1. How to Conduct a Research Interview
CBR 105:
How to Conduct a Research Interview

2. Objectives
Upon completion of this workshop participants will be able to:
List the key principles associated with CBR
Recognize cultural considerations critical to CBR interviewing
Describe the interview planning process
Differentiate b/w qualitative and quantitative interviews
Design quantitative and qualitative interview guides
Apply good listening skills and best practices for good interviewing practices. 2

3. Agenda
Unique qualities of CBR research; culturally sensitive interviewing
Interview planning process
Choosing between quantitative and qualitative interviewing; preparing the questions
Listening skills
Mock interviews
Thinking through potential issues

4. Introductions and Opening Activity
This workshop is about interviewing, we will get to know each other by interviewing one another
In 1 minute jot down a few questions to ask your partner
Then, you will each have 2 minutes to interview your partner
After the interviews are completed, everyone will take a turn introducing their partner to the group

5. Debriefing the Activity
What did you notice about what types of questions people asked?
How did you decide what questions to ask your partner?
Which questions were most helpful to us as a group in getting to know each other?
How did it feel to be interviewed? What worked and what didn’t (aside from the lack of time)?
What can we learn about interviewing for research from this exercise?
Discuss the following as a large group and record ideas on flip chart:
What did you notice about what types of questions people asked?
How did you decide what questions to ask your partner?
Which questions were most helpful to us as a group in getting to know each other?
How did it feel to be interviewed? What worked and what didn’t (aside from the lack of time)?
What can we learn about interviewing for CBR from this exercise?

6. 1. Interviewing for CBR
What do you think is unique about interviewing for CBR?
How do we define CBR?

7. Definition of CBR
CBR is a: “...collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community with the aim of combining knowledge and action for social change to improve community health and eliminate health disparities” (W. K. Kellogg Community Health Scholars Program , as cited in Minkler & Wallerstein, 2003)

8. Principles of CBR
Just to remind you of what CBR is….but I know that you remember it entirely from other workshops…

9. Considerations for Cross-cultural Interviewing
Common problems associated with cross-cultural interviewing include:
Researchers making false assumptions
Researchers perceiving difference as odd
This can misdirect:
The research interview
The nature of the data
The interpretations

10. Insider / Outsider Issues
When an interviewer and interviewee do not share a common frame of reference there can be issues of:
Physical access
Social access (how much the interviewee shares)
Meaning-making
These issues can exist even when the interviewer is an ‘insider’. (Shah, 2003)
**EXAMPLES???**

11. Tips for Culturally Sensitive Interviewing
Provide cultural sensitivity training for researchers on the interviewees’ beliefs, values, behaviors, and communication styles (Schaller, Parker, and Garcia, 1998).
Involve community members as much as possible in the interviewing process to ensure relevant questions and approaches (Padilla and Lindhom, 1995).
When possible, match the researchers to participants from a cultural perspective and form cross-cultural research terms (Shah, 2003).

12. Watch out for stereotypes!
Exercise 1
Working in small groups describe the communities you each work with
Pick one community and make a list of beliefs, behaviours, and communication styles characteristic of the group that would be helpful for interviewers to know about
Be prepared to present your results to the group
Watch out for stereotypes!

13. 2. Interview Planning Process
Determining a focus.
What do you want to know about? Why?
What have others done?
How much time/resources do you have?
How will you reach potential participants?
What permission(s) do you need?

14. What is Your Focus? Why do you want to study what you want to study?
What is your rationale?
What do you want your research to achieve?
What are the ‘research goals’?

15. What have Others Done?
How have others asked similar types of questions? (check the literature, colleagues, peers)
Can you use or adapt a pre-existing instrument to meet your needs? 15

16. How Much Time and Resources do You Have?
Time-line, deadlines
Resources:
Dollars
# and type of interviewers, training and support
Honoraria for participants, peer interviewers
Space
Taping, tapes and transcription
Software, computer for analysis
Translation/interpretation

17. How Will You Reach Potential Participants?
Would in-person interviews be best or would phone or work better?
Is a mailed questionnaire possible or necessary?
If in-person, where would be safe and private? Could you find a room/space close by?
What style of interaction will be most effective?

18. Permissions Community protocol around interviewing
What doesn’t this group like? What might they react to?
Agency protocol
ED, Board, research committee requirements
Funder Protocol: what do they ask for?

19. Permissions Research ethics board (REB) Formal ethics proposal
Has to be done well before the interviews start
Need to submit copies of your interview guides 19

20. 3. Quantitative vs. Qualitative Interviews
What is the difference between
qualitative and quantitative interviews?

21. Quantitative Interview
Closed questions
Aiming for clear answers (that can be quantified)
Often focused on the descriptors/variables and their relationship
e.g. Number of days in hospital

22. The Checklist
Please select all of the ice cream flavours that you have eaten in the last month?
Chocolate
Vanilla
Strawberry
Banana
Other: __________ (please specify)

23. Ranking
Order the following ice cream flavours by preference (where 1=your favourite & 4 = your least favourite)?
Chocolate ___
Vanilla ___
Strawberry ___
Banana ___

24. Likert Scale
Please rate the degree to which you agree/disagree with the following statements:
1) Ice cream is my favourite dessert.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
2) Ice cream is a healthy dessert option.

25. Qualitative interviews
In-depth (an hour +)
Personal, challenging and time-consuming
Relatively few questions, often open ended
Structured, semi-structured, or unstructured.
A way of finding out what others feel, experience, understand
Often taped and transcribed

26. Sample Qualitative Interview Guide
Introduction, thank you’s, confidentiality, taping
Why are you participating in this research study?
Please describe what kinds of supports and services you’ve used in the past?
If someone were to ask you to explain cognitive therapy, what would you say?
Could you describe any turning points or key moments in the process?
What is an image or symbol to describe your experience of cognitive group therapy ?
Is there anything else I should know?

27. Tips for Both Types of Interview Guides
Keep the number of questions to a reasonable limit so as not to overwhelm.
Pilot your guide and test it first.
Be open to redesigning the guide if it’s not working.
Consider social desirability bias.

28. Exercise 2 – Preparing & Discussing Different Types of Interview Questions
In small groups, choose a topic related to one of the interviewee populations you brainstormed characteristics for earlier. Keep in mind cultural sensitivity issues.
Team 1: Develop a quantitative interview guide with questions.
Team 2: Develop a qualitative interview guide with at least questions.
Once completed, regroup, share your questions, and give each other feedback.
Volunteers for new interviewers to start us off.
Volunteers for new interviewees.
Come up to front.
Set up the chairs the way you want.
Dim the lights if you want, you can bring paper…
Try to do an introduction that befits your type of interview.
Welcome your participant…
Start the questions.
Rest of you: team 1: write down some kudos or positive comments about the interviewer is doing.
Team 2: write down suggestions for how the interviewer could improve his or her technique and questions.

29. 4. Listening Skills Volunteers for new interviewers to start us off.
Volunteers for new interviewees.
Come up to front.
Set up the chairs the way you want.
Dim the lights if you want, you can bring paper…
Try to do an introduction that befits your type of interview.
Welcome your participant…
Start the questions.
Rest of you: team 1: write down some kudos or positive comments about the interviewer is doing.
Team 2: write down suggestions for how the interviewer could improve his or her technique and questions.

30. Acquiring Critical Listening Skills
Listening takes up half of all our waking time.
Requires effort and skill, but suffers from the effects of a fast paced, impatient, advertising driven ‘Western’ world.
Not just ‘hearing’ (physiological): complex psychological, cognitive and cultural dimensions.
Includes perception, organization, remembering and responding.
Responding is often overlooked, but it will change a dialogue or dynamic.

31. Barriers to Listening
Obstacles to listening are both external (noise) and internal (preoccupation, prejudgment, lack of effort)
Nonlistening:
Pseudolistening
Selective listening
Literal listening
Ambushing

32. Central Components of Listening
Start by being mindful:
being present, in the moment and paying close attention
Ask questions .. seek to understand
Paraphrase and clarify.
Goal is understanding.

33. Central Components of Listening
Enhanced by practice of FELOR
F=face your speaker
E=make eye contact (if appropriate)
L=lean in
O=stay open
R=relax 33

34. Exercise 3: Partner Activity - Listening Practice
Work in groups of 3 (Listener, Talker and Observer)
Decide who will listen and who will speak first.
The speaker will talk for 2 minutes about something important to him/her.
Listener will listen actively and use the techniques we talked about to show he/she is listening.
After 2 minutes – listener is to restate the key points back to the talker. Talker validates information/
Observer is to share what they noted during the exchange
Rotate until each team member has taken on each role
How did it feel to be the speaker?
What did you partner do to let you know you were really being listened to?
How did it feel to be the listener?
What kinds of obstacles did you face when listening? (prejudgement, ambushing, selective listening)
What do you think you have to work on as a listener?

35. 5. Mock interviews

36. Exercise 4: Mock Interview Guidelines
Interviewers and interviewees stay in character, keeping in mind all skills learned from the day
cultural sensitivity issues, listening skills
Observers take note of and be prepared to give feedback on:
Verbal and non-verbal communication (FELOR, cultural sensitivity)
Quality of interview questions
Mock interview guidelines
Explain that they will now get a chance to try out one of their interview guides that they created earlier. Have them get into their prior small groups of four and choose which guide they would like to try out (quantitative or qualitative). They should pick one person from the group who will use the guide to interview someone from another group. (5 min)
Ask for volunteers to serve as interviewees for another group (1/group). Explain that interviewees will need to role-play their responses even if they don’t know much about the topic. They should refer to the list of the characteristics of the population they are role-playing and attempt to incorporate these characteristics into their role-play as realistically as possible and without going overboard. The rest of the group should take notes as observers and be prepared to give the interviewer and interviewee feedback. Each mock interview should last about 5-10 minutes. The debrief after each mock interview should last about 5 minutes. Encourage observers to comment on not only the interview interactions but the quality of the questions, thus, applying all learnings from the day. Show slide 43: Debriefing the interviews after each interview. Do half of the groups, then a 5-minute break and then the rest after the break. (15 min/interview + debrief; 95 min)
Large group debrief: (10 min)
How was this experience for you?
What did you learn about interviewing from it?
What issues came up and how might they be addressed?

37. Exercise 4: Debrief of Interviews
Interviewers reflect:
How did you feel?
What did you do well?
What could you have done better?
Interviewees reflect:
Observers provide feedback and comments on:
What was done well
Suggestions for improvement
Interviewers respond.
Kudos and critiques

38. 6. Issues in Interviewing

39. Some Key Issues Others? Breach of confidentiality Misinformation
Safety
Inappropriate/odd behaviour
Compensation
Others?

40. Objectives
Having completed this workshop participants should now be able to:
List the key principles associated with CBR
Recognize cultural considerations critical to CBR interviewing
Describe the interview planning process
Differentiate b/w qualitative and quantitative interviews
Design quantitative and qualitative interview guides
Apply good listening skills and best practices for good interviewing practices.

41. Workshop Evaluation Your feedback is extremely important!
Please complete the workshop evaluation….
Thank you!

42. How to Conduct a Research Interview
CBR 105:
How to Conduct a Research Interview