Data collection Techniques in

Qualitative Research
``Data collection in Qualitative approach involves
direct interaction between the researcher and the
participants of the study.

Major data collection techniques include;

(i) In – depth interviews, (ii) Observation and (iii) Focus

Group Discussions.
In-Depth Interview

This is a purposeful face to face interaction between

two people, where one person tries to collect
information from another. This permits the
exploration of the participant’s thoughts and emotions.
The interview may be either formal structured or
informal unstructured type. In formal structured
type, there is a definite pre-structured group of
questions and all the participants are formally asked
to answer this set of questions. Informal unstructured
interview allows the researcher to obtain insights into
a phenomenon or a problem of which little is known.
This can be an informal conversational interview, with
no predetermination of questions and interview guide
approach, where topics and issues to be covered are
specified in advance. Data during interview can be
collected either by writing notes during or after the
process or by tape-recording the whole interview. All
these have its own disadvantages like disruption of the

process (if done during), loss of information (if done

after the interview). Audio recording can be disruptive
and intrusive of privacy; and transcription of audio
records involves cost and labor. However recording of
interviews will guard against loss of valuable
information gained, from the participants.

An interview guide can be prepared taking into

consideration the specific objectives of the research, the
respondents and their characteristics, the agency /body
who is interested in this information, and the purpose of
this information i.e., if it is going to play a role in
policy making etc. While preparing an interview guide,
ensure that your questions are clear, unambiguous,
simple, not answerable in monosyllables like ‘yes’ or
‘no’; and within the experience of the respondent. Along
with each question ‘probes’ can be constructed. Probes
are devices to make respondent elaborate their responses.
They prompt the respondent to speak further when an
initial question fails to elicit the response.
How to conduct the Interview

Participants should be representative of the study

population and selected purposively. People who are well
informed about the issue may be selected for interview.
Seek privacy; assure confidentiality and make the
participant relaxed by establishing rapport. Voluntary
participation of the subjects should be assured by the
consent form in local language. Participants can refuse
to answer any question, and can withdraw from the
interview, if they want to. Sit squarely, maintaining eye
contact. The researcher (interviewer) should maintain
neutrality in the tone of voice, gestures and
expressions. They should listen with an open mind,
ensure natural flow of the conversation and allow
participants to do most of the talking. Conclude the
interview with general questions and thank the
respondent. After the respondent has finished speaking,
clarification questions, elaboration questions, ‘show’
me (how you reacted) questions and eliciting
personal meaning questions can be asked by the
researcher. An interview can take as long as two hours or
more and analyzing the vast amount of information
obtained requires great skill. An in-depth interview is an
explanatory tool, more appropriate in rural setting and
the responses are more valid. But it is time consuming
and extrapolating the information to the society at large
may also prove to be difficult.
Observation

Observation is a technique of directly observing the

behavior with the purpose of describing it. This
method of data collection is employed to detect the
discrepancies between what the subjects express as
they feel and what they actually feel. Observation can
be of two types: participant and non- participant
observation. In participant observation the
researcher becomes an actual part of the community/
process under study by, “talking the talk and walking the
walk”. By directly observing the operations the
evaluator can develop a holistic perspective. In non-
participant observation, observer is an on-looker,
observes the event / process as an outsider. Non-
participant observation may be structured, using an
observational guide or unstructured with no
predetermined guide.
Focus Group Discussion (FGD)

FGD is one among the most widely used tools in

qualitative research. It is a discussion among a
small group of participants which rely more on
interaction among members of the group, and each
participant can build on what others in the group have
said. It can provide insight into how a group thinks
and the range of opinions and ideas that exists in the
community about an issue. The number of
participants should be kept small and 6-10 participants
form a good group. It is best to have participants seated
in a circular fashion. Participants should be selected
purposively usually through informal networks. Other
important factors in a focus group are the presence of a
moderator and a discussion guide which is used by the
moderator to conduct the discussion. The FGD guide
contains the issues to be discussed and it may be kept to a
maximum of 6-7. Usually the whole discussion is tape
recorded with prior consent from the participants. A note
taker/observer is a member of the team who follows the
discussion carefully and takes down notes indicating the
code or letter of identification of each speaker and the
first few words of each comment. Note takers focus on
documentation and should have mastery of an efficient
system for taking notes, ability to quickly identify and
take down individual quotes that capture the spirit of the
given point. An effective note taker knows the research
material well and is familiar with the focus group guide,
just in case the need arise to conduct the FGD in the
absence of the moderator in the last minute. Preparatory
steps for a note taker include becoming familiar with FG
guide, practice taking notes in a pilot or mock FGD, label
all materials to be used during the discussion including
cassette tapes, note taking forms etc.
 The moderator should not interview individual
members, but introduce the topic and encourage the
group members to express their views on the topic.
Informed consent should be taken from the participant
for discussion and also recording the whole process.
The participants are made to understand that there is no
right or wrong answers, can talk freely and even
express contradictory views. Although the moderator’s
role is really passive, it is important in keeping the
discussion relevant, without being dominated by one
participant and encouraging all participants to speak. The
moderator should be careful to ask effective questions for
leading focus group. He should initiate discussion by
suitably framing the issues as statements and avoid
questions, eliciting Yes/No answers. Each participant
should be encouraged to provide elaborate responses
that elicit the participant’s views and experiences. Eg:
Have you taken your child for the immunization program
to the PHC? The above question may be posed like
‘Would you tell me your experiences when you took
your child for vaccination at the PHC’? Do not pose
several questions at a time. All participants in the
group should be given opportunity to respond, and in an
active discussion, there may be responses from one
participant many times and also those who do not
respond at all. The moderator should take note of this and
encourage the silent person by identifying this
participant either by name or number, and ask for his/her
opinion. Participants may require clarification of the
question, or at times, rephrasing the question is needed.
The moderator should remain neutral throughout the
discussion, and never say comments like ‘that’s good, it is
interesting ’etc. Instead, he can use neutral comments like
‘I see’. Leading questions are to be avoided. Asking
follow-up or sub-questions would ensure that the
participants provide the complete set of information that
each main question was designed to elicit. Probes are
neutral questions, sounds or gestures, moderators can use
in focus groups
 to encourage participants to elaborate, and explain
‘why’ or ‘how’. Probes can be direct or indirect.

Direct probes: eg
i. How did this happen?
ii. How do you feel about…..?
iii. What happened there?
Indirect probes : eg
i. Neutral verbal expressions such as ‘uh…uhh..’

ii. ‘Mirroring technique’ i.e. repeating what the

participant said, like ‘so you were just nine, when
your father caught you with a beedi’…?
Managing a Focus Group Discussion

1. Open with a general comment, like ‘you all know,

what has brought all of us here today’. You can
also give a general introduction to the topic.

2. A brief background information on participants

may be useful for later analysis and presentation of
findings.
3. Invite wide responses from the participants.

4. Do not get bothered by silence, the participants

need time to think.

5. Limit researcher’s own participation once the

discussion begins.
6. Material in the guide should be covered i.e., all
the questions are to be addressed and sufficient
time should be given to the respondents

7. Keeping a checklist would make it easier to return to

the questions that were skipped during natural
progression of the discussion.

8. A good moderator shows flexibility, sensitivity, has a

sense of humor, links ideas together and
encourages
 participation from everyone. He tries not to dictate
the course of discussion, lose control over the
conversation, judge comments, inform or try to
educate the participants during the course of an FGD
and never leads a question answer session.

9. A skilled note-taker takes detailed notes on what they

observe and also take notes of the conversation
regardless of whether the FGD is tape recorded or not.
In addition to the notes on verbal process, the note
taker also write down non-verbal messages that have
a bearing on the discussion.

10. Towards the end, inform the participants that the

session is about to wind up. Reassure them of
confidentiality and provide refreshments. Thank
the participants.
Fig 1.Focus group discussion

Sociogram: Sociogram is a diagrammatic representation

of the entire session of the FGD. It reflects on the
conduct of
the discussion, interaction among the participants, silent
participants and dominators. Thus it helps to understand

the group dynamics among the participants.

Fig 2.Sociogram