What describes the influence on responses arising from how the interviewer asks questions or interprets answers?

• A. Focus group
• B. Interviewer effect
• C. Interview bias
• D. Subjectivity

Answer: (C)

This is about how the person asking the questions can shape the answers. When the interviewer’s wording, tone, or interpretation of responses nudges respondents toward certain replies or misreads what they mean, it creates bias in the data. This is known as interviewer bias. It can happen through leading questions, nonverbal cues, or inconsistent recording of answers. A focus group is simply a data collection method, not the bias introduced during questioning, and subjectivity refers more to a researcher’s personal view in interpretation rather than the interaction during the interview.