CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS
and Focus Groups
COMPARING QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW
TYPES
Quantitative
Unstructured
Semi-structured
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2)
Qualitative
No predeveloped questions in survey or
interview guide
Predeveloped questions – may be
administered in no established order;
questions may be added depending on
circumstances.
Predeveloped questions – established
order - questions can be answered in the
same way each time
OPEN-ENDED INTERVIEWS ARE USED IN QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH – DIFFERS FROM QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES.
Set of questions generally focuses on one concept
or set of experiences/perceptions to be measured
(for example, comparison of products/candidates;
perceptions of community needs; youth
experiences).
 Response categories are not predetermined.
 Comparisons among responses are made after
data analysis – decision to compare made based
on obvious patterns in the data.
 Sampling – nonprobability – purposive or
snowball sampling strategies are commonly used.
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INTERVIEW OR CONVERSATIONAL GUIDES
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List of open-ended questions is prepared in advance by the
researcher.
Purpose of the interview is to solicit detail and depth.
Never, ever, use yes/no questions unless you plan to follow-up yes/no
responses with a more detailed question.
Never solicit one or two word responses without follow-ups.
Be careful with why questions – you will probably need follow-ups.
“Please explain” or “Describe” may be better.
“How” questions usually produce detailed responses.
What questions sometimes result in one or two word responses and
should be used sparingly.
Questions should focus on the interviewee’s perspectives, opinions,
attitudes, and experiences.
You also can ask about events, life history, and the respondent’s
perceptions of others, culture, or the respondent’s surrounding
environment.
Asking for explanations about the respondent’s opinions or
perceptions is also important.
RUBIN AND RUBIN DESCRIBE THE
PROCESS OF QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS AS
SOLICITING
Vividness – ask respondents to give examples or
“draw a picture” that includes not just facts but
emotion. How did the event make the respondent
feel?
 Nuance – are things always what they seem or
simple (i.e. black and white)? What other things
should be considered. Question broad
statements. Look for exceptions.
 Richness – interview should contain many ideas
and different themes. Encourage respondent to
elaborate – ask for more examples, especially
when responses are unexpected.
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TYPES OF QUESTIONS CAN INCLUDE
Questions should focus on the interviewee’s
perceptions, opinions, attitudes, and experiences.
 You also can ask about events, life history, and
the respondent’s perceptions of others, culture, or
the respondent’s surrounding environment.
 Asking for explanations about the respondent’s
opinions or perceptions is also important.
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INTERVIEWS HAVE SEVERAL COMPONENT
PARTS
Main questions identified in advance (6-10).
 Follow-up questions (for example, asking for
more detail or nuance in individual responses).
 Probes – techniques used to keep a discussion
going.
 Questions can be skipped or order varied
depending on the flow of conversation.
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INTERVIEW GUIDE CONSTRUCTION
TIPS
Only address one concept per question, although
qualitative questions may contain subparts
and/or follow-up questions/probes
 Don’t write the question to solicit a specific
response
 Questions should be tactful and should not
invoke a social stigma.
 You may use filter questions – (yes/no or short
word responses); respondents asked successive
questions based on one response.
 Demographic questions are generally asked at
the beginning or end of interview. You may have
the respondent fill out a demographic
questionnaire in advance of the interview.
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6.
Can you describe how you first became aware of your
deafness
How do you see yourself today, in terms of your deafness?
What does your deafness mean to you?
Can you describe any particularly difficult or traumatic
experiences in your life related to your deafness?
Can you describe how you fit into deaf culture?
To what extent do you consider yourself active in both the deaf
world and the hearing world?
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
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Interviews are not anonymous, but you must provide
confidentiality.
Respondents should be asked to sign a consent form.
Respondents should be given a consent form to keep in
addition to the one signed and returned to the interviewer.
Most face-to-face interviews are taped. The respondent must
agree to be audio-taped or video-taped. The researcher can
still take notes on the interview if consent to be taped is not
granted.
Tapes and notes should be kept in a secure place. Anything
that could identify the respondent (such as tapes) should be
destroyed at the conclusion of the research.
The only exception to this is in field research – consent to
participate is inferred when respondent speaks to researcher.
The process of entry or acceptance is the procedure used to
establish consent in ethnography and field research.
For most formal interviews, respondents should receive a
cover letter that introduces the researcher and contains much
of the information in the consent form (human subjects
protections etc).
FOCUS GROUPS MAY ALSO BE USED TO CONDUCT
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH.
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FOCUS GROUPS:
Are used to assess people’s perceptions about programs,
candidates, products or services.
Are used to generate recommendations for changing programs,
products, campaign strategies, and services.
Are often used in conjunction with needs assessments or to
generate ideas or explore themes that can be used in
descriptive studies.
Are used to answer questions about how or why programs
work.
May be used in conjunction with other research methods.
Include six to eight participants who are selected using
purposive sampling methods – some researchers will try to
find a “representative sample”; others will try to find people
with similar characteristics – but will want a variety of
opinions.
Utilize a semi-structured interview guide with 6-8 questions.
Require that a facilitator ask each of the questions and solicit
responses from members.
Are used to generate a common response or a consensus from
group members.
FOCUS GROUP EXAMPLES:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6617577456912837335
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fklf6Y946jI