Chapter_10Qualitative_Interviewing1_2018_Cengage_Learning_All

Chapter 10:

Qualitative Interviewing

Learning Objectives • Recognize when to use qualitative

interviewing as a data-gathering tool • Understand that there are multiple meanings

or constructions about reality • Know the advantages and disadvantages of

semi-structured versus unstructured interviews

• Understand the use of focus groups or interviewing a group of people simultaneously

Learning Objectives, cont.

• Be able to describe how to approach and interact with participants

• Learn how to record or log data • Understand ways to analyze and interpret

qualitative data • Recognize how to enhance the quality of

information gathered

Introduction • A qualitative interview is an interaction between

an interviewer and a respondent where the interviewer has a general plan of inquiry, including topics to be covered

• The interviewer might not have a specific set of questions to be asked in a particular order

• Can be thought of as a purposeful conversation • Allows researchers to study more complex

processes or the “hows” involving human perspective

Qualitative Interviewing • Qualitative interviews can be the sole way

of gathering data in criminal justice studies • Allows the research to understand the

subjects’ perspectives • Can gather firsthand accounts of their

impressions and their lived experiences • Can also be used to understand how

people feel about their roles and identities

Key Features of Qualitative Interviewing

• Richness of human experience • Approach to learning • Critical realist perspective

– Your stance about the nature of reality (ontology) – The nature of knowledge

Kinds of Qualitative Interviews

• Interview schedule: The structure of the interview that may have predetermined questions or topical areas to be discussed

• The interview schedule will influence how in- depth and interactive your interviews should be

Structured and Semi-Structured Interviews

• A structured interview schedule consists of predetermined questions and answer sets

• Structured interviews create standardized responses so respondents are given the same stimulus, allowing for responses to be compared

• Semi-structured interview has standardized questions but allows the interviewer to explore themes that emerge during the interview

• Researcher can probe for additional information

Unstructured Interviews

• Unstructured interviews are the most open style of interviewing

• Provides the most breadth, depth, and natural interaction with participants

• Two main approaches: conversations and interview guide – Conversations is an informal “chat” where conversation flows

organically

– Interview guide includes a list of topical areas that you want to cover in the conversation

Focus Group Interviews

• 6–12 people brought together to engage in guided group discussion of some topic

• Focus groups can be used to generate hypotheses, or combined with other types of data gathering such as participant observation

• Can show how opinions are produced, expressed, and exchanged in everyday life

• Can be either natural groups or artificial groups – Natural groups have an existing connection – Artificial groups are made up of individuals selected according to

some criteria and are brought together for research purposes

Discussion Question 1

Would you attend a focus group if asked? Why or why not?

Discussion Question 2

What if you interviewed a focus group? Would you choose conversation or interview guiding? Why?

Designing Qualitative Interview Questions

• Interview questions can assume different forms • The branch approach involves having a main topic

with branching questions • The river-and-channel approach involves many

streams of questioning that lead into the main channel, with some streams diverging

• Must also decide what order to tell the story – A diachronic delivery of material starts at the beginning and

progresses chronologically – A synchronic framework does not depend on time

Interview Schedule • Best to create an outline of more categories of

information you want to obtain before you start writing • You can create categories and nested sets of topical

areas. • How a question is worded can affect the response • Be sure the questions encompass the overall subject,

there is a good flow between questions, the order makes sense, and the language is appropriate

• Avoid double-barreled questions, complex questions, difficult language, and affective words

Probes

• Prompt participants to elaborate on responses by filling in more detail and depth

• It is important to have built-in prompts in case you have quiet respondents

• You can use an attention probe (e.g., lean in), a continuation probe (e.g., nod), clarification probe (e.g., ask the respondent to clarify), or follow-up questions

Gaining Access to Participants • Establish your role: determine if you are an insider or

outsider • To gain access to a formal organization, you will need

identify yourself as a researcher and make a formal request and receive formal approval

• Best to use a four-step process: sponsor, letter, phone call, and meeting

• To gain access to information subcultures, researchers can gain access using a sponsor or hang out where subjects hang out

• Compensation might be necessary to encourage participation

Discussion Question 3

What if you were searching for study subjects? Are there any groups you would be interested in studying that would claim you as an insider?

Conducting Qualitative Interviews • Qualitative interviews can be in-person, on the phone,

online, or through a survey • Face-to-face are most common • Reflexivity refers to your subjectivity and the meaning you

give to information • It is important to remain critically conscious of your

reflexivity when conducting qualitative interviews • During interviews, you will need to develop a rapport with

respondents • This can be done through informal conversations or finding

something you and the respondent have in common

Conducting Qualitative Interviews, cont.

• Might need to conduct several conversations with the respondents

• Active interviewing is a social exchange that allows for natural conversation and spontaneity

• The respondents’ answers determine the subsequent questions

• During an interactive interview, you are purposefully interactive

• The researcher must put on a social performance where he or she must be the actor, director, and choreographer

Conducting Focus Group Interviews

• Must decide whether to have a natural or artificial group, what the physical arrangement of the group should be, and the appropriate length of the interview

• Need to be aware of groupthink and dominant group members

• If you are gathering data on a sensitive topic, you must realize that participants can be upset by having to share such information and that you cannot ensure confidentiality

Recording Data • After recording information, researchers must transcribe

the dialogue verbatim • After returning from interviews, you must write up field

notes no later than the morning after • Memoing involves writing about your research process

and is important to recognize subjectivity • Operational, coding, and analytic are three types of

memos • Operational memos are steps that you took in the

research process – Coding memos allow you to document how you coded data – Analytic memos provide ways to explore relationships in the data.

Data Analysis and Making Claims

• Data is managed through tables, charts, and other visual displays

• Data reduction involves putting aside information that seems irrelevant

• Thinking units can also be used to sort stories • Lofland and Lofland (1995) suggests the following

thinking units: meanings, practices, episodes, encounters, roles, relationships, groups, organizations, settlements, social worlds, and lifestyles

Identifying Codes and Themes

• Coding assigns meaning to data • Process of organizing raw data into categories • Open coding involves exploring all possible

meanings before assigning conceptual definitions • Microanalysis involves going deeper into the data

and challenging your original frame of reference • The next step is to form categories and assign data

to these categories • Data will have higher-level themes and lower-level

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