Week 2

Interviews
Types of Qualitative Interviews
• Semi structured 1
– Schedule of questions; flexibility in questions
– Interviewees answer in own terms; some comparison across
interviewees
• Unstructured
– Topic headings guide
– Interviewee talks from own perspective;
– Develop unexpected themes
– Emphasis of research can change
• Similarities
– Exchange of dialogue and topics covered flexibly
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Many types of interview
For example,
• Standardized
• In-depth
• Ethnographic
• Life history
• Semi-structured
• Group
• Exploratory

They sometimes can involve artefacts to encourage

discussion (e.g. with children)
How many interviews?
• Data saturation: sampling until interviweees are saying
similar things

• Nature and purpose: commonality, difference, uniqueness,

complexity, comparisons, instances

• Practicality: time, funding, regulations

It depends on your research question!

(Flick, 2006; Denzin and Lincoln, 2000; Flick et al, 2000);

Strauss, 1987).

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Many types of question
For example,

• Factual • Experience
• Values/opinions • Behaviour
• General • Knowledge
• Specific • Feeling
• Descriptive • Follow-up
• Probe

Make sure questions are not leading!

Key features of interviewing
• An interview is a social and an emotional
encounter, not just a data collection exercise.
• Verbal and non-verbal behaviours are
significant.
• Context and dynamics exert an influence on
the interview.
• Age, gender, colour, class, dress, language,
appearance of the interviewers and
interviewees influence the interview.
Key features of interviewing
• Interviews must be conducted sensitively
• Some people (e.g. children) will say anything
rather than nothing
• Respondents may not be telling the truth
• It is the task of the interviewer to maintain
rapport
• It is the task of the interviewer to maintain
interviewee motivation and interest
Practicalities of interviewing: where?
• Public vs. Private

• Real (face to face) vs. virtual (Skype)

• Telephone interviews

• Interpretation of interviews (language)

Be aware of issues of difference/diversity in the

interview process e.g. issues of power, ‘race’, class,
gender, age etc.
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Elements of interviewing: talk
• Writing and sorting questions

• Specific and structural/contrast questions

• Listening

• Probing: silences, echo what interviewee says, un-

huh, say more, long questions, leading ,
provocative questions.

(Flick, 2004; Charmaz, 2006; Glaser, 1992).

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Prompts and probes

• Prompts: to clarify or explain to a respondent

• Probes: to investigate further (‘why’, ‘when’,
‘how’, ‘give an example’, ‘how did you feel’, ‘what’)
Responding to the interviewee
• Make encouraging noises.
• Reflect on remarks made by the informant.
• Probe the last remark made by the informant.
• Probe an idea preceding the last remark by the
informant.
• Probe an idea expressed earlier in the
interview.
• Introduce a new topic.
Completing the interview
• Cool down to finish. Think about: what happens after,
review experiences and important points

• Thank your respondent

• Re-visit the respondent/interview?

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Example interview
• http://is.gd/intUOS
– (watch independently)

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Anticipating problems in interviews
• Avoid interruptions and distractions;
• Minimize ‘stage fright’ in participants;
• Avoid asking embarrassing or awkward questions unless
they are important for the research;
• Avoid jumping from one topic to another;
• Avoid giving advice or opinions;
• Avoid summarizing too early or closing off an interview too
soon;
• Avoid being too superficial;
• Handle sensitive matters sensitively;
Anticipating problems in interviews
• Keep being interested;
• Keep to the interview schedule in a structured interview;
• Avoid giving signs of approval or disapproval of responses
received;
• Be prepared to move on to another question if the
respondent indicates unwillingness or inability to answer
the question;
• Give participants time to respond.
Transcribing and noting
• What was said
• The tone of voice of the speaker(s)
• The inflection of the voice
• Emphases placed by the speaker
• Pauses (short to long), hesitancies and silences
• Interruptions
• The mood of the speaker(s)
• The speed of the talk
ANALYSIS

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Analysis: approaches to starting coding
• A priori codes
– These can be identified from a range of sources:
– Previous research or theory
– Research or evaluation questions you are addressing
– Questions and topics from your interview schedule
– Your gut feeling about the data or the setting
– Video on a priori coding using pen and paper.
• Grounded codes
– Grounded codes emerge from the data because you put aside
your prejudices, presuppositions and previous knowledge of
the subject area and concentrate instead on finding new 18
themes in your data.
What to look for when you are coding

When coding in this second, open minded manner, you can

ask the following questions about the data you are coding:
• "What is going on?
• What are people doing?
• What is the person saying?
• What do these actions and statements take for
granted?
• How do structure and context serve to support,
maintain, impede or change these actions and
statements?"
(Charmaz 2003: 94-95; grounded theory tradition)

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NO. WHAT CAN BE CODED EXAMPLES
1 Behaviours, specific acts Seeking reassurance, Bragging
2 Events – short once in a lifetime events or things people Wedding day, day moved out of home for university, starting first job
have done that are often told as a story.
3 Activities – these are of a longer duration, involve other Going clubbing, attending a night course, conservation work
people within a particular setting
4 Strategies, practice or tactics Being nasty to get dumped,
Staying late at work to get promotion
5 States – general conditions experienced by people or Hopelessness “I’ll never meet anyone better at my age” settling for
found in organisations someone who is not really suitable
6 Meanings – A wide range of phenomena at the core of
much qualitative analysis. Meanings and interpretations
are important pars of what directs participants actions.

a. What concepts do participants use to understand their The term ‘chilling out’ is used by young people to mean relaxing and
world? What norms, values, and rules guide their actions not doing very much

b. What meaning or significance it has for participants,
how do they construe events what are the feelings
c. What symbols do people use to understand their
situation? What names do they use for objects, events,
persons, roles, setting and equipment?
7 Participation – adaptation to a new setting or
involvement
8 Relationships or interaction
9 Conditions or constraints
10 Consequences
Jealousy “ I just felt why did she get him”
A PhD is referred to as ‘a test of endurance’ (because finishing a PhD
is a challenge)
About new neighbours “In my new house I have to keep my music
down at night as the neighbours have young children”.
Seeing family “ Now my sister lives in the next road she visits more
and we’ve become much closer.
Lose of job (before financial difficulties), moving away (before lost
contact with old friends)
Confidence gets dates, positive attitude attracts opportunities

11 Settings – the entire context of the events under study University, work place, housing estate

12 Reflexive – researcher’s role in the process, how Probing question “How did you feel when he said that?”
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intervention generated the data
Examples in Blackboard
Own home
Lonely
Independence
Moving out of
parents
Conflict
Dependence
Desire for
company

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Descriptive and analytic coding w/ notes.

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Coding scheme
(Question) Topic Coding Coding … (response)
category category sub-
category

Look at Blackboard for examples

First look at the resources yourself (also:

chapter 30 Cohen)

Will pull back later in the session

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Example coding and theming
In Blackboard as well 2

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