- 1.Gathering Data Through Interviews
2. REVIEWING THE RESEARCH PROCESS Topic Identification Choosing
a Research Topic (Assignment 1) Methodology Social Survey
(Assignment 2) Interview (Assignment 3) Data Analysis &
Interpretation Report Writing (Assignment 4) 3. The Interview
- on a topic of mutual interest for knowledge production
4. Purpose of the interview
- A communication tool to gather
- information for a research study
5. Why conduct an interview?
- Obtain information not available elsewhere
- Obtain first hand information
6. Types of Interview Informal Conversation Standardised
Open-endedQuestions asked in the natural course of things Exact
wording and sequence of questions are predetermined No
predetermined question topics or wordings All interviewees are
asked the same basic questions in the same order 7. 1.Planning
Literature ResearchIdentify information gaps State general goals of
the interview From goals to specific objectives Transla tespecific
objectives into questions 8. Pre-Interview Process
- Start off with a telephone call or email
- Follow up with a formal letter to
-
- confirm time and venue of interview
-
- re-state what the study is about
-
- identify the scope/ area the interview will cover
9.
- Interview E-mail_vetted.docx
10. 2.Designing Questions
- Important to identify your specific objectives and translate
these into questions
- Decide on types of questions to use
- Ask simple, open-ended questions
- Avoid questions with one or two word answers
- Plan sequence, rank the questions in case time runs short
11. 2.Designing Questions
- Framing of questions- must match the education level , cultural
standing and knowledge of the interviewee
- Check the wordings carefully to see if it could be offensive to
the person
- Prepare prompts in case the answer is not specific enough for
your information gap
- Do a trial run on your friends
12. Wording of Questions
- Wording should be open-ended.Respondents should be able to
choose their own terms when answering questions.
- Questions should be as neutral as possible.Avoid wording that
might influence answers, e.g., evocative, judgmental wording.
- Questions should be asked one at a time.
- Questions should be worded clearly.This includes knowing any
terms particular to the program or the respondents' culture.
- Be careful asking "why" questions.This type of question infers
a cause-effect relationship that may not truly exist. These
questions may also cause respondents to feel defensive, e.g., that
they have to justify their response, which may inhibit their
responses to this and future questions.
13. Types of Topics in Questions
- One can ask questions about:
- Behaviors -about what a person has done or is doing
- Opinions/values -about what a person thinks about a topic
- Feelings -note that respondents sometimes respond with "I think
..." so be careful to note that you're looking for feelings
- Knowledge -to get facts about a topic
- Sensory -about what people have seen, touched, heard, tasted or
smelled
- Background/demographics -standard background questions, such as
age, education, etc.
- Note that the above questions can be asked in terms of past,
present or future.
14. Sequence of Questions
- Get the respondents involved in the interview as soon as
possible.
- Before asking about controversial matters (such as feelings and
conclusions), first ask about some facts.With this approach,
respondents can more easily engage in the interview before warming
up to more personal matters.
- Intersperse fact-based questions throughout the interviewto
avoid long lists of fact-based questions, which tends to leave
respondents disengaged.
- Ask questions about the present before questions about the past
or future.It's usually easier for them to talk about the present
and then work into the past or future.
- The last questions might be to allow respondents to provide any
other information they prefer to add and their impressions of the
interview.
15.
16. Things to bring:
- Trustworthy writing materials
17. 3.The Actual Interview
- A social and interpersonal encounter
- Not a data collection exercise
- Establish an appropriate atmosphere for participants to feel
secure and to talk freely
- Note the ethical dimension of the interview- on and off record
remarks
18. 3.The Actual Interview
- Be adept at active listening
- Keep conversation going, motivate participants to provide
freely information required
- Take note of non-verbal communication and gestures
19. Meeting the Interviewee
- Consider how the location and context of the interview would
affect how the interview is conducted
- Take only as much of the respondents time as you need
- If you plan to record the interview or take photographs,
request permission first.
- Make sure YOU are not in a rush for your next appointment.
- Respect your interviewees wish for off the record
- THANK your respondent for time taken.
20. Key skills to practise
- Revising additional questions on the spot
21. Probing
- Consider the questions below:
- Why did you choose this line of work?
- Is this what you really wanted? Have
- you ever consider anything else?
- Probing to go beyond the surface answers
22. Summarising
- For situations when interviewee gives you a very long answer
that elaborates a few key points
- Check that you have understood by asking;
- So what happens in the entire process
- is basically X, Y and then Z when condition A is present- is
that correct?
23. Paraphrasing
- When answers sound confusing or are full of jargon
- Seek clarification by paraphrasing/ rephrasing respondents
answers
- Would it be fair for me to say X causes Y with Z being produced
as a by-product?
24. Re-Focusing
- Situation:Interviewee gets side-tracked and you need to gently
bring them back to the main topic
- Thats quite funny..But lets talk about.
- Now, going back to what you said earlier on.
25. Follow-up Questions
- Allow for further exploration in a related area
- Based on some interesting or relevant information given by the
interviewee
- Could you tell me the story briefly? .Thats interesting.Why did
your parents hope that you would grow up with that characters
traits?
26. Devising Additional Questions
- You might have picked up an interesting idea during the
interview and followed it up with a question or two to assess its
relevance
- Mark it out in your notes so that at the end of the interview,
if theres still time, you can go back to that thread of
conversation and see if you can learn more about it.
27. Video clip on Interview Skills
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eOynrI2eTM
28. The Post-Interview Process
- Send a thank-you card or letter within a day.
- Dont procrastinate review of the interview immediately.
- Are there inconsistencies and discrepancies in the
information?
- Are there gaps in the information?
- If there are, phone your respondent to check for accuracy or to
fill an information gap. (Keep this short)
29. The Post Interview Process
- Transcribe the interview recording
- Evaluate and summarise the content and the process of your
interview
- Respect respondents views about anonymity and what to include
when citing them
- Never take advantage of a respondents indiscreet comments
- Be sure to send a copy of your transcript to the interviewee to
confirm that youve represented the person accurately
30. 4.Transcript Writing
- Essential information to include:
31. 4.Transcript Writing
- A record of the social encounter
- Field notes and tape recorders are used to assist with
transcribing
- Systematically go through data, line by line
- Write a a descriptive code by side of each piece of datum
32. 4.Conventions to use
- Common conventions include:
- ----- for hesitant pauses,
33. 4.Tightening up the transcript
- Recordings will have false starts, redundant uhs and uhms.
These can be left out.
- Grammar may be cleaned up if it is not the point of the
interview.
34.
- Exemplar Interview Transcription (2011 Y1).docx
35. 5.Analysing Qualitative Data
- Data on transcript are interpreted data
- A reflective interaction of the researcher and the data
- Hence the potential for data loss, distortion and
simplification during transcription
36. 6.Verifying
- Issues of reliability, validity and generalization of the data
from interviews should be discussed
- Subject is multi-disciplined; covering statistics, probability
and psychology
37. Final words- Things to consider
- Many interviewees say what they think interviewer wants.
- Many interviewees are concerned about coming across well.
- Many interviewees know more than they tell you.
- None are obliged to help you
- http://www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/intrview.htm
- http://www.engl.niu.edu/wac/interview.html
38.
- Interview_Report[Edited].doc
- 2009 Y1 RE Exemplar Final Report _Gambling_ with
comments.doc
- 2012 Interview Skills Guidelines.doc