Qualitative Interview PDF

Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW WHAT IS QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW? Interviews feature in many parts of our lives. Job interviews, psychiatric interviews, university application interviews, market research interviews, magazine and television interviews, and police interviews are just a few examples. No unitary set of principles covers how to conduct all of these since each differs in its context, purpose, objectives, format and structure. Qualitative research interviews superficially have much in common with these other forms of interview but they have their own distinctive features and their own requirements. Qualitative interviewing characteristically involves questions and probes by the interviewer designed to encourage the interviewee to talk freely and extensively about the topic(s) defined by the researcher. Success is not guaranteed as factors such as the skills of the interviewer, the topic and interviewee’s potential to provide good qualitative data also have a part to play. The objectives of the research interview are not the same as, say, those of a journalistic interview and the contexts are very different. For example, (a) the qualitative researcher is bound to adhere to the values and ethics of research and (b) the researcher has a responsibility to help develop theory out of the interview data – things which other forms of interviewing lack. Of course, it is perfectly possible to carry out qualitative analyses of journalistic interviews if the research question allows this. Qualitative research is very flexible in terms of the data it uses. Interviews are often described as varying between the structured and the unstructured. Most of us have, at some stage, taken part in a market research interview in the street or over the telephone. Such interviews typify structured interviews. The questions asked are often simply read from a list and the interviewee chooses from another list of possible answers for each question. There is little opportunity for the interviewer to depart from the prepared ‘script’. In other words, as much as possible is planned and predetermined. Almost always the market research interviewer is a casual ‘employee’ rather than the researcher – that is, the actual interviewer is a hired-hand. In general, structured interviewing achieves the following: The interviewer ensures that participants are chosen for the study who have the required characteristics to fulfil sampling requirements (this sort of sampling, known as quota sampling, is almost universal in this context). Furthermore, since the interviewer actively recruits research participants at the time of the interview, reasonably large samples can be obtained and speedily since the interviewer generally stands in a busy street where many potential recruits pass by. Such interviews can be fairly alienating for the participants. The interviewer usually offers a very limited number of choices and the participant, as a consequence, may feel it impossible to effectively communicate their actual views. However, the multiple-choice pre-coded answer format allows the data to be quickly transferred to a computer for analysis. Qualitative researchers see such 1|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson methods as alienating for the researcher, too, since the researcher is effectively distanced from the participants in the research. Speed in the research process. Provided that the necessary infrastructure is in place, the structured interview may be implemented as soon as the questionnaire design and general research plan are completed. The infrastructure would include a team of interviewers and data entry assistants as well as responsible researchers. A research report can be delivered to commissioning clients in a matter of a few weeks or even days. Academic quantitative researchers use variations on the theme of structured interviewing in their research. The strengths and weaknesses of the approach remain much the same. If structured interviewing meets the needs of one’s research, then data can be collected fairly economically in terms of both time and financial costs. (Another version of the structured approach is the self- completion questionnaire.) In contrast, few of us are likely to have been participants in qualitative interviewing. Qualitative interviews are time-consuming for everyone involved and are more complex in terms of planning and recruiting suitable participants than structured interviews. Often qualitative interviews are referred to as semi-structured. In theory there is also the unstructured interview which lacks any pre-planned structure. It is not usual for qualitative researchers to choose to collect their data using unstructured interviews as they are something of an oxymoron. Is it really possible to conduct an interview with no pre-planning? However, the semi-structured interview can vary enormously in terms of the amount of pre-structuring. The whole point of the qualitative interview is that it generally generates extensive and rich data from participants in the study. Such reasons for using qualitative interviewing touch on the ethos of qualitative research, just as much as structured interviewing reflects the quantitative ethos. Unlike everyday conversation, the qualitative interview is built on the principle that the interviewee does most of the talking – the researcher merely steers and guides the interviewee, probes for more information and interjects in other ways when necessary. It is not generally expected that the interviewer will answer questions – that is the role of the interviewee. Equally, the interviewee does not ask the interviewer personal questions of the sort that the interviewer is free to pose. That is not in the ‘rules’ of the interview. The interviewee can be asked to talk at some length about matters that are difficult for them – perhaps because they have not thought about the issue, perhaps because the topic of the interview is embarrassing, and so forth. The task of the interviewer is also a demanding one. The interviewer has to conduct the business of the interview while at the same time dealing with a great deal of information that bombards them during the interview. This information has to be absorbed and retained so that probes using this new information can be inserted wherever necessary. Although a sound recorder is important to most qualitative interviewers, this does not lighten the burden of absorbing, understanding and reflecting upon what the interviewee has to say during the course of the interview. The interviewer needs to be on top of what has gone before in the interview in order to explore issues further and clarify what is unclear. 2|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRUCTURED AND QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW (Howitt, 2016) Structured Interview Qualitative Interview The interview uses a pre-written list of ‘closed’ Although the researcher usually has a list of questions which is not usually departed from and ‘areas’ to explore through questioning, there is no the questions are asked in a standard fashion. rigid structure and flexibility is vital. Answers are usually selected from a pre-specified The researcher wishes to encourage ‘open’ answers in which the interviewee provides list given to the participant or, alternatively, the elaborate and detailed answers. interviewer classifies the answer according to a pre-specified scheme. The structured interview facilitates a quantitative The qualitative interview normally does not lend analysis. itself to quantitative analysis methods. Structured Interview Qualitative Interview Structured interviews are relatively short as well Qualitative interviewers encourage ‘rich’ detailed as being fairly predictable in duration. replies leading to lengthy interviews of a somewhat unpredictable duration. Structured interviews are not normally recorded. A recording is virtually essential for most qualitative interviews. The high degree of structuring facilitates The assessment of the reliability and validity of a reliability, validity and similar assessments. qualitative interview is a complex issue and not easily addressed. Structured Interview Qualitative Interview The interviewer in the structured interview is The qualitative interview requires the interviewer basically a question asker and answer recorder. to be an active listener concentrating on what the interviewee says while formulating questions to help the interviewee expand on and clarify what has already been said. The structured interview is driven by the The qualitative interview is largely steered by the researcher’s agenda and is based on prior responses of the interviewee which the 3|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson knowledge and theory. That is, the structured interviewer may explore further with the use of interview is not generally exploratory. careful questioning. The qualitative interview seeks to explore the thinking of the interviewee. Structured Interview Qualitative Interview The interviewer in the structured interview is The qualitative interview requires the interviewer basically a question asker and answer recorder. to be an active listener concentrating on what the interviewee says while formulating questions to help the interviewee expand on and clarify what has already been said. The structured interview is driven by the The qualitative interview is largely steered by the researcher’s agenda and is based on prior responses of the interviewee which the knowledge and theory. That is, the structured interviewer may explore further with the use of interview is not generally exploratory. careful questioning. The qualitative interview seeks to explore the thinking of the interviewee. Structured Interview Qualitative Interview Interviewees have little choice other than to keep Sometimes it is suggested that qualitative to the agenda as set by the researcher. There is interviewing encourages ‘rambling’ answers which limited or no scope for idiosyncratic responses to may provide a wider perspective on the subject be made. There may be a somewhat token matter of the interview. opportunity for the interviewee to ask the interviewer questions or to express additional thoughts. Standardization of the questions asked and the A lack of standardization is inevitable in qualitative possible answers is a characteristic of structured interviews and the interviewer expects to interviewing. rephrase questions, generate new questions in response to the interviewee’s answers, probe the meaning of what the interviewee says, and so forth. Inflexible Flexible 4|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Structured Interview Qualitative Interview The interviewer is often a ‘hired assistant’ rather In many cases it is ideal if the qualitative interview than someone involved in the planning of the is conducted by the researcher. This allows the research. researcher to respond quickly to matters emerging in the interviews and make changes if necessary. Some would suggest that structured interviews Some would suggest that qualitative interviews can best be used for hypothesis testing purposes. are exploratory and more to do with hypothesis generation than hypothesis testing. Repeat interviewing is uncommon in structured Additional or repeat interviewing is appropriate in interviews except for longitudinal studies. qualitative interviewing as it provides the researcher with an opportunity to reformulate their ideas or ‘regroup’. Repeat interviewing allows the researcher to check their analysis against the perceptions of the participants in their research. HOW TO CONDUCT QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW? Generally speaking, it is regarded as important that researchers carry out their own qualitative interviews since it promotes familiarity with the detail of one’s data. Fundamentally, the qualitative interview needs to be understood as a product of a special social situation with its own very distinctive characteristics which make it different from other social situations. There has been a lot of research into interviewing in various branches of psychology and it is worthwhile bearing in mind findings from this research in connection with qualitative interviewing – for example, achieving good rapport with participants in one’s research. The need to avoid leading the interviewee overly is a feature of most forms of interviewing. So by studying interviewing in general it is possible to avoid many of the basic errors that novices make. Good interviewing skills together with careful preparation are the major aspects of success in qualitative interviewing. It is one of the crucial features of qualitative research that the researcher uses extensive, rich, dense and detailed data no matter its source. Consequently, the efforts of the interviewer have to focus on encouraging this descriptive richness. While training and experience are needed in order to carry out an interview well, success involves many different features of the data collection process other than just the interview itself. The researcher needs to be in command of all stages of the research process which include recruitment and retaining of participants. The qualitative interview is very flexible and it can be carried out in a variety of ways to meet the demands of a particular research study. The following indicate some of the dimensions on which qualitative interviews vary: 5|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Traditionally interviews are seen as a dyad – the interviewee plus the interviewer. Qualitative researchers are much more flexible than this in terms of the format of interviews. For example, the focus group is a sort of group interview which may involve more than one interviewer and two or more interviewees. Equally, qualitative interviews may be carried out with more than one interviewee at the same time such as when partners (e.g. married couples) are the subject of the research. The interviewer–interviewee dyad may not always be the best in all circumstances. Indeed, it may not be possible always to adopt the traditional structure – for example, other family members may wish to join in. Interviews do not have to be carried out on a face-to-face basis. The telephone interview is a feasible substitute in some circumstances. It has the big advantage of being economical in terms of time and money. There is no travelling between interviews, for example, which can be very time consuming and not every person who agrees to be interviewed can be relied on to make the appointment. Some researchers claim that the telephone interview may be useful where a highly sensitive topic is being discussed but, equally, it may be the case that the telephone interview seems a little casual and superficial when very sensitive topics are being raised. So, for example, the telephone interview may be appropriate when sexual matters are being discussed but inappropriate, say, where a recent bereavement is the focus of the discussion. Each circumstance is different and the researcher needs to consider many factors when reaching a decision about the style of interviewing to employ. One important and major criticism of telephone interviews – poor response rates – actually has little or no relevance to qualitative research since sampling in qualitative research is usually for theoretical purposes rather than in order to represent the characteristics of the population from which a sample is taken. Of course, the other major drawback of the telephone interview is the loss of non-verbal features of communication, which, in some circumstances, can be informative. There are also possibilities for carrying out qualitative interviews over the Internet. The likelihood is that these are written text not involving the spoken word. For some researchers, especially those who approach research from a mixed method strategy (i.e. being willing to combine qualitative and quantitative methods in a creative fusion), there may be advantages in using both fairly structured questions in combination with relatively unstructured ones. In this way, fairly simple data (e.g. demographic and other background details) may be quickly collected while at the same time providing the opportunity to allow the participant to discuss their feelings, experiences, life histories and so forth in detail. The qualitative interview, as we have seen, falls more towards the unstructured than the structured end of the dimension. But this can be misleading since structure here refers largely to the pre-planning of the interview. It should not be taken to imply that qualitative interviews are somewhat haphazard or shambolic events. The fact that the questions asked during the course 6|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson of a qualitative interview cannot be entirely known prior to that interview does not mean that the interview is chaotic. And it does not mean that the interviewer has not worked hard in preparation for the interview. Not having a detailed list of questions means that the interviewer has to work hard all through in order to make the interview as structurally coherent as possible. As we have seen, the difference between the quantitative and the qualitative interview is largely to do with the lack of constraints placed on the replies of the participants and the freedom of the researcher to create appropriate questions within the qualitative interview. The totally unstructured interview is rarely if ever found in qualitative research and it is wrong to imagine there are successful interviews where the researcher has no particular agenda in mind. The qualitative or semi-structured interview, because of its very nature, demands that the researcher has good question-asking skills together with well-developed listening skills. Asking good questions is impossible without having absorbed and understood what has gone before in the interview. STAGES IN QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW (Howitt, 2016) PREPARATORY STAGE (Before the Interview) The qualitative interview requires careful planning if it is to be fully effective. Although the constraints on student work may be somewhat different from those on professional research, the newcomer needs to be familiar with all of these preparatory stages. Since the qualitative interview is not normally a freewheeling conversation but a planned process, a number of factors have to be taken into account early on. In many cases, some of the preparatory stages will involve relatively little work as they are fairly straightforward but these same stages can be exacting in other circumstances. For example, participants may be difficult to obtain if they are a highly specialised sample but, if just members of the public or fellow-students will suffice, then there may be little difficulty in obtaining suitable people for interview. Like all research, qualitative interviewing needs to be focused. It is rare for qualitative interviews to be carried out over a lengthy period of time with limitless opportunities to ask further questions. (Such research would only be practicable with just a single participant or a small number of participants.) Just what length of time then is available for a typical qualitative interview? Normally, qualitative interviews should take no longer than about two hours or so. Within this constraint, it is obvious that there must be considerable selectivity in the coverage of most qualitative interviews. Indeed, without some focus to the interview, participants might find the range of questions asked somewhat perplexing and, possibly, intrusive. Participants need to understand the interview’s purpose not least because they have an important part to play in ensuring that the interview meets its objectives. Without the cooperation of the participants then qualitative interviews are destined to fail. 7|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson PRIOR TO THE INTERVIEW Preparation of the Research Suitability of the interview guide conceptualization sampler for in- (interview and development depth interviewing schedule) Communication Interview trailing Inter-interview between (piloting) comparison interviewers The Sample recruitment Participation preparation/selection and selection management of the interview location STEP 1 – Research conceptualization and development. It is difficult to generalize about how research ideas develop. However, it is always important to develop clarity about the objectives and purposes of one’s research as soon as possible in the research process. Now this is not to suggest that the researcher has to have complete clarity about the research topic under consideration. There are many circumstances in which the researcher needs to gather data simply to understand a phenomenon better: that is, the extant research in the field may be poorly developed and the interviews are needed to shed light on the topic in question. The qualitative researcher needs, at this stage, to develop a clear understanding of why qualitative interviews are required to meet the objectives of the study. Now this justification does not need to be elaborate but a choice has been made and the researcher should be able to articulate the basis of their decision. 8|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson STEP 2 – Preparation of the interview guide. Standard practice in the use of qualitative interviewing dictates that a skeletal outline of the interview should be prepared prior to beginning the main data collection phase. Such an outline structure is referred to as the interview guide. This may be as simple as a list of areas or topics to be covered or it may list the questions. Of course, topics may be covered and questions answered during the course of the interview without any direct prompt from the researcher which means that the interviewer needs to be flexible as to whether each question on the interview guide needs to be asked directly. Asking a question when the participant has already answered it in response to earlier questioning can be perceived by the interviewee as lack of interest on the part of the interviewer rather than their inexperience. The guide may be adapted in light of the experience – perhaps an important but unanticipated issue seems to be emerging in the interviews, which is felt should be systematically included in subsequent interviews. While this is a reparative action, it is characteristic of the flexibility of qualitative research interviewing. Structured interviews, in contrast, cannot be responsive in this way. The interview guide is not the focus of the interview in the same way as the questionnaire is in the structured interview. It is not necessarily consulted throughout the interview but the interviewer may take time-out towards the end of the interview to check that everything has been covered. Don’t worry, the interviewee will understand why this is necessary. The guide is usually quite short and so easily memorised. After a few interviews, the interviewer may only make cursory reference to it. For inexperienced interviewers, there is a danger that the interview guide becomes overly the focus of the researcher’s attention to the detriment of the interview’s quality. The interview guide is employed in the background of the interview rather than being the lynchpin of the interaction as the structured interview questionnaire is. The primary focus of the qualitative interview is on what the interviewee has to say and ensuring that sufficient supplementary questions/probes are introduced to fully explore the issue from the participant’s perspective. In other words, the qualitative interviewer is an active listener. The active listener needs to (a) absorb as much of what is being said as possible and (b) formulate further questions to ‘fill the gaps’ in the interviewee’s replies where their account is unclear, contradictory or too short, for example. The interview guide provides the structure through which the richness of the participant’s replies is maximised. The purpose of the qualitative interview and its success lie in the richness of the data which emerges. In summary: The interview guide should structure the questions or topics to be covered in a natural, sensible and helpful sequence. This, of course, may need to be varied in each interview as, for example, it is pointless and counterproductive to ask a question when the required information has already been mentioned by the participant. Furthermore, a disorganised sequence of questioning makes the interview difficult for both the interviewer and interviewee. There is a considerable amount of memory work during an interview and a logical and natural structure can help both parties in an interview. 9|Page Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Even if one is conducting a qualitative interview it may be desirable to collect simple basic and routine information using direct and structured questioning. Basic demographic information such as age, gender, educational qualifications, occupation and so forth may be effectively collected using such structured methods. This is not a recommendation but merely a possible resource for the researcher. There are dangers in that it may set up an atmosphere of short questions and answers. Furthermore, in some contexts, the researcher might wish to explore in-depth matters such as education which, in other contexts, would be regarded as relatively unimportant. The interview guide is not a list of all of the obvious questions or topics which might be of interest. Research is carried out for a purpose and the interview needs to be informed by the questions and ideas guiding the research. It is simply impossible to include every question that might be thought up about a topic. There are practical limits to the length of any interview and two hours or so is the likely maximum length tolerable. Much longer than that and considerable strain is placed on both interviewer and interviewee. STEP 3 – Suitability of the sample for in-depth interviewing. It is difficult, but not impossible, to carry out an effective qualitative interview with certain types of individuals – for example, young children – but the use of language appropriate for the group in question can certainly help. However, the richness of response required in the qualitative interview may simply not emerge with such groups no matter what adjustments the researcher makes. The qualitative approach, in this case, may not be appropriate. The advice of knowledgeable informants about such groups together with pilot interviews may be helpful in planning such difficult research. STEP 4 – Interview trialling (piloting). One cannot guarantee that the early interviews in a series will produce data of the quality expected. There are many reasons for this, including the skill of the interviewer as well as the adequacy of the interview guide. For this reason, it is a wise step to try out one’s interviewing style and procedures in advance of the main data collection phase. This is the pilot study stage. Such an early trial can involve either: a number of practice interviews as part of gaining experience and identifying problems; or beginning the main data collection but recognising that the early interviews may have problems, which may need to be addressed by modifying one’s procedures. The choice between these two depends very much on the scarcity of suitable participants. Where participants of the right type are hard to obtain then even inadequate interviews might be of value. Of course, trialling interviews is best done by obtaining the comments of both the interviewees and others such as members of the research team or a research supervisor. 10 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson STEP 5 – Inter-interview comparison. Interviews are usually part of a series of interviews rather than one-off events in research. As a consequence, the interviewer will have completed other interviews or be aware of interviews that colleagues have done. Issues which have emerged in these earlier interviews must impinge on the current interview. The interviewer may have already incorporated these topics into the new interview but sometimes things which have emerged before may not emerge in the current interview. The researcher needs to consider this and possibly seek the reasons why this is the case by carefully questioning. This across-the-board view of a series of interviews adds to the complexity of the interviewer’s task. STEP 6 – Communication between interviewers. Just how many different researchers will be conducting the interviews? Using two or more different interviewers produces problems in terms of ensuring similarity and evenness of coverage across interviews. How are developments to be communicated between the interviewers? It is possibly worth considering the use of much more structured interviews if the logistics of using several interviewers become too complex. However, this may well be problematic and there may not be any enthusiasm for, or advantage in, a structured approach. STEP 7 – Sample recruitment and selection. Although conventional random sampling is very unusual in qualitative research, nevertheless the researcher needs to employ a strategy to recruit appropriate sorts of participants. Sometimes this strategy may be relatively simple where selection is not restricted to a special group of participants. Where a specialised group of individuals is required then more care and ingenuity have to be exercised. For example, a health psychologist may be interested in people with a particular type of medical condition (cancer, chronic pain, carers of persons with dementia and so forth) for which no publicly available list of names exists. That is, in conventional research terms, there is no accessible sampling frame such as the electoral list from which participants may be selected. Of course, it would be a long, difficult and, ultimately, pointless task to contact people from the electoral list to find out whether they fit the required characteristics for inclusion in the study. The alternative approach involves drawing up a list of individuals or organisations who may be able to help recruit suitable people for the study. For example, if the researcher wishes to interview chronic pain sufferers then among the possible ‘contacts’ are: hospital departments dealing with chronic pain sufferers – perhaps a ‘flyer’ may be left around to publicise the research and obtain recruits, though hospitals may have suitable contact lists; GPs who may be able to identify a number of their patients who fall into this category; self-help groups for chronic pain sufferers; a snowball sample in which a few known sufferers are identified and asked to nominate others that they know in the same circumstances; advertising in a local newspaper. 11 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson The researcher should ask themselves why a particular individual or organization should be prepared to help in this way. There are many reasons why individuals and organisations will not cooperate with researchers and, of course, the researcher may need to work hard in order to prevent these reasons from prevailing. Generally, researchers need to try to establish a good relationship with key members of organisations with the aim of securing their trust and eventually cooperation. Interpersonal contacts (e.g. who do you know who might be helpful?), in these circumstances, are more likely to be fruitful than formal letters requesting cooperation. Once cooperation has been obtained, the organisation may still impose conditions and requirements. It might be insisted, for example, that the initial contacts with potential research participants are made by a member of the organisation rather than the researcher. Establishing credibility and cooperation can be a time-consuming process – and it may, of course, end in failure. A contact may appear enthusiastic to help but turn out to be in no position to ensure the organisation’s cooperation. Organisations are unlikely to cooperate with researchers who are not broadly sympathetic with the aims of that organisation. All of this might be seen as risking compromising the research. Sometimes one’s primary sample recruitment method may fail. It would appear to be difficult, for example, to do research on burglars if one fails to obtain the cooperation of prisons or the probation service. In these circumstances, alternative methods of sample recruitment may have to be resorted to. For example, organisations dealing with ex- offenders might be a source of recruits or, conceivably, a snowball sample of burglars might be obtained if one could make initial contacts with a few members of the burglar fraternity. STEP 8 – Participant management. One of the frustrating aspects of qualitative interviewing is the extent to which the researcher is dependent on the participant being at a certain place at a certain time and happy to be interviewed. It is very easy to waste time and effort setting up interview appointments only to find that the interviewee fails to turn up. Now this may be because of all sorts of reasons. It is not appropriate to assume that such no-shows indicate that the would-be participant is not really interested in taking part. Sometimes they may simply forget. So, it is important to ‘keep the participant on-board’ during the period before the appointment for the interview. This involves such things as: writing letters thanking the participant for agreeing to take part while at the same time reminding them of the date, time and place of the interview; using courtesy telephone calls the day before or the morning of the interview to remind the participant of the interview and to check whether any problems or issues have arisen; providing the participants with some background details about the research and its purpose together with a description of the ethical arrangements involved in the research. Participants who lack such information may get the wrong idea about the nature of the research and back-out for the wrong reasons. 12 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson STEP 9 – The preparation/selection of the interview location. There are many potential locations for research interviews, each with its advantages and risks. Precisely what the possibilities are depends somewhat on the individuals being studied and judgements as to what is appropriate. The lengthy nature of the qualitative interview means that one would rarely interview participants in the street or on the doorstep, as commonly occurs in market research interviews. One obvious choice is for the interviewee to travel to the researcher’s workplace. Among the problems with this is that the researcher is relying on the participant to do all of the work in meeting the appointment. There may be some complex logistics involved which result in the loss of some interviews. There are other difficulties such as: the need to find a suitable uninterrupted, quiet place; the communication problems which might be involved in ensuring that all relevant colleagues are informed that the interview is taking place – they need to know where to direct the interviewee when they arrive, for example; some offices may appear to be cold and sterile places in which to conduct interviews on sensitive topics; offices tend to be available during the working day which may be when the interviewee is not available because of their job. An obvious alternative is to visit the interviewee at home. An advantage is that interviewees may be more relaxed on home ground. However, the home may not be a suitable location for a number of reasons: There may be too many distractions from children, animals, etc. There may be other people around in front of whom the interviewee might not wish to discuss certain problems – or, alternatively, the other people might want to contribute to the interview. It is more difficult to set up recording equipment in someone’s home since setting up has to be done on the spot – or there may be a canary singing in the background, making it harder to transcribe the recording. Of course, there are many other locations which may be considered. The main point is that location needs to be actively considered in order to best serve the interests of the research. Also remember that there may not be a single best interview location for all research participants. There may be safety issues involved in the use of certain locations. Visiting interviewees at home is not without its dangers and arrangements may need to be made concerning the interviewer’s safety. Similarly, some research locations may be intrinsically more dangerous than others (e.g. prison) and again appropriate consideration may need to be given to interviewer safety. 13 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson THE QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW STAGE (During the Interview) Although a good interview involves the interviewee seemingly doing most of the work, in reality the interviewer has to maintain a great deal of involvement in what is happening during the interview. In particular, the qualitative interview is highly dependent on the researcher’s quick absorption of the detail of what is being said. Kvale describes the good interviewer in the following terms: The interviewer must continually make quick choices about what to ask and how; which aspects of a subject’s answer to follow up – and which not; which answers to interpret – and which not. Interviewers should be knowledgeable in the topics investigated, master conversational skills, and be proficient in language with an ear for their subject’s linguistic style. The interviewer should have a sense for good stories and be able to assist the subjects in the unfolding of their narratives. (Kvale, 1996, p. 147). The following are some important considerations for the interview stage. STEP 1 – Recording the interview. Few authorities dispute that qualitative interviews should be recorded in their entirety. Recordings of interviews are critical to producing good quality transcriptions. The following are key considerations: Do not assume that it is sufficient to speak into a voice recorder to check the quality of the recorder. A recorder which is adequate for individuals to use to make memos, etc. may not be suitable to record an interview which is a much more complex recording situation. Always try out the equipment in a situation as close as possible to the research setting. Use the best quality recorder available since high-quality recordings both save time in the long run and help maximise transcript quality. If one is transcribing large amounts of interview material, then a recorder which facilitates back-and-forward movement through the recording is a big advantage. However, there are computer programs which can help with this when used with a foot control. It is useful to be able to monitor the sound quality during the course of the interview which means that a recorder capable of simultaneous recording and playback through headphones/earphones is a boon. It also means that the risk of nothing being recorded because of operator error is minimal. Digital recordings are generally to be preferred. Take precautions to make sure that you have the capacity to record a lengthy interview on your recorder. The quality of the microphone used will affect the quality of the recording. The use of an external microphone is usually to be preferred as it ensures a better quality recording of conversation. There are some microphones which are particularly good at recording more than one individual. 14 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson The quality of the recording will be affected by how close participants are to the microphone so try to ensure that all participants are seated near to it. Generally, faced with a choice, it is better to maximise the quality of the recording of the interviewee than the interviewer. Extraneous noise in the environment affects the clarity of the recording. Directional microphones may help if this is a problem. Try to avoid setting up the microphone in such a way that it picks up sounds caused by the movements of the interviewer or interviewee. Moving papers on the desk on which the microphone is placed may result in parts of the recording being impossible to transcribe. Stereo recordings are usually easier to transcribe. Video recording is more difficult and also more intrusive on the interview situation than sound recording. The interviewee may be reluctant to be recorded on video because they feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. This suggests that you should think very carefully before using video (and perhaps try out video as a preliminary measure before carrying out the research) when investigating highly sensitive research topics since videoing may exacerbate the situation. If your research does not really require video, it is probably best avoided. However, if your analysis is to involve the transcription of gesture and gaze then the use of video is essential. STEP 2 – Orientation stage of the interview. The major spoken contribution of the researcher in a qualitative interview is the introductory stage of the interview. In this, the interviewer begins the process of engaging with the interviewee by: introducing themselves; explaining the purpose of the interview and what it is hoped to achieve during the session; indicating the typical amount of time the interview will take; explaining the ethical basis of the research in general and in particular explaining that they, the interviewee, are free to withdraw at any stage and ask for their data to be destroyed; allowing an opportunity for the interviewee to ask any questions before the interview starts; throughout this process encouraging the interviewee to speak and respond extensively; explaining that it is the interviewee’s views, perceptions, responses, etc. that the researcher is interested in and that time is not constrained in terms of giving answers. 15 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson STEP 3 – What qualitative researchers ‘do’ when interviewing. The role of the interviewer in qualitative research can be best understood by considering what the researcher does and does not do during an interview: The interviewer does not normally take detailed notes. The detail often required for many types of qualitative analysis can only be achieved using a sound recording together with careful transcription. Generally speaking, the most detailed notes are inadequate for this purpose. Some researchers may prefer to take notes as an aid to their memory but this is not a requisite. Some, however, would question whether note-taking is appropriate during the qualitative interview. The case against note-taking is that it takes up some of the interviewer’s attention during the interview and that for the interviewee it may be distracting. For example, it may appear to signal that the interviewee has just said something particularly ‘noteworthy’. In contrast, it might be thought that note-taking is part of the interviewer’s active synthesis of what is being said during the interview. For the novice researcher, taking notes complicates an already difficult task and, perhaps, should be avoided until the other skills involved in qualitative interviewing have been mastered. If notes are to be taken, the question arises about what these should consist of. If the notes are seen as purely an aide-memoire then it becomes obvious that things such as names and dates should be noted down as one may refer to particular family members by name or sort out the chronological order of events. The qualitative interviewer normally does not do a lot of talking during the course of the interview itself. Doing so can be a sign of problems in the interview or inexperience. The qualitative interviewer does not interrupt the interviewee’s replies. Of course, accidental interruptions can happen but generally the interviewer should defer to the interviewee in these circumstances. During a qualitative interview, once the scene has been set and the arrangements clarified, the researcher is largely listening to the replies to the questions and issues raised by the interviewer. The direction of the interview is largely in the control of the interviewee though the interviewer may have to intervene when there is too much drift – the researcher’s primary role is to steer the interview when it needs to be focused or expanded. During the qualitative interview, the researcher is actively building a mental picture and understanding of what the interviewee is saying. It is essential that the researcher engages with the replies of the interviewee as it may be necessary to consider extending the questioning, insert probes, seek clarification or identify problems in the account. Sometimes this may involve very minor but crucial points of clarification (for example, just who is the participant talking about at this time?). Sometimes the structure of the narrative might be questioned (e.g. ‘So just when did this happen? Was it before you left 16 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson the children’s home?’). The researcher needs to ask themselves questions about whether what is being said by the interviewee makes sense in terms of what has been said before. The interviewer’s objective is to ensure that the detail in the participant’s answers is sufficient and to interrogate the information as it is being collected if necessary. This is very much in keeping with the view that qualitative data analysis starts at the stage of data collection. It also reflects the qualitative ideal that progress in research depends on the early and repeated processing of the data. The qualitative interview, because it requires active listening, absorption of what is being said and asking appropriate supplementary questions, places considerable demands on the interviewer. Consider the structured interview in contrast where recording the interviewee’s answers precisely is the most important task. There is no need in the structured interview to do much more than get brief answers from the respondent in order to ‘tick the right boxes’. This can be achieved without the level of involvement required by the qualitative interviewer whose work is likely to be ineffective without their full engagement with what is being said. The qualitative interviewer needs to be able to use silence effectively. One of the biggest faults of novice interviewers is not allowing the interviewee the necessary ‘space’ in which to both think and talk. A gap of silence does not indicate that a qualitative interview is going badly. Neither does it indicate a lack of skill on the part of the interviewer. Quite the contrary: being comfortable with silences is indicative of a good interviewer. This is quite different from normal conversation in which gaps in conversation tend to be avoided. By using silences effectively, not only does the researcher avoid shutting up the interviewee prematurely but the interviewee is encouraged into a more thoughtful and considered way of responding. From the viewpoint of the interviewee, if the researcher quickly fills silences then the impression may be created that the interviewer wants to proceed more quickly and that the interviewee is giving answers that are too long. Clearly this is an undesirable situation in light of the objectives of some qualitative interviews. Question asking: Unlike the structured interview, question asking in the qualitative interview should not be regarded as primarily for the purpose of presenting a standardised stimulus for the interviewee to respond to. Generally, in structured interviewing, the interviewer is encouraged to ask exactly the same question in exactly the same way. Only where it is apparent that the interviewee does not understand or asks for clarification is the standard interview ‘script’ departed from. In qualitative interviewing, the objective is to get the interviewee talking freely and extensively about the topic of the questioning. This means that the way questions are put will vary from interview to interview since the needs of the interviewees will vary. Furthermore, because it is vitally important in the qualitative interview that the interviewer understands what is being said then the questioning needs to reflect this. Thus, reading the question out word-for- word may be inappropriate since it may be better to engage the eye of the interviewee to establish the person-to- person nature of the interview than to keep one’s head down in the list of questions. Questions in the qualitative interview 17 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson are structured in ways which encourage extensive responses and inhibit simple yes or no replies. So, for example, a question such as ‘Do you have a good relationship with your parents?’ may be an excellent question for a structured interview but inadequate for a qualitative interview, where a question like ‘Can you describe to me your relationship with your parents?’ may be more productive. STEP 4 – Bringing the interview to a conclusion. The end of a qualitative interview is not signalled simply by the final topic on the interview guide being reached. The satisfaction of the researcher and the interviewee is an additional important criterion. So there needs to be some consideration of the interview experience as part of the process of concluding the interview. It is always wise, at this stage, to leave the voice recorder running given that important information often emerges at this stage. The following are some of the steps which may be associated with the finishing of the interview: The interviewer may wish to take a short ‘time-out’ break to review the interview guide in light of how the interview proceeded. Topics not adequately covered may be returned to at this stage. The interviewee may be given the opportunity to discuss things that they think are of some relevance but which have not emerged thus far in the interview. The interviewer should thank the interviewee formally. The interviewer should enter a debriefing stage in which the interviewee’s experience of the interview is discussed. This may involve (a) allowing the interviewee to ask any questions they wish about the research; (b) checking that the interviewee remains happy that the recording can be part of the research; (c) providing names and contact details of organisations, etc. which might be able to deal with issues of a counselling or therapeutic nature arising from the interview (a psychologist must be qualified in order to offer such support and researchers are not in that position); and (d) obtaining feedback about the interview content and interviewing methods employed. WHAT HAPPENS FOLLOWING THE QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW? (After the Interview) There are a number of post-interview considerations to bear in mind: Support for the interviewer. While not all qualitative interviews involve sensitive and perhaps distressing material, some of them do. Interviews with victims of sexual abuse, sexual abusers, domestic abusers, those suffering bereavements and so forth all have potential for distressing the interviewer as well as the interviewee. Of course, during the interview, the interviewer avoids demonstrating their feelings and emotions. However, these will remain as baggage after the interview is over. How are they best dealt with? One approach is for the interviewer to have a confidant with whom he/she may work through the interview experience. This may be little other than just someone to talk to. Having ‘buddies’ who have experience of similar interviews or are currently involved in 18 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson the same sort of interview has its advantages. These are not therapeutic sessions in any formal sense but involve social and emotional support where necessary. This said, such discussions are not necessarily emotionally heavy but may, instead, be emotionally relieving in other ways. For example, while outsiders might think that discussions of interviews with child molesters induce strong negative emotions, post-interview sessions of this sort may be riddled with laughter. This is common in any work group dealing with distressing situations. Data protection and management. Usually as part of the ethical considerations for qualitative research, plans are presented or requirements imposed about matters such as the safe storage of the interview recording and its eventual disposal. These should be followed at the appropriate time. Data transcription. How to analyze qualitative interview? There are circumstances in which qualitative interviews conducted by, for example, therapists and counsellors can be regarded as ‘natural’ for the purposes of research. This is standard practice, for example, in conversation analysis. Numerous examples of qualitative researchers using interviews in this way exist, such as, the interviews conducted by police officers with suspects (e.g. Benneworth, 2006) and the interviews of therapists with their clients (e.g. Antaki, 2007). In these cases, the interviews were initially for professional purposes and their eventual research use secondary and even fortuitous. The ethics of using such resources in research needs to be considered. Participants, for example, may not know or expect that the recordings would be used for research purposes. Is it appropriate, then, to use their data? The choice of analysis methods for qualitative interview data is constrained by whether such data are natural conversation or not. If it can be regarded as natural conversation then qualitative analysis methods such as conversation analysis and discourse analysis are not ruled out. Therapeutic interviews are regarded as suitable for analysis – they are not produced for research purposes. Opinions seem to vary considerably on the issue of whether research interviews can be regarded as natural conversational data. One example of where research interviews have been used in this way is given by Rapley (2001). In this he raises the question of the role of the interviewer as a key player in the production of interview talk. The argument is that since interviews can be conceived of as being social interactions, then potentially they may be analysed in ways appropriate to any other social interactions. In Rapley’s paper, he explains how both the interviewer and the interviewee construct themselves through talk as particular types of people. The local detail of the production of interview data within a particular interview is important in analysing interview data irrespective of the analytic method adopted, he argues. Whether one would wish to carry out research interviews solely for such analyses to take place is somewhat unlikely – Rapley uses published interviews to make his points, for instance. Furthermore, judging 19 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson from the extracts he reports, these interviews were very conversational in nature since the contributions or turns of the interviewer and the interviewee were relatively short. It might be much more difficult to apply such an analysis to more typical qualitative interviewing. This reflects the distinction that Seale (1998) makes between (a) using interview data as a research topic and (b) using interview data as a resource for obtaining information which has some bearing on the reality of the interviewee’s life outside of the interview context. If one wishes to use research interviews as the object of study as Rapley (2001) does then this is a clear focus, but one which is very different from using the research interview as a means of gaining a perspective on the life and experiences of the interviewee. Although these constitute clear choices for the researcher, they are both appropriate methods of qualitative data analysis using research interview data. According to Potter (2003) among the disadvantages of the research interview for discourse analysis is that interviewees tend to take the role of theorists and experts since they are abstracted from the social context they normally inhabit. Furthermore, the relative value of an interview about a particular topic may be low compared with naturalistic talk if this can be obtained. One strategy that can be adopted is to base the interview on a more everyday conversation style in which the interviewer is a more active participant than in the more formal qualitative interview. If TV interviews are legitimate sources of data for analysis, what makes the research interview any different? Irrespective of all this, there are a number of analytic procedures which could be used, appropriately, in order to analyse the data from qualitative interviews: Grounded theory can be construed as a somewhat generic approach to qualitative data analysis which is not constrained by a particular interest in language in action, for example, unlike conversation analysis and certain forms of discourse analysis. Thematic analysis could be used since this merely seeks the dominant themes which underlie the content of the conversation. Phenomenological analysis or interpretative phenomenological analysis might be an appropriate approach if the interviews concentrate on how individuals experience phenomena such as health matters. Narrative analysis might be appropriate if the interviews took a substantial life- history/narrative form. However, some narrative analysts prefer to construct their qualitative interviews following McAdams’ (1993) scheme and those of others. Finally, in some circumstances a formal method of data analysis may not be necessary. This is most clearly the case where the researcher is using interviews as a way of obtaining basic knowledge and understanding before planning, say, a more focused research study. 20 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson When to use qualitative interview? To summarize, qualitative interviewing is a potential data collection method for a range of styles of qualitative research. It is probably least useful to the researcher whose primary objective is the study of naturally occurring conversation. Despite numerous advantages, there is no sense in which the research interview can be construed as naturally occurring conversation though it may share some features with it. We have seen that it is important to distinguish between the research interview and other forms of interviews by professionals and their clients which are commonplace. The job selection interview, interviews between doctors and patients, and police interviews can be conceived as naturally occurring conversation and, as such, analysed using methods designed for application to everyday conversations. Against the general rule, narrative analysis tends to use McAdams’ (1993) approach to qualitative interviews. However, this does not prevent the use of any other form of qualitative interview for narrative analysis if it elicits appropriate narrative material from the interviewee. A 21 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson researcher’s position in the realism–relativism debate also has a bearing on appropriate methods of data analysis. Researchers who adopt, say, a realist approach may find in the qualitative interview content which provides them with a viable perspective on a person’s life. That is, if the researcher accepts that what people say maps onto social reality though, perhaps, not with complete fidelity then the qualitative interview can provide narrative information which contributes substantially to a particular field of research. At the same time, it is obvious that the qualitative interview sheds no light onto how groups of individuals talk together about a particular topic. Focus groups, because of their interactive nature, are much better at doing this. Careful thought must go into the decision to use qualitative interviews in a particular study. While, in some cases, it is difficult to conceive of any other method, there are frequently alternatives to be considered. There is no question that such interviews are expensive in terms of time and resources. Consequently, they may be out of the question if, for whatever reason, the researcher needs a large sample. Now large samples are not typical of qualitative research, anyway, since the purpose of qualitative research is interpretation and not estimates of population characteristics. So the need for a large sample should set warning bells ringing, questioning the status of the research as qualitative research. Of course, the general question of whether the research is truly qualitative in nature should always be asked. For example, if a relatively simple research question is involved then a quantitative approach might be more appropriate given that structured questionnaires are cost minimal compared with qualitative interviews. This may appear to be a little patronising but experience indicates that sometimes student researchers, especially, reject a quantitative approach simply because they wish to avoid the problems associated with using statistics. However, if their research question is one which implies quantification or is expressed in quantitative terms, then a detour through qualitative methods is not only wasteful but it is also unproductive. So once the research question has been clarified (usually it helps to write this down) then its position on the quantitative–qualitative dimension needs to be assessed. As a simple example, how many women have depression after childbirth is clearly a quantitative question but how do women experience depression after childbirth is most probably qualitative. The qualitative interview can take a variety of forms, of course. Normally, we think of it as a one- on- one, face-to-face situation in which there is an interviewer and an interviewee. But this is far from the only possibility. There may be two or more interviewers and two or more interviewees. These have their own dynamics and their own requirements in terms of ethics among other things. The reasons for these variations are numerous. For example, an interview at home with a sex offender may require more than one interviewer for safety reasons. A researcher may arrive at someone’s home expecting to interview one person but the entire family wants to be involved. Furthermore, the face-to-face situation may be replaced with telephone interviews or lengthy exchanges over the Internet. These, for some research, may have advantages though their impersonal nature may impact on the research in a variety of ways. 22 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Evaluation of Qualitative Interviewing The ideal circumstances in which to use a qualitative interview are where the experiences, thoughts, life histories and feelings of an individual (as opposed to individuals as part of a group) are the researcher’s primary focus. The interview may, of course, be part of a series of interviews with different people allowing for comparisons between different participants or different types of participants. The qualitative interview might be regarded as one of the archetypal data collection methods in qualitative research in general. Nevertheless, the qualitative interview is not always the preferred source of qualitative data for all qualitative analyses. So, although the qualitative interview would be the data collection method of preference for interpretative phenomenological analysis because of its capacity to provide detailed accounts of experiences, it would not normally be the preferred method for conversation analysis given that research interviews are not the ordinary conversations of ordinary people. There is no set way of analysing the qualitative interview, which makes a simple evaluation of such interviews impossible and one is almost always faced with a choice of qualitative analysis methods. The method chosen will depend partly on what research questions the researcher is addressing. Of course, the actual quality of the interview is determined by rather different factors from the ones which determine that it is relevant and appropriate for a particular research study. The qualitative interview requires careful preparation if it is to achieve its full potential as a way of collecting pertinent data. The following may be helpful in putting the method into context: The apparent subjectivity of the qualitative interview is not a particular problem in qualitative research terms – indeed it is an advantage. The ethos of quantitative research may be to seek to capture an objective reality but this is not the case for qualitative research. The qualitative researcher may, instead, wish to explore the different viewpoints of participants in the research or the ways in which participants talk about the research topic. Subjectivity issues, of course, do arise where the researcher seeks to regard interview data as representing reality rather than different viewpoints on reality. In a sentence, ultimately interviews are about what the participants say about what they think and do rather than about what they actually think and do. Participant observation/ethnography might be more appropriate where it is important to document what people do rather than what they say about what they do. The qualitative interview has advantages over focus groups in that it allows the researcher substantial control over the data collected. In contrast, the focus group hands even more control to the group under the researcher’s guidance. A group of individuals may develop an agenda for discussion which is quite distinct from those of the individual members. This does not make it invalid; it merely is different. Focus group researchers have far less time to devote to the individual than to individual interviews. But, then, the focus group is not intended to serve the same purpose as the individual qualitative interview. 23 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Like most other qualitative data collection methods, the qualitative interview is extremely flexible and is not necessarily constrained by a conventional structure. For example, the researcher might wish to use family photographs and get the participant to talk about these as part of a study of families. In qualitative research, qualitative interviews may be combined with other data collection methods. An obvious example of this is their use in the context of ethnographic or participant observation approaches. The qualitative interview can be used in a variety of ways in relation to research. For instance, many researchers have used the interview as part of a preliminary, exploratory, stage for their research especially when the topic is a relatively new one and the researcher cannot rely on the inspiration of the previous research literature on which to build their ideas. Quite simply, there may be a lack of knowledge on a particular topic and the obvious initial stage of research would be to talk to those people who may have experiences, thoughts and ideas which are relevant to the research topic. Out of these interviews, the researcher hopes to generate ideas for research which are grounded in people’s experiences. However, it is wrong to think of the qualitative interview as merely an idea-generating technique. It may be useful used in this way but this use tends to undermine the qualitative interview since it implies that there are better methods of doing the ‘real’ research. The qualitative interview can provide information which is, in itself, sufficient for the purposes of the research. The resource-intensive nature of qualitative interviewing should always be a consideration. This, in the end, may lead to the view that the qualitative interview is the only practicable choice to achieve the researcher’s aims. On the other hand, the researcher should question why it is that they need to use the qualitative interview. What is it about the research question which cannot be addressed in different ways? Indeed, has the researcher done sufficient preparatory work (e.g. the literature review) to be sure that the research question could not be addressed in other ways more effectively? There are many circumstances in which there are no feasible alternative ways of data collection. For example, it is not possible to do observation-based studies of contraception use. 24 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson FOCUS GROUP WHAT ARE FOCUS GROUPS? Like many other qualitative data collection methods, it is difficult to say precisely what a focus group is. Gibbs (1997) summarises the variety of available definitions by identifying what appear to be the key features of a focus group. These, she suggests, are: organised discussion; collective activity; social events; interaction. From these, it is clear that a focus group involves interaction. But so do other research methodologies. So, for example, how does a focus group differ from a normal interview? Well, a focus group does involve a researcher asking questions –though the interviewer is called a ‘moderator’ in focus group research. There can be more than one moderator – one an expert in focus group methodology and the other an expert in the subject matter of the research, for instance. However, a focus group involves not a single interviewee but typically six to ten ‘members’ (the recommended range varies). But even these two features do not fully define a focus group since the key to focus groups is the opportunities for interaction between members of the group when responding to the questions posed by the moderator. This dynamic interaction between people in the focus group is the remaining major distinctive feature of focus groups though it could be claimed to characterise participant observation and ethnography too. So, obviously, focus groups have some of the elements of an interview – that is, the researcher guides the discussion by posing questions. Nevertheless, it would be incorrect to describe focus groups as multi-respondent interviews because this fails to recognise the centrality of group interaction in focus groups. Furthermore, it cannot be described as a group discussion because the focus group discussion is planned, steered and controlled by the group moderator rather than members of the group. In the interview, the interviewer has the strongest control on events with, normally, the interviewee being less influential. Typically, in a focus group, the moderator has considerable control but this is impacted by the relatively greater influence of the group and the interaction between group members. The point of a focus group is to take advantage of the interaction between group members which may produce information different in certain respects from that produced by a separate interview with each group member. Considerable effort is taken when planning a focus group study to optimise the contribution of these group dynamics. This is why, for example, the size of a focus group is usually stipulated to be in the six to ten- member range. This is not so big that participants feel swamped by the number of other people trying to have their say and not so small that the group dynamic fails to generate good discussion. 25 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Similarly, focus groups try to avoid other features which might adversely affect interaction. So, for example, the members of any particular focus group are chosen so that they are similar in status. Sitting in a focus group with, say, your line manager and the top boss would not only inhibit most of us from participating but would also influence what we have to say. This is one reason why members of focus groups are often (but not always) chosen because they are strangers and unlikely to be in contact with each other in the future. Just a caution – focus group practice is extremely varied and there are always exceptions to every rule, seemingly. The advice given in this chapter does not constitute a set of rules but some rules of thumb plus a little insight which will help you plan a focus group. So, focus groups have their dynamic quality as a defining feature. It should be pointed out that other data-gathering methods have their own dynamics. However, the focus group relies on the self-stimulating power of the group to generate data which might not be available through other means. It has to be remembered that focus groups generate data which are partly a product of the focus group dynamic. Consequently, it may be a mistake to think that what is said in a focus group reflects motivating factors in other situations. This ability to generate ideas through discussion is one of the advantages of the focus group method promoted by its advocates. In effect, the members of the focus group are given the task of making sense of the issue. This is achieved through group dynamics – that is, through the relatively normal processes of discussion and debate among ordinary people. This is very hard to emulate using conventional interviewing techniques with a single interviewee. Focus groups may be used in at least three different ways: As an early stage of research in order to explore and identify what the significant issues are. To generate broadly conversational data on a topic to be analysed in its own right. To evaluate the findings of research in the eyes of the people that the research is about: that is, in discussions of research conclusions. For the researcher, the focus group has other advantages: that is, most of the resources come from the participants. The researcher generally ‘facilitates’ the group processes in order to ensure that a pre-planned range of issues is covered but, at the same time, allowing unexpected material to enter the discussion. So, ideally, the researcher does not dominate the proceedings. If necessary, the researcher steers the discussion along more productive lines if the group seems to be ‘running out of steam’. For this reason, the researcher conducting the focus group is known as the moderator or the facilitator. It is probably misleading, if not wrong, to regard focus groups as an alternative to ordinary interviews. They simply are not the same thing and cannot meet the same functions. In much the same way, it is clear that focus groups do not aspire to the same representative sampling that surveys do. Indeed, focus group methodology adopts a radically different approach to participant 26 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson selection and recruitment. The focus group method needs to be understood in its own right and not regarded as a ‘cheap and cheerful’ substitute for ‘better’ ways of conducting research. HOW TO CONDUCT FOCUS GROUPS? One could typify the focus group as a group interview with about six to ten similar people, conducted by a skilled moderator, and lasting up to about one and a half to two hours. The focus group is dynamic in the sense that the moderator encourages interaction between participants but controls the situation so that all participants get an opportunity to contribute. A lot of hard work goes into the planning, organisation and analysis of focus groups in order to produce good quality data. For example, the size of a focus group – usually, but not invariably, between six and ten people – is important. As has been mentioned, the consequence of having too many group members is that it is harder to get a turn at speaking and some may not like speaking to a large group of people. If there are too few members in a group then the focus group may lack stimulation, thus stultifying proceedings. The work of the researcher can be divided into a number of components: Planning recruitment of participants running the focus group analysis of the focus group data. One must appreciate that focus group methodology has no single purpose and that focus groups can be used for several, quite distinct purposes. According to Calder (1977), there are three different approaches to the use of focus groups: The exploratory - This describes attempts to generate information and knowledge in a field which has previously been largely under-researched. So it is a trawling approach which seeks basic knowledge and ideas in a new field. The clinical - This describes attempts to understand why people do what they do using the skills of a trained analyst or expert. The phenomenological - This is the use of focus groups by researchers to understand things from the point of view of other groups in society. The researcher will learn how different sorts of people feel about something. This list is, perhaps, less than complete since the focus group can be used for purposes which are not listed. So, the trialling of new consumer products in focus groups in order to consider improvements prior to production would, at best, only loosely fit into the first category. But we can see something of the flexibility of the focus group in Calder’s scheme. Although it is usual to speak of focus group methodology, it would be only in exceptional cases that a researcher conducts just one focus group. Normally, the researcher plans to compare several focus groups 27 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson on a topic using different categories of members for different focus groups. However, advice on how to conduct a focus group can vary. STEP 1 Planning the study – The origins of a study may be at the initiative of the researcher or may be instigated by other people such as organisations commissioning research. In either case, it is important to develop a (shared) understanding of what the study is about. So there should be clarity about the following (according to Krueger & Casey, 2000): The research problem that the study will attempt to illuminate. The factors which led to the study being commissioned. Often, for student work, these factors will be a class exercise, a dissertation or research project as part of one’s degree, or similar. Each of these will place different demands on the study planned. The specific purpose of the study. The types of information which it is hoped the study will obtain. What types of information are the priority for the data collection. The person or persons who want the information that the study will collect. What will be done with the information. Each of these is relevant to the planning of the research in detail. Of course, some may seem irrelevant to student research. But that may be illusory. For a student, their supervisor is an important ‘client’. Has a clear understanding been reached between you and your supervisor on these matters? Even if there is no obvious ‘client’ for your research, can you address these questions? Also remember to have an appropriate degree of humility as a researcher and do not be afraid to seek the help and advice of other people. The job of the researcher is to find out, not to know. So you may wish to talk over issues to do with the research with key informants. STEP 2 Optimising the choice of group participants – Just what are the important characteristics of the participants in your focus groups? This is a matter not of defining sampling characteristics but of maximising the richness of the data. What sorts of participants will yield the most satisfactory information relevant to your research question? These, of course, may not be the most readily available potential participants since we are not talking ‘convenience sampling’ here but purposive sampling aimed at optimising data quality and relevance. A good example of this is the customers who send for a holiday brochure but never purchase any of the holidays. This would be a particularly good group of participants for a focus group study trying to understand the factors which are influential on holiday purchases. One approach is to provide such non-buyers with a free holiday with the only cost being taking part in a focus group for a couple of hours. Of 28 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson course, without having details of a proposed study it is difficult to suggest groups of potentially data-rich participants. The only rule-of-thumb would be that there is likely to be a variety of particularly significant types of group members and that the more effort put into their inclusion the better. One consequence of such a strategy is that people in the optimum categories are likely to be at a premium since they have particular characteristics. So, it is important to do as much as possible to ensure that those approached actually turn up to the focus group: Ask yourself why people would be prepared to take part in your study. What is the best way of making your request to ensure that they will take part? What are the gains for them as individuals or as members of society? Consider appropriate inducements though in light of the ethical considerations. Contact potential group members at least two weeks before the intended date of the focus group. This gives them time to plan their attendance by putting it in their diary and rescheduling their activities if necessary. The closer to the day of the focus group the more likely that you find that participants have other things scheduled. Follow up an agreement to participate with a ‘courtesy’ thank you letter or e-mail. Remember to give participants a ‘courtesy’ telephone call on the day of the group meeting (or the day before perhaps) to check whether any problems have arisen. The main point of this is that is serves as a reminder. Consider the convenience of your study for potential participants rather than yourself. Make it easy for people to take part. There is little point in scheduling your focus groups at times which make it difficult for your ideal participants to attend because, say, they have to be at work. Similarly, where would it be most convenient to hold the focus groups from the point of view of the participants? They may be deterred by lengthy journeys to the research site and so forth. Choose the best person to make the invitations. Although it may feel natural that the researcher should invite people to participate, there are circumstances in which someone else might do a better job at recruitment. Personal contacts are often the most effective. So, a local person with lots of contacts may obtain more recruits than yourself. For one reason, they help establish your bona fides as a researcher. Put thought into the question of how you are going to recruit people with the characteristics you desire in your study. So, you may wish to consider the following possibilities: Are there any key individuals who may have access to the sorts of people that you need? For example, if you wish to study people who have survived cancer are there organisations to support cancer survivors? Can the organisation commissioning the research help provide access to suitable groups of participants? Would it be possible to contact a few suitable group members and then ask them to nominate others similar to themselves – as in snowball sampling? 29 | P a g e Private Use Only Field Methods Lecture Notes Topic: Qualitative Data Collection Source: Howitt D. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson Focus groups do not include representative samples and the choice of participants is largely to optimise the productivity of the discussion. At best participants in a focus group typify the sort of person with the characteristics specified by the researcher. If a variety of different sorts of participant are selected for a particular focus group, they should be chosen in a way which would be expected to maximise the productivity of the group discussion – some mixes of participants could inhibit discussion or make the focus group unmanageable. Of course, experience in running focus groups will lead to better and more refined judgements about group membership. Finally, in this step, you need to think carefully about what you tell your recruits concerning the focus group before the group meets. Gibbs (1997) offers the following practical advice. Only provide focus group members with sufficient detail to allow them to decide whether or not to participate. They should not be given any indications of the questions that will be asked in advance of the meeting otherwise they may work out their own views which may be fixed and not responsive to spontaneous group processes at the meeting. STEP 3 Optimising the group structure – The point of a focus group lies in the directed discussion produced by the focus group members. It follows from this that a focus group should involve all of the group members reasonably equally. If one or two members dominate the focus group then this defeats the purpose. Although it is the responsibility of the moderator to prevent individuals from dominating the proceedings, problems may be built into a focus group if the choice of members was not optimal. In particular, it is generally the case that a focus group with similar people of equivalent status is conducive to quality data in focus group research. On the other hand, a focus group consisting of people of different social statuses or superiors and subordinates have a built-in imbalance which may result in some people dominating the group. The moderator can limit this to a certain extent by inviting individuals to talk in various ways or limiting the length of contributions to a minute or two. However, groups whose dynamics

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