INTERVIEWS

1. INTERVIEWS Chapter 10

2. Introduction • Interviews are one of the most important data gathering techniques for qualitative researchers • Interviews allow us to gather rich data from people in various roles and situations • A good interview helps us to focus on the subject’s world • Other data collection techniques include fieldwork and the use of documents Interviews

3. Primary and secondary data • Primary data – data which are unpublished and which the researcher has gathered directly themselves (e.g. interview transcripts, minutes of meetings) • Secondary data – previously published data (e.g. newspaper articles) • Primary data add richness and credibility to qualitative manuscripts Interviews

4. Types of interviews • Structured interviews • The use of pre-formulated questions, strictly regulated with regard to the order of the questions, and sometimes regulated with regard to the time available • Semi-structured interviews • The use of some pre-formulated questions, but no strict adherence to them. New questions might emerge during the conversation • Unstructured interviews • Few if any pre-formulated questions. In effect the interviewee has a free rein to say what they want. Often no set time limit

5. Focus groups • Most qualitative interviews are one-on-one, but group interviews can be used as well • The purpose of a focus group interview is to get collective views on a certain defined topic of interest from a group of people who are known to have had certain experiences • Focus groups enable a researcher to elicit opinions, attitudes and beliefs held by the members of a group Interviews

6. Potential problems using interviews • Artificiality of the interview • Lack of trust • Lack of time • Level of entry • Elite bias • Hawthorne effects • Constructing knowledge • Ambiguity of language • Interviews can go wrong Interviews

7. A model of the interview • One way to try to overcome the potential problems is to use a dramaturgical model of the interview • The dramaturgical model treats the individual interview as a drama Interviews

8. The dramaturgical model Interviews

9. Ensuring a good performance • Eliciting skills – try to use open questions in interviews • Open questions take the form ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘how’, and usually lead to answers that are open-ended and more descriptive • Listening skills • ‘An interviewer needs to follow the content of what is being said, listen to the meaning underneath the words, and then gently bring this into the conversation. He or she offers or reflects back what they have heard, so that the respondent can confirm, deny, or elaborate. This way of working creates empathy, deepens the conversation and ensures the meaning has been understood’ (Chrzanowska, 2002: 112) Interviews

10. Practical suggestions for interviewing • Try to interview a variety of people representing diverse views • Prepare beforehand • Use the mirroring technique • Be flexible and open to new lines of enquiry • As a general rule, tape your interviews Interviews