Interview

= Definition = A qualitative research interview can be described as a process where knowledge is created in the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee (Kvale, 1996) = Positivist Interviews = = Constructionist Interviews = = Types of Interviews = = Different Forms of Interviews = = Advantages and Disadvantages of Unstructured Interviews = = **Advantages and Disadvantages of Structured Interviews** = = Advantages and Disadvantages of Semi-Structured Interviews = = Types of Topics in Questions = = Interviews/Focus Groups-Positives = = Interviews/Focus Groups-Negatives =
 * Positivists believe the creation of 'pure' interviews
 * Positivists believe the interviews can provide a 'mirror reflection' of the social world. (Miller & Glassner, 2011)
 * Constructionist s reject the positivist views on interviews
 * Constructionists argue that the interviews are context-dependent and context-created and can only be used in studying how people behave on interviews
 * Face-to-face
 * Telephone
 * Online
 * Paper pencil surveys
 * Group interviews
 * Structured Interviews: close-ended questions, participant choose from a set of predetermined answers
 * Unstructured Interviews: conversations with a purpose
 * Semi-structured interviews: open ended questions but follows a general script and covers a list of topics-probing and participants respond in their own words
 * Advantages**
 * It is excellent for building initial rapport before moving into formal interviews, and those who would not want formal interviews-build well on observations
 * Increase the silence and relevance of questions
 * To obtain detailed description of individual experiences
 * Validity of the findings is high
 * Help to discover relevant questions and their appropriate working for semi-structured interviews and questionnaires
 * Disadvantages**
 * Less systematic and comprehensive if certain question do not arise, 'naturally'
 * Each interview tends to be unique-making difficult to analyze the data
 * It may take several conversation
 * Time consuming/does not work for those who wants to get to the point
 * Advantages**
 * Maintain a focus on a given issue
 * Provides detailed information on the issue
 * Provides structural relationships of concepts
 * Reduces bias
 * Facilitates organization and analysis of the data
 * Disadvantages**
 * Respondents must fit their experiences and feeling into the categories-impersonal, irrelevant, and mechanistic
 * Concepts unrelated to the interviews focus may not be found
 * Weak insight into procedural knowledge such as rules or problem solving strategies will not be explored
 * Advantages**
 * Useful in projects dealing with people who are used to efficient use of their time
 * Researcher is clear about what you want from the interview, yet is flexible to follow new leads
 * Rapport building/feelings, reflections and emotions can be captured
 * In depth - high validity
 * Complex questions/issues can be discussed-probing
 * Interviews remain fairly conversational and situational
 * Easy to record interview (audio tape,video)
 * Easy to analyze
 * Disadvantages**
 * To explore the topic of interest before hand in order to know the relevant questions of topics to be covered is challenging
 * Depends on the skills of interviewer
 * Salient topics may be inadvertently omitted
 * Sample size tends to be small
 * Time consuming/expensive
 * Difficult to analyze/generalize/validity and reliability
 * Reducing the comparability of responses
 * Bias may be projected in the question
 * Behaviors: what a person had done or is doing
 * Opinions/values: what a person thinks about the topic
 * Feelings: what a person feels rather than what a person thinks
 * Knowledge: to get facts about the topic
 * Sensory: what people have seen, touched, heard, tasted or smelled
 * Background/demographics: standard background questions, such as age, education, sex, etc.
 * Endless possibility of answers
 * Insiders perspective
 * Interviewee's 'voice' can be heard
 * Creates a sense of 'intimacy'
 * New theories can emerge
 * Interviews as exploratory technique
 * Focus groups and group interviews allow people to query each other
 * Interview sample size tend to be small, questioning validity
 * Access to interviewees
 * Is the interviewee telling the truth, lying or simply telling me what I want to hear?
 * It can create a polarized situation
 * What people say may not be what they do