Interviews 6.1

Question 1

Unstructured Interviews

Answer 1

Qualitative, open-ended questions, a guided conversation, often paired with collection of observational data

Question 2

Semi-structured interviews

Answer 2

•Primarily qualitative, open-ended pre-determined questions
•more planned out than unstructured interviews
- Observational data typically not included
- Usually only conducted once

Question 3

Structured interviews

Answer 3

• Quantitative, primarily closed-response questions
• in-person surveys
• Limited number of response categories
• Aims: reduce bias and maximize generalizability

Question 4

Semi-structured interviews steps

Answer 4

• Plan
• Develop instruments, Interview protocol
• Conduct Interview
• Analyze data

Question 5

Individual in-depth interviews

Answer 5

Advantages
•Can collect rich, detailed data
•Help people feel comfortable
•Not in a public group or setting but more informal than a survey
•Helpful for developing survey questions

Disadvantages
•Prone to bias
•Need to have trained interviewers
•Socially desirable responding
•Being a “good” participant
•Time-intensive
•Not generalizable

Question 6

Important Interview skills

Answer 6

1) Develop rapport
2) Keep the conversation going
3) Keep the conversations focused and paced
4) Adapt a non-judgmental attitude and patience

Question 7

Developing Rapport

Answer 7

1) Apprehension (uncertainty due to unfamiliar context and situation)
2) Exploration(engaged in an in-depth description)
3) Co-operation(comfortable, not afraid of offending each other, satisfying conversation)
4) Participation ( greatest degree of rapport (may not get there))

Question 8

Introducing questions

Answer 8

Kick start the interview
and move it to the main
interview

Question 9

Follow-up questions

Answer 9

To direct questioning to

what has just been said

Question 10

Probing questions

Answer 10

To draw out more

complete narratives

Question 11

Specifying questions

Answer 11

To develop more precise
descriptions from general
statements

Question 12

Direct questions

Answer 12

To elicit direct responses

Question 13

Indirect questions

Answer 13

To pose projective

questions

Question 14

Structuring questions

Answer 14

To refer to the use of key questions to 
finish off one part of the interview and 
open another, or to indicate when a 
theme is exhausted by breaking off 
long irrelevant answers

Question 15

Silence

Answer 15

To allow pauses, so that interviewees
have ample time to associate and
reflect, and break the silence
themselves with significant info

Question 16

Interrupting questions

Answer 16

Like some forms of probing questions, 
used to rephrase an interviewee’s 
answer in order to clarify and interpret 
rather than to explore new 
information

Question 17

Throw away questions

Answer 17

To serve a variety or purposes, such as
relaxing the subject when a sensitive
issue has been breached

Question 18

Focus-group interviews

Answer 18

•Focused – the researcher shapes discussion around topic of interest
•Group – a small group of demographically similar ppts
- Typically, 6-8 people
- Homogeneity
- Relationship of ppts

Question 19

Focus group data collection

Answer 19

•Collect data based on the interactions and discussions of the ppts

Unit of analysis is the group (not the individuals)
•Distributed cognition
•Ppts respond to researcher & to each other’s comments
•Ideas develop as a group
•Different interpretations revealed as ppts communicate
•Social context influences what people say and do
•Group of people who agree – comfortable expressing self
•Group of people who disagree – more likely to explain individual points of view