Week 5 Reading - Minichiello et al. (2004)

Question 1

What is a recursive interview process?

Answer 1

conversational interactions between the researcher and interviewee, and the researcher decides how much previous topics influence the next topics.

Question 2

What is an interview schedule or interview guide or aide memoire?

Answer 2

A list of questions or a series of prompts and themes that an interviewer brings into the interview.

Question 2

What is funnelling

Answer 2

Beginning the interview with general and broad questions, then narrowing down.

Question 3

List some ethical considerations in interviews (Minichiello et al 2004)

Answer 3

• Attempts to establish rapport may lead the interviewer to feel uncomfortable in partaking in situations that they do anyway, for the sake of the interview.
• In garnering informed consent and providing resources, the researcher must consider any costs their research makes them liable for, such as the cost of subsequent counselling that their research caused.
• Time constraints for both informants and researchers limit the amount of data able to be collected and analysed.
• Researcher fatigue in facilitating interviews, and negotiating privacy with informants and participants.
• Establishing rapport and interpreting assumed knowledge in statements made by the informant, as well as how to manage confronting or difficult topics, and maintaining relationships with informants and gatekeepers.
• Approaching and negotiating with gatekeepers and stakeholders in accessing information and institutions.
• The ethics committee approach.

Question 4

What is storytelling? (Minichiello et al 2004)

Answer 4

asking questions in a manner that encourages storytelling

Question 5

What is probing? (Minichiello et al 2004)

Answer 5

eliciting points of detail or further clarification

Question 6

Examples of question types according to Kvale

Answer 6

introducing, probing, follow-up, direct, indirect, structuring, silence, interpreting

Question 7

Examples of question types according to Patton

Answer 7

experience/behaviour, opinion/values, knowledge, sensory, demographic/background, timeframe

Question 8

Problems to be avoided in planning interviews

Answer 8

Inflexibility from initial interview guide, being uninformed about your topic, poorly worded confusing or double-barrelled questions, not adjusting your line of questios when the informant raises issues, using only one type of question

Question 9

Berg’s model of classifying questions

Answer 9

Essential, extra, throwaway, probing

Question 10

One weakness of structured interviews (and lessons for future interviewers)

Answer 10

Structured interviews don’t go in depth and explore reasons, causes, etc.

• do not lead the informant by giving them words or ideas that they can either confirm or deny
• don’t cut them off

Question 11

What term is preferred for interviewees in qualitative vs quantitative research?

Answer 11

Qualitative: informant

Quantitative: subject or respondent