demonstrate their understanding of question codes through practice training tasks. Misunderstandings about questions need to be elicited and corrected so that accurate codes are used in future tasks.

History

Journal

International Journal of Police Science and Management

Volume

15

Issue

2

Pagination

144 - 156

Publisher

Vathek Publishing

Location

Dalby, Isle of Man

ISSN

1461-3557

eISSN

1478-1603

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2013, Vathek Publishing

Usage metrics

    Research Publications

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC