Lecture 5: in-depth interviews Flashcards
What is qualitative research?
aim: provide novel insights into phenomena that are difficult to measure
–> Description of processes, mechanisms, settings
- Builds on participant perspectives and experences
data often collected in natural settings = textual , visual or audible
systematic
prioritizing depth over breadt.
Primary sources of data
- Participant data collection
- Archival data collection
What are methods of Participant data collection
- in-depth interviews
- focus groups
- participant observation
What are methods of: Archival data collection
- Historical accounts
- Census data
- Actor specific publications
What are benefits of using in-depth interviews?
- Allows researches to gain insight into experiences, perceptions and motivations of actors
- Enables researches to collect data that does not exist in other form
- Allows researches to collect rich, in-depth data on a subject
- Can yield suprising data, novel insights into a research topic
- Paticularly suited to illustrate causal mechanisms.
What are research goals amenable to using in-depth interviews?
- Preparatory: tool for initial orientation into new field
- Systematizing: gathering descriptive evidence
- Exploratory: inductive tool for theory generation
- Confirmatory: deductive tool for theory testing
What are the ethical principles and standards towards your audience in research?
- Production Transparancy:
full account of procedures used to collect/ generate data - Analytical Transparancy:
Full account of how conclusions are drawn from data - Data access:
Reference to data used in claims; provide access or explain limitations
What is production transparency in research?
Offering a full account of the procedures used to collect or generate data
What is analytical transparency in research?
Providing a full account of how conclusions are drawn from the data, clearly linking data to conclusion
What are field research methods?
Qualitative methods used to study phenomena that cannot be easily counted, including interviews and observation.
What are the ethical principles towards research participants in qualitative research? (7!)
- “Do no harm” principle
- Informed Consent
- Confidentiality / Anonymity
- Participation / Withdrawal Rights
- Self-reflexivity in researcher-participant relationships
- Data Archiving / Privacy
- Transparency and Gratitude
Explain the levels of analysis using Coleman’s Bathtub.
**Cross-case level: **Identifies correlations or causal effects (X → Y) through comparative methods.
**Within-case level: **Identifies causal mechanisms by process tracing.
Causal Mechanisms: Three intervening steps — situational, action formation, and transformational mechanisms.
Q: What are the research objectives depending on the role of theory?
Case-centered studies (idiographic): Focus on single outcomes.
Theory-centered studies (nomothetic):
* Theory Building (Exploratory)
* Theory Testing (Confirmatory)
* Theory Adaptation
* Theories provide explanations for causal connections (A → B) and can be shown in arrow diagrams.
At which state of research process are interviews relevant?
- Preliminary stage: Identifying research avenues or refining concepts.
- **Main data source: ** testing descriptive and causal hypotheses.
- Part of multi-method research: To triangulate other methods or increase validity.
What are the types of interviewees in in-depth interviews?
Experts: Academics, advisors.
Elites: Politicians, economic elites.
Non-elites: Citizens, refugees, protesters.
Remember to create a sampling plan to determine who gets interviewed.
What is the Miner perspective in conducting interviews?
Goal is to access participants’ pre-existing knowledge.
Interviewer digs for ‘‘nuggets of’ knowledge, aligning with (post) positivism (Kvale & Brinkman 2009)
Ontololgy and Epistemology of positivism.
What are the philosophical perspectives on doing interviews?
- Miner perspective
- Traveler perspective
What is the Traveler perspective in conducting interviews?
Goal is to participate in generating and interpreting knowledge.
Interviewing is seen as a conversation, aligned with interpretivism.
Ontololgy and Epistemology of interpretivism.
How does the research approach affect interview structure?
Inductive (Theory Generating): More flexibility.
Deductive (Theory Testing): More structure.
What are the types of interview structures?
Unstructured: More conversational.
Semi-structured: Flexible guided conversations.
Structured: Protocol-based with predefined questions.
What are the key question types in interviews?
Open-ended questions: Example: “What are your views on recycling?”
**Non-leading questions: ** Example: “How did you react?”
Probes: Follow-up questions like “How?” “Why?”
Prompts: Directing attention to specific issues.
Probes
Follow-up questions like “How?” “Why?”
Prompts
Directing attention to specific issues
What skills are essential for conducting in-depth interviews?
- Rapport building: Establishing trust and connection.
Listening skills: Knowing when to ask probes, prompts, and when to pause.
**Other skills:
**Language proficiency, note-taking, intuition, and flexibility
- getting belong surface, framing of questions
What is the theoretical population?
Who do you want to generalize to?
What is study population?
Who can you get access to?
What is sample in study?
Who is in your study?
What is the sampling frame?
How do you get access?
What is random sampling
Gold standard for making generalizations from sample to the population
What is a sampling plan?
An integral part of research design, influenced by research goals and analytical purpose
Non-random sampling
Purposive sample = criterion-based interviewee selection
Convenience sampling = based on availability
What are mapping questions
Getting an overview / grand tour questions
What are the key aspects of conducting interviews?
Structure vs. flexibility
Types of interviews
Skills of the interviewer
What factors should you consider when designing a sampling strategy?
Choosing and ranking selection criteria:
1. Symbolic representation (who are relevant)
Sample diversity (capturing boundaries)
Prioritizing criteria (correlation)
> ** sample size**
Diminishing return / how many interviews do you need
Resources / how many interviews can you conduct
** recruitment**
materials
SO:
Symbolic representation
Sample diversity
Sample size
Resources
what is informed consent in Qualitative research ethics?
It refers to obtaining permission from participants, ensuring they understand the research purpose and their role in it before participation.
What is the importance of open-ended questions in interviews?
Open-ended questions allow participants to express their views freely, unlike closed questions that limit answers to specific options.
What is the purpose of probes and prompts in interviews?
- Probes are follow-up questions to elicit more detailed information.
- Prompts are used to direct the interviewee’s attention to specific issues.
What are the ethical concerns in conducting interviews?
Language barriers.
Hierarchical relationships.
Sensitive issues such as ethnicity or war.
How do in-depth interviews contribute to theory testing and theory generation?
nterviews can be used both as inductive tools to generate theory and as deductive tools to test theories, depending on their structure and purpose.
What are the basic criteria of interview questions?
Clarity: Questions should be clear and easily understood by participants.
Relevance: Questions must be directly related to the research topic and objectives.
Open-Ended: They should encourage detailed responses rather than simple yes/no answers.
Neutrality: Questions should be unbiased, avoiding leading language that could influence answers.
