PRACTICAL RESEARCH I

PREPARING QUESTIONS
FOR A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH INTERVIEW
PREPARING QUESTIONS FOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH INTERVIEW
FOUR MAIN SOURCES OF DATA:
1. Interview
2. Focus Group
3. Observation
4. Documents
PREPARING QUESTIONS FOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH INTERVIEW
Decide what information you need.
Write down the research problem/objective/question. Determine the
broad areas of knowledge that are relevant to answering the questions.
 Types of Topics in Questions:
1. Behavior – what a person has done or is doing.
2. Opinions/Value – what a person thinks of a topic.
3. Feelings – what a person feels toward a certain subject.
4. Knowledge – what a person knows about a topic.
5. Sensory – what a person has seen, touched, heard, tasted or smelled.
6. Background/demographics – standard background questions such as age,
education etc.
PREPARING QUESTIONS FOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH INTERVIEW
Do Background Research on the Interviewee.

A brief research on the background and experiences of the person

you’re going to interview can help frame the right questions and guide
the interview.

 Adjust the language of the interview according to the respondent (child,

professional, etc..
PREPARING QUESTIONS FOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH INTERVIEW
Use Correct Wording of Questions
• Questions should be open-ended.
• Questions should be as neutral as possible.
• Questions should be asked one at a time.
• Questions should be worded clearly.
• Be careful with asking why questions.
PREPARING QUESTIONS FOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH INTERVIEW
Types of questions or other interview talk:
Direct questions: ‘Do you find it easy to keep smiling when serving
customers?’; ‘Are you happy with the way you and your husband
decide how money should be spent?’ Such questions are perhaps best
left until towards the end of the interview, in order not to influence the
direction of the interview too much.
Indirect questions: ‘What do most people round here think of the ways
that management treats its staff?’, perhaps followed up by ‘Is that the
way you feel too?’, in order to get at the individual’s own view.
Structuring questions: ‘I would now like to move on to a different
topic’. Or in getting the interviewee to elaborate his/her answer, such
as ‘Could you say some more about that?’; ‘What do you mean by that
. . .?’
PREPARING QUESTIONS FOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH INTERVIEW
Types of questions or other interview talk:
Probing questions: following up what has been said through direct
questioning.
Interpreting questions: ‘Do you mean that your leadership role has
had to change from one of encouraging others to a more directive
one?’; ‘Is it fair to say that what you are suggesting is that you don’t
mind being friendly towards customers most of the time, but when
they are unpleasant or demanding you find it more difficult?’
PREPARING QUESTIONS FOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH INTERVIEW
Feeling The Beat: The Meaning of Rap
Music for Ethnically Diverse
Midwestern College Students
By Iwamoto, Creswell & Caldwell (2007)
Research Questions:
1. What is the meaning ascribed to rap
music by six ethnically and racially
diverse students of Midwestern
College?
2. What is the context in which they
experience rap music?
3. How can rap music be used to deal
with everyday stressors and alter a
persons mood?
Interview Questions:
1. When did you first start listening to
hip-hop /rap music?
2. What was the experience like and
what does hip hop mean to you (the
impact it has made on you) ?
3. Who were/are your favorite artists?
Please describe
4. What have you learned or gained
from hip hop?
5. What is negative about hip-hop, and
how do you deal with the possible
negativity of the music?
PREPARING QUESTIONS FOR A
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH INTERVIEW
Sequence of Questions:
1. Get the respondents involved in the interview as soon as possible.
2. Before asking about controversial matters (such as feelings and
conclusions), first ask about some facts.
3. Intersperse fact-based questions throughout the interview.
4. Ask questions about the present before questions about the past or
future.
5. The last question might be used to allow respondents to provide any
other information they prefer to add and their impression of the
interview.