L4 Qualitative Research Interviewing

Interviewing in Qualitative Research

• Qualitative research uses interviews to gather verbal data.

• Interviews can be various types, including elite, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews.

• Face-to-face interviews are one-on-one, in-person interactions.

• Telephone interviews involve contacting respondents by phone.

• Online interviews use video conferencing software like Zoom or Teams.

• Group interviews involve a researcher interviewing multiple participants together.

• Interviews are preferred when efficient data collection is needed, getting more or better data cost effectively compared to alternatives.

Uses of Interviews

• Interviews serve as a direct encounter between a researcher and respondent to gather data.

• Interviews offer flexible and adaptive conversational approaches letting the interviewee shape the conversation.

• Detailed qualitative data about events, processes, institutions, or points of view can be collected.

• Historical background information, subjective meanings, and understandings can be recorded when needed.

Types of Qualitative Interviews

• Semi-structured interviews follow a pre-determined list of topics, but allow flexibility in the order and wording of questions.

• Unstructured interviews allow for free-flowing conversations, starting wherever the interviewee prefers.

• Intensive interviews aim to gain a deep understanding of the subject.

• Qualitative interviews: a broad category encompassing various types.

• In-depth interviews are focused on detailed insights.

• Focused interviews concentrate on specific aspects of a topic.

• Focus groups involve discussions within a set group.

• Group interviews gather collective perspectives from a group.

• Oral history interviews record personal stories and accounts.

• Life history interviews explore the entire life course of a person.

• Elite interviews involve experts as respondents.

Key Aspects of Interviews

• Identifying target participants, getting access, conducting the interviews.

• Transcribing interviews (using manual or technology).

• Analyzing the outcomes/results.

Elite Interviewing

• Elite interviews involve interviewing experts in a field.

• Expertise and importance of the respondent vary.

• The balance of knowledge from the respondent shapes interview approach.

• Creating a well-structured interview plan is key.

Unstructured Interviewing

• Unstructured interviews use free-flowing conversations.

• These interviews begin wherever the respondent prefers the dialogue to start.

• These interviews facilitate exploratory conversations.

• They offer high flexibility in the conversational flow.

Semi-Structured Interviewing

• Create a list of needed topics for discussion in the interview.

• Prioritize topics.

• Interviewers should avoid rigid adherence to the interview guide.

• Probing is encouraged, especially if multiple interviewers are involved in the research.

Interview Contexts, Modal Effects

• Multiple interviewers or interviewees can result in various outcomes, such as reducing interviewer bias and greater data efficiency.

• Telephone interviews are more efficient and easier to oversee but may lessen qualitative data due to lack of non-verbal cues and possible biases from the researcher.

• Meeting software can also be used for interviews, offering similar attributes to in-person interviews in terms of cost and supervision but with potential loss in rapport building.

• Computer-assisted interviewing using software, with its filter questions, offers additional helpful data collection tools.

Conducting Interviews

• Understanding the scheduling and logistics of the interviews.

• Building rapport and trust with the interviewee.

• Providing clear and concise interview instructions to the interviewee.

• Preparing the interview guide for consistency by understanding the research questions and developing questions from the interviewee's perspective.

Question Order

• Beginning questions should relate to the core research topic.

• Asking pertinent questions as early as possible, will keep the interviewee engaged.

• Sensitive or embarrassing questions should be asked later in the interview to maintain interviewee cooperation.

• Grouping similar interview questions together provides a more organized interview flow.

• General questions should precede specific questions.

Types of Questions (Kvale, 1996; Bryman, 2021)

• Introduction questions to establish common ground.

• Follow-up questions delve deeper into answers given.

• Probing questions encourage further clarification and detail.

• Specifying questions seek to narrow down the interviewee's response.

• Direct questions ask straightforward prompts.

• Indirect, indirect questions ask respondents about the perspectives of others to determine their perceptions.

• Structuring questions delineate the progression of the interview's focus or subject matter.

• Silence allows for pauses and reflection in responses if needed.

• Interpreting questions help the interviewee understand the question, often related to their role in the current event being discussed.

Probing

• Used when interviewees need help answering or understanding interview questions.

• Standardised information may be offered to aid understanding.

• Interviewers can ask clarifying questions to assist the interviewee.

Prompting

• Provides additional prompts for the interviewee if they need help responding to the interview question.

• This can take the form of simple requests for clarification, or more complex follow-up questions.

Interviewer Training

• Training interview personnel aids in reducing bias and ensuring accurate data gathering.

• Training focuses on avoiding interviewer bias, providing standardised interview information, and precise questions to properly gather data.

• Interview guides and proper questioning techniques are necessary to achieve a common interview structure and standard data collection.

Bryman (2021: 432) on Interviewers

• Skilled interviewers are knowledgeable, structured, clear, gentle, sensitive, open, steering, critical, remembering, and able to interpret the data.

Recording and Transcription

• Recording interviews allows for review and analysis by others.

• Interviews can be re-used and reassessed.

• Statistical tools are sometimes used to analyze recordings of the interviews.

• Manual or automated transcription can be used.

How to Analyze Data

• A detailed methodology for analyzing data is needed.

Advantages of Interviews

• Useful when observation isn't possible.

• Participants offer historical information.

• Researchers have control over questioning.

Disadvantages of Interviews

• Interviews provide filtered views of the information, possibly skewed.

• Interview situations can be unnatural, possibly influencing responses/answers.

• People articulate perceptions differently.

• Interviewers may potentially bias interviewees' responses.

• References are provided on how they were obtained.

Discussion Questions

• Differences between structured and semi-structured interviews.

• Needed skills for qualitative interviewers.

• Types of research questions answered by qualitative interviews.

Explore the various types of interviews used in qualitative research, including elite, semi-structured, and unstructured formats. This quiz covers the advantages of interviews, their ability to gather detailed data, and the different mediums such as face-to-face, telephone, and online interviews. Test your understanding of how interviews fit into the qualitative data collection process.