Week 5 Lecture 5: Interviews Flashcards
ethnography or participant observation purpose/aim
learn about behaviours, interactions in natural settings, studying cultural aspects of a setting, particular concepts
in depth interviews purpose/aim
explore individual experiences and perceptions in rich detail
focus groups purpose/aim
generate unique insights into shared experiences and social norms
document review and/or film review purpose/aim
identify patterns of communication, decscribe characetristics of organisations or processes
approaches to interviewing (different purposes) (5)
- journalistic interviews (entertainment)
- job interviews (assess suitability for job competitively/comparitively)
- police interviews (figure out what happened/if you are guilty)
- history taking or clinical interviews (get medical history for diagnosis)
- research interviews (research)
all have different purposes
Forms of interview
3
- structured
- semi-structured
- unstructured
look at photo of flow chart, use goodnotes tape
Structured interviews
= verbal questionnaire according to pre-set list of questions in set order
- quantitative
Semi-structured interviews
= list of themes to initiate conversation, some pre-set questions, no pre-set order
Unstructured interviews
= in-depth interviews, questions depend on previous answers, interview directed mainly by informant
In-depth interview (Lofland, 1983)
= “guided conversation” (Lofland, 1983)
In-depth interview (Minichiello, Aroni, Hay, 2008)
= “Conversation for the purposes of research between the researcher and informant focusing on the informant’s perception of self, life and experience, expressed in his or her own words” (Minichiello, Aroni, Hay, 2008)
Should you use semi-structured or in-depth interviews? ( questions to ask self) (6)
- Does the purpose of your research suggest using semi-structured or in-depth interviews?
- Will it help to seek personal contact in terms of gaining access to participant and their data?
- Are your data collection questions large in number, complex or open-ended?
- Will there be a need to vary the order and logic of questioning?
- Will it help to be able to probe interviewee’s responses to build on or seek explanation of their answers?
- Will the data collection process with each individual involve a relatively lengthy period?
When to use in-depth interviews (11)
- want individual perspectives
- addressing sensitive topics
- when there are concerns about fears of reprisal
- when structured survey approaches do not work (questions missed the point)
- exploratory and ‘testing’ research
- understanding why people believe they behave in the ways they do
- understand what meaning people ascribe to events, actions, behaviours
- understand experience of group of people
- understand culture of group of people
- gather how people make sense of everyday lives/activities
- gather what common set of symbols and understanding have merged to give meaning to interactions between people
Ontological view
= worldview
Interviewing in health research
4
- exploring how biological, social, cultural, economic and historical factors intersect to influence how people experience illness and how these factors affect health outcomes
- understand the meaning or nature of experiences, feelings, thought processes and emotions associated with illness
- for public health and policy
- research examining organisations
Does an interview provide:
stories and narrative accounts of the world
or
direct representations of the world
stories and narrative accounts of the world
Resource issues with interviewing
- time
- cost
- logistics of scheduling interviews
- taking notes or recording
- initial data analysis (listening and deciding what to ask)
12 Steps in a study design using interviewing
- Research question
- Research design planning
- Ethics
- Determining data management
- Sampling
- Recruitment
- Scheduling place and time of interviews
- Recording interviews
- Management of interview process
- Orchestrating transcription of interview recordings (research diary)
- Analysis of transcripts and recordings/notes
- Dissemination
Kvale’s Stages of Interviewing (7)
- Thematising
- Designing
- Interviewing
- Transcribing
- Analysing
- Verifying
- Reporting
Interview schedule/aide memoire
= framework for interviewer: list of initiating questions and possible probing questions (that you worked out to be nice beforehand)
Types of Interview Questions
8
- descriptive
- structural
- contrast
- opinion/value
- feeling
- knowledge
- sensory
- demographic/background
Ways of probing
- Silent: nod slowly, tilt head
- Echo: repeat last statement, ask to continue
- Neutral: encouraging “I see”, “uh huh”
- Direct: “tell me more”
- Phased assertion: imply you already know something and encourage discussion
- Detail: who, what, when, where, how?
- Clarifying: “you said ‘x’, what do you mean by that?
Silent probing
nod slowly, tilt head
Echo probing
repeat last statement, ask to continue
Neutral probing
encouraging “I see”, “uh huh”
Direct probing
“tell me more”
Phased assertion probing
imply you already know something and encourage discussion
Detail probing
who, what, when, where, how?
Clarifying probing
“you said ‘x’, what do you mean by that?
Types of probing
5
- clarification
- nudging
- Devil’s advocate
- hypothetical
- posing the ideal
Neuro-linguistic programming (Bandler and Grindler, 1979)
e.g. mimicing successful people to become successful
Funnelling
“run the funnel the other way” broaden not narrow
Life grid approach
give structure for them to give narratives
what is the research instrument in an in-depth interview?
THE RESEARCHER
structure of interview
3
- Initiating
- Probing
- Closing
Advantages of interviews
- confidential
- access to sensitive or controversial points of view
- enables contact with life experiences and perceptions of those experiences that cant be studied other ways
- understanding of meanings and contexts
Disadvantages
- time
- money
- difficult with topic participants don’t know much about
- don’t necessarily gain diversity of opinions unless specifically sampling for such
- difficult to do well
