Qualitative Research Methods Interviews Alexandra Bousiou (School of Public Administration)

Qualitative Research Methods Qualitative research study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomenon in terms of the meanings people bring to them In qualitative study inquirers state research questions, not objectives (i.e. specific goals for the research) or hypotheses (i.e. predictions that involve variables and statistical tests). –Example: How do students use program development tools?

What Are Qualitative Interviews? “…attempts to understand the world from the subjects' point of view, to unfold the meaning of peoples' experiences, to uncover their lived world prior to scientific explanations“ A qualitative research interview seeks to cover both a factual and a meaning level, though it is usually more difficult to interview on a meaning level. Participant's responses are open-ended and not restricted to choices provided by the researcher

Why Use Interviews? May be the only data gathering technique for the study Can lead to the development of new ideas and hypotheses, or to the discovery of new dimensions of a problem to be studied. Complements and supports other research methods Can be used to develop valid and understandable questionnaires. May be used as a follow-up to explore issues that have emerged from a questionnaire in more depth.

Types of Interviews Unstructured Structured Semi-structured

Types of Interviews Unstructured Interviews –Researcher has a small set of self-prompts to help investigate the research question, but questions are not fixed. One question can lead to a number of follow-up questions depending on the response. They tend to be more like conversations than interviews. –Useful when exploring a new area.

Types of Interviews Structured Interviews –The questions are fixed and predetermined as is the sequence of questions. No new questions can be added during interview, and questions are given to interviewee (generally several days) before the interview begins. –A lot of senior managers prefer time to prepare their answers.

Types of Interviews Semi-Structured Interviews –Some interview questions are fully decided, whereas others might not be fixed. The researcher has leeway in asking follow-up questions. –This is the ideal compromise, it gives a structure to the interview, but also gives flexibility.

Aspects of Interviews Interviews are a far more personal form of research than questionnaires. Unlike with mail surveys, the interviewer has the opportunity to probe or ask follow up questions. Interviews are time consuming and they are resource intensive. The interviewer is considered a part of the measurement instrument and interviewer has to avoid bias

Stages of Qualitative Interviewing Thematizing – setting your research question. Designing - plan the design of the study. Interviewing - conduct the interview based on a guide. Transcribing - prepare the interview material for analysis. Analyzing - decide on the purpose, the topic, the nature and methods of analysis that are appropriate. Verifying - ascertain the validity of the interview findings. Reporting - communicate findings of the study based on scientific criteria.

Interview Questions Tips Get the respondents involved in the interview as soon as possible. Before asking about controversial matters, first ask about some facts. Ask questions about the present before questions about the past or future. The last questions might be to allow respondents to provide any other information they prefer to add and their impressions of the interview.

Interviewing Tips Establish a rapport Treat interviewees with respect Keep the lead of the conversation Think about body language Maintain firm eye contact Don’t Invade their space

Technical Aspects Prepare an informed consent form How are you going to record? –Tape recorder –Pen and paper –Video recorder

Transcribing your Interviews Before finishing check your recorder Transcribe you interviews the SOONEST Add to your transcriptions any other useful notes you, about the setting, hesitation or eagerness

Analysis - Simple Tabulation IntervieweeMoneyFamePowerSocial Fulfilment Other Person Person Person … … … … … … ….. Reasons for Choosing a career

Analysis – Categorize Your Data Use ones from the literature –They will have validated the categories, and you will have something to compare with. Use categories connected with your research question Derive categories from data

Advanced Qualitative Analysis Meaning Coding –Adding tags or keywords to text segments that represent the main themes of the interviews Meaning Condensation –Summarising larger sentences into short, simple sentences. Meaning Interpretation –Adding more details, background and context to specific parts of the interview

Language Analysis Linguistical Analysis –Looking at the linguistics and grammar Conversation Analysis –Treating the interview as a conversation Narrative Analysis –Treating the interview as a story Discourse Analysis –Try to evaluate the truth of the responses Deconstruction –Taking the interview apart and putting together again

Verifying your Data Validity –Can you check the truth of the statements? e.g. number of employees in organisation, number of customers Reliability –Are there any internal contradictions? Did you include the same question twice expressed in different ways to check the truthfulness of the responses? Generalizibility –How do the answers agree with broader research and other interview answers?

Reporting Communicate findings in a scientific and ethical manner. Keep the anonymity of your sources Structure your report

FAQ on Interviews How do I think of questions for the interview?  All questions need to come from the research question of the experiment  If you find literature with a sufficiently similar research topic, you can use or adapt those questions

FAQ on Interviews How many people should I interview?  12 ±10 people

FAQ on Interviews Are there situations where I shouldn’t use interviews?  Yes, loads of situations, e.g. electoral voting behaviour, or capturing a person’s attitudes and interactions with their environments.

FAQ on Interviews When should I do the interviews?  As part of the initial problem setting  As part of the evaluation process

Final Tips Decide on an order of questions that easily flows one to the next Try to use language that is easy to understand and relevant to the interviewee Avoid Leading questions Try to stop the interviewee using qualifiers Add a few control questions into the interview for validation Avoid smalltalk during the interview LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN