INTERVIEWS

INTERVIEWS

1. Interviewing is a frequent part of the social life surrounding most of us: we can hear interviews on the radio, watch people being interviewed on television, and we ourselves often participate in interviews of various types either as interview

   • Focus group: suggests/ involve a group format whereby an interviewer records the responses of a small group. This is obviously an economical way to gather a relatively large amount of qualitative data and therefore focus groups are used for a variety of purposes in many different fields.
     • Composition: Heterogeneous samples consisting of dissimilar people could in theory be useful in providing varied and rich data that covers all angles, it has been found that the dynamics of the focus group works better with homogeneous samples.
     • Conducting: In focus group interviews the interviewer is usually referred to as the 'moderator', and this special name reflects the fact that the researcher's role differs from that in one-to-one interviews. Although they still need to ask questions, during the session they need to function more as facilitators of the discussion than as interviewers in the traditional sense.
       • •Introduction: The process starts with an introductory phase, in which the moderator welcomes the participants, outlines the purpose of the discussion and sets the parameters of the interview in terms of length and confidentiality.
         • The actual discussion: follows broadly. the interview guide but even a semi-structured guide does not usually contain plore than 5-10 broad, open ended questions accompanied by a few closed-ended questions. After all, the strength of this format is the discussion that emerges about a broad topic.
           • The conclusion: the moderator needs to ask if there are any issues or concerns that require further discussion or have not yet been addressed. Because of the group nature of the session we also need to include a short winding down phase and some positive feedback so that nobody leaves the session being dissatisfied with themselves or with the social image they may have projected.
     • Number or parallel focus group: The standard practice is to run several focus groups in any research project. In this way we can mitigate any idiosyncratic results that occur because of some unexpected internal or external factor that affects the dynamics of a group.
   • Conducting the interview
     • Recording: has a technical and a theoretical aspect. The technical is straightforward: we must make sure that the technology works. so that we end up with good quality recordings. Although this may sound self-evident,it is amazing how frequently researchers do not end up with good quality recordings.
       • Starting: The first few minutes of the interview session are important because this is the time when we set the tone/climate of the interview arid 'sell ourselves', that is, establish our credentials and make ourselves accepted.
         • Conducting: A good qualitative interview flows naturally, with the various parts connecting seamlessly. We must remember that we are there primarily to listen (and not speak) - this is, in fact, the first of Robson's (2002) general recommendations on interviewing-
           • Ending: We can signal that the interview is nearing the end by using pre-closing moves such as summarizing or recapping the mam points of the discussion.
   • Preparing for the interview and designing the interview
     • Using an interview guide helps the interviewer in a number of areas: (a) by ensuring that the domain is properly covered and nothing important is left out by accident; (b) by suggesting appropriate question wordings; (c) by offering a list of useful probe questions to be used if needed; (d) by offering a template for the opening statement; and (e) by listing some comments to bear in mind.
       • Question types and wording
         • The first few questions: they set the tone and create initial rapport. If the interviewees feel that they can do themselves justice when answering these initial questions, this will make them feel competent, help them to relax and consequently encourage them to open up. This is why researchers often start with easy personal or factual questions
           • Content questions: points out that on any given topic, it is possible to ask any of six main types of question focusing on: (a) experiences and behaviours, (b) opinions and values, © feelings, (d) knowledge, (e) sensory information place), and (f) background or· demographic information.
             • Probes: use what the interviewee has said as a starting point to go further and to increase the richness and depth of the responses.
               • The final closing questions: This permits the interviewee to have the final say. Several scholars have noted in the literature the richness of the data that simple closing questions
   • Main types
     • Single/multiple sessions: one-off event lasting about 30-60 minutes. It is recommended that researchers administer a sequence of three interviews. The first interview breaks the ice and develops rapport, while also providing a quick sweep of the areas to be investigated after. The second interview is more focused than the first, and in the third interview-the researcher can ask any 'mop-up' or follow-up questions to fill in and to clarify the account. The purpose of the three sessions is not to document temporal changes but to arrive at a full account.
       • Structured interviews: In this format,the researcher follows a pre-prepared, elaborate 'interview schedule/guide', which contains a list of questions -to be covered closely with every interviewee, and the elicited information shares many of the advantages and disadvantages of questionnaire data.
         • Unstructured: Allows maximum flexibility to follow the interviewee in unpredictable directions, with only minimal interference from the research agenda.
           • Semi-structured: It is suitable for cases when the researcher has a good enough overview of the phenomenon or domain in question and is able to develop broad questions about the topic in advance but does not want to use ready-made response categories that would limit the depth and breadth of the respondent's story. This. format therefore needs an 'interview guide' which-has to be made and piloted in advance.