Qualitative Interviewing Flashcards
1
Q
When is it appropriate for qualitative interviewing to be used?
A
- Often used in field research
Focus on interpretive meaning of life - Nuanced ⟶ want to understand connection between thought and broader context
- General research questions; NOT for cause-effect
2
Q
What are the similarities between an interview and a conversation?
A
- Greeting
- Absence of explicit goal
- Avoidance of repetition
- Question asking
- Expressions of interest
- Expressions of ignorance
- Turn taking
- Abbreviations
- Pauses are acceptable
- A closing
3
Q
What are the differences between an interview and a conversation?
A
- Consent from interviewee
- Purpose is to answer research question
- Repetition is included to ensure researcher’s interpretation is correct
- Researcher expresses more interest and ignorance
- Majority of questions are asked by interviewer
- Researcher asks about abbreviations to avoid misunderstandings
- Pauses can be used by the interviewer as a probe
- There is a formal closing to acknowledge that the interview is over
4
Q
What are the differences between an interview and survey from the interview perspective?
A
- No clear end; the interview can be picked up later
- Questions and order they are asked are tailored to specific people and situations
- Interviewer shows interest in responses and encourages elaboration (rather than neutrality)
- More similar to friendly conversational exchange, but with more interviewer questions
- Can occur in a group setting
- Interspersed with jokes, asides, stories, and anecdotes, which are recorded (rather than business-like)
- Open-ended questions are common, and probes are frequent
- The interviewer and member jointly control the pace and direction of the interview (rather than interviewer alone)
- The social context of the interview is noted and seen as important for interpreting the meaning of responses
- The interviewer adjusts to the member’s norms and language usage (rather than standard pattern)
5
Q
What are the key steps in preparing for a qualitative interview? Discuss relevant definitions.
A
- Research topic
- Preparation of interview guide
- List of questions a researcher wishes to address - Sample selection
- Nonprobability sampling - Decide on incentives
- Remuneration (cash) - Decide on interview site
- Often in participant’s home environment so they are comfortable
- Interview’s meaning is shaped by its gestalt (interaction between researcher and member in specific context) - Interview
- Record and transcribe data
- Selective transcription: only parts of interviews that researcher deems most relevant are transcribed
- Not best way to ensure findings are trustworthy
6
Q
What are the 9 question types?
A
- Introducing
- Follow-up
- Probing
- Specifying
- Direct
- Indirect
- Structuring
- Interpreting
- Silence
7
Q
What are introducing questions?
A
- General opening questions in which the interviewee is prompted to give his/her account of a situation/experience
- Eg. “Can you tell me about the first time you remember experiencing racism?”
8
Q
What are follow-up questions?
A
- Get additional description about topics just discussed by interviewee
- More information on interesting topics they brought up
- Eg. “What negative reaction are you referring to?”
9
Q
What are probing questions?
A
- Expand on incomplete points an interviewee has raised
- More information in general without indicating which part of answer they are interested in
- Eg. “Could you tell me more about that?”
10
Q
What are specifying questions?
A
- Questions to get more detailed descriptions about specific aspects of the interviewee’s descriptions
- NOT following a new path of inquiry like in Follow-Up; just getting more details
- Eg. “How did you react then?”
11
Q
What are direct questions?
A
- Introduced by the interviewer near the end (don’t want to influence interview too much) to address specific topics that may not have been covered
- Eg. “Have you ever left a job due to perceived racism?”
12
Q
What are indirect questions?
A
- Get a sense of how the interviewee believes other people think, behave, or feel
- Eg. “How do you think other employees regard racist behaviours in the workplace?
13
Q
What are structuring questions?
A
- Keep the interview on track if it has gone off topic or to keep the interview moving along
- Eg. “I would now like to discuss another issue…”
14
Q
What are interpreting questions?
A
- Ensure that the researcher is interpreting what the interviewee is saying as correctly as possible
- Eg. “From what I understand, you mean that…”
15
Q
What are silence questions?
A
Technique used by researchers (not saying anything) to get interviewees to continue speaking
