Final answer:
The timing of interviews can affect the reliability of the data. Conducting interviews in the same season can improve reliability, while diversifying times and locations of surveys can address biases. Changes in technology and declining survey response rates can also impact data validity.
Step-by-step explanation:
When interviews are conducted can significantly affect the reliability and validity of the information gathered. For instance, interviews conducted in different seasons may affect participants' responses due to seasonal activities or moods, which can influence the reliability of the data. However, if interviews are conducted in the same season, this can potentially improve reliability because environmental or temporal variables are kept consistent.
Regarding the reliability of interviews conducted in 2020 or 2018, the recency of the interviews can lend more relevance to current topics but may be less reliable about past events due to memory decay. Furthermore, conducting surveys at various times, locations, and days can help counteract biases that may occur from conducting a survey at one specific time or place, hence improving their overall reliability.
It is also critical to consider how changes in technology might affect polling and data collection. The Pew Research Center has noted declining response rates in telephone surveys, raising concerns about the validity of the estimates from such research. Varied sampling methods are important to ensure a representative and reliable data set.