week 3 Flashcards
interview design
Structured interview: structured, semi- structured
Unstructured
Structured
Questions (and often possible responses) are determined in advance.
Likely to use mostly closed questions, possibly supplemented by open-ended questions.
Thus suitable for quantitative designs as well as qualitative.
Same questions; Same order = No flexibility.
More like a questionnaire delivered face-to-face or over the phone.
Audio recording & transcription not always necessary….
Semi-structured
Main questions & possible follow-up questions determined in advance.
Interviewer free to improvise follow-up questions and prompts depending on what the interviewee says.
Likely to use mostly open-ended questions, which may be supplemented by closed questions for the purposes of information gathering.
Usually audio recorded & transcribed.
Unstructured Interviews
More conversation-like than a structured interview.
Typically used in qualitative research conducted over time allowing participants to express themselves in their own ways and at their own pace.
Aim is to lessen the power of the interviewer in the interview relationship.
May include some prompts that are aimed at focusing the participant on the topic at hand.
See Corbin & Morse (2003)
The Different Structures of Interview Questions
structured: do you use any relaxation techniques to manage stress yes no
Semi-structured: please can describe any relaxation techniques you use to manage stress and how effective you find them
Unstructured: please tell me about how you deal with stress
Designing Interview questions
Aim for broad questions centred around the meaning of experiences or broader meaning making.
More often How…? rather than Why?
Sometimes your approach might inform your research questions and sometimes your research questions might inform your approach…
What makes a good qualitative interview question?
non-assumptive, empathetic, open-ended, clear and precise, singular, avoid double negatives, non-leading, short, linguistically appropriate
Opening and Closing Questions (Braun & Clarke, 2013)
Interview should start with an introducing question:
Remember you should introduce yourself etc.
Question should be open-ended, but not too open!
Examples:
Can you tell me about…?
How do you feel about…?
Interviews should end with a closing/clean-up question.
Examples:
Is there anything that I haven’t asked that you feel is important?
Before we close the interview, do you have any final thoughts about …?
That’s everything that I planned to ask. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?
Sequencing Questions (Braun & Clarke, 2013)
Questions should flow logically and cluster around topics.
Early questions should be less probing, sensitive and direct than later ones.
Funnel questions: General -> Specific.
E.g. You’ve already mentioned …, can you tell me more about why this important to you?
Structuring questions can be useful for indicating shift from one topic to the next.
Interview flexibility in semi-structured approaches.
Probing and Elaboration
Why probe further?
What might you want to probe?
Descriptive detail.
Specific memories.
Clarifying detail.
Explanatory detail.
(Robinson, 2023)
What kinds of questions might you use to encourage participants to elaborate on their answers?
Probes and Prompts
why, how, could you give an example, what do you mean by, how did that make you feel
interview considerations
ethics, participant distress, participant is a stranger, interviewing across difference, power imbalances and vulnerable populations, participant is someone you know
Starting an Interview
Greet the participant, thank them for their participation and offer refreshments (if they have come to you…).
Explain the research – make sure the participant can read and sign the consent form (& are aware of their right to withdraw, confidentiality, etc.).
Allow time for questions.
Explain that you hope the participant feels able to go into detail in their answers, and that there are no right or wrong answers.
Collect necessary demographic information e.g. questionnaire and explain why.
Explain recording procedure.
Explain your note-taking processes so the participant is aware that you may drop eye contact at times.
Check they are comfortable and ready to begin the interview…
During a (semi-structured; unstructured) interview
Use questions, prompts and probes flexibly.
Note-take…but…
Be attentive to your own body language:
Show interest
Make eye contact
Make confirmation-of-listening sounds, e.g. “mmm”, “aha”
Be non-judgemental/wary of your own reactions to participant responses.
Monitor your empathy and self-disclosure (based on your pre-interview thinking/decisions).
Use silence – remember, you don’t need to fill it!
If you remain silent after someone has stopped speaking, they will often start speaking again when they are ready to.
Allows for thinking time but can feel uncomfortable at first…
Ending an interview
Use your closing question.
Check the participant is happy to end – do they feel they have said all they would like to?
Turn off the recorder.
Thank participant & ask if they have any questions about the study.
Debriefing – Participant.
