HOW TO DO

QUALITATIVE

INTERVIEW
In psychology, interviewing was at first used as
a therapeutic technique, and means to gather
knowledge about mental processes during the
course of therapy (Freud, 1963).
IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
3

• Glaser and Strauss (1967) introduced the use of

qualitative interviews as a research method and are
considered pioneers for this technique

• Spradley’s (1979) book The Ethnographic Interview and

Mishler’s (1986) book Research Interviewing: Context
and Narrative.

• Another overview of methods can be found in the

Handbook of Interview Research (edited by Gubrium,
Holstein, Marvasti, & McKinney, 2012).

• Interviewing is addressed in Denzin and Lincoln’s (2011)

• The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. The

rationale for the continued focus on interviews as a
method for capturing qualitative data aligns with the
intention and goal of qualitative research, and the belief
 4

Over the past two decades, numerous books

and articles have been published about
qualitative research and qualitative methods,
including the qualitative interview, in an effort to
provide guidance on strategies, techniques, and
best practices (Castillo-Montoya, 2016; Creswell,
2013; deMarrais, 2004; Thomsen & Brinkmann,
2009; Patton, 2002; Tracy, 2013).
 5

WHAT ARE THE

DIFFERENT TYPES OF
INTERVIEWS IN
RESEARCH AND
METHODS?
Types of Interviews in Research and
Methods
 7

The Qualitative
Interview
 8

•Qualitative interviewing
provides an open-ended, in-
depth exploration of an
aspect of life about which the
interviewee has substantial
experience, often combined
with considerable insight.
(Charmaz, 2008, p. 29)
 9

The qualitative interview,

therefore, provides a means,
through dialog, to work
toward making sense of and
determining the meaning of
specific events, experiences,
or phenomena (Seidman,
2013; Vygotsky, 1987).
 10

The goal of qualitative interview is

to acquire an understanding of the
meaning and experience of the
lived world from the perspective of
the participant, communicated in
their own words, and described in
very specific detail to a researcher
that is open and can set aside what
they think and know about the
experience being described (Rubin
& Rubin,2012).
 11

The act of recalling and reconstructing

what occurred, and then sharing the
experience during the interview,
provides the research participant with
the opportunity to reflect on what that
occurrence meant and choose which
aspects are important within the
experience
 12

Throughout the interview, the interviewer and

research participant work as a team to
construct knowledge (Brinkman & Kvale, 2015).
Research participants describe their
experiences and provide a rationale for how
they responded (Rubin & Rubin, 2012).
Researchers, on the other hand, are
tasked with eliciting an active response from
the participants and actively engaging the
participants in the interview process
(Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015).
 13

It might sound simple to

conduct a qualitative
interview.
YES OR
NO??????????????????
Skills have to be acquired, 14

methods have to be
determined, and interview
questions or an interview
guide/protocol has to be
crafted that aligns with the
overall methodology, goal,
and purpose of the study
(Castillo-Montoya, 2016).
 15

Qualitative research requires

forethought, planning, and
strategies capable of
fulfilling the goal of the
study.
 16

Adopt a Qualitative Attitude

Novices need to take steps to
ensure that they approach
their research, and maintain
throughout the study, the
right attitude (Seidman,
2013).
 17

WHAT IS THE
PURPOSE OF DOING
QUALITATIVE
INTERVIEW?
 18

A. The purpose is to listen to

their stories so that they can
acquire an understanding of
how their experiences
unfolded, and the meanings
that they associated with
these experiences.
 19

B. Novice researchers need to

make the shift to an
“informant-centered” attitude
and embrace the idea that the
informant is the expert on
their experiences.
 20

C. Novices conducting research

may require support in their
efforts to adopt an open stance,
as well as oversight to remain
aware of their personal biases
and approach each interview
with an attitude of discovery
(Peredaryenko & Krauss, 2013).
 21

Qualitative research questions also

typically focus on why an event,
experience, or phenomenon
occurred, how it unfolded, what it
was like, and/or what it meant
(Rubin & Rubin,2012).
 22

CHARACTERISTICS
OF QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
 23

A.The interview questions need to be capable of

eliciting an in-depth response relevant to the
topic of interest (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015; Rubin
& Rubin, 2012; Seidman, 2013).

B. The interview questions must align with the

purpose and goal of the study (Brinkman & Kvale,
2015). The goal of the research study will influence
everything from how the interview questions are
put together to how many are developed.
 24

Orienting Questions
If given the chance to talk freely, people appear
to know a lot about what is going on. (Bertaux,
1981, p. 39)
These include showing interest in what is being
shared, conveying that there are no expectations
as far as how to answer the interview questions,
showing respect for their role as expert, and
making sure that the interview feels natural
rather than an interrogation (Rubin & Rubin,
2012).
A good example is the question that
Spradley (1979) presents to introduce an 25

ethnographic interview,
“I want to understand the world from your
point of view.
I want to know what you know in the way
that you know it.
I want to understand the meaning of your
experience, to walk in your shoes, to feel
things as you feel them, to explain things
as you explain them.
Will you become my teacher and help me
understand?”
 26

First and foremost, after asking a

research participant to share their
experience, researchers have to
listen to what the research
participant has to say (Corbin &
Strauss, 2015; Charmaz, 2014;
Giorgi, 1975; Moustakas, 1994;
Rubin & Rubin, 2012; Seidman,
2013; Stake,1995; Yin, 2018).
 27

THE ART OF LISTENING/ART

OF INFLUENCING PEOPLE
◼ Interviewing requires “a respect
for and curiosity about what
people say,and a systematic
effort to really hear and
understand what people tell
you” (Rubin and Rubin, 1995,
p. 17).
 28

◼ Active listening
❑ concentrating on
hearing
❑ Empathetically
comprehending what
another is saying.
◼ To incorporate this additional
29

information we need to know

how to pay attention to it.
◼ Paying attention means ‘active
listening’ and awareness of
body language.
❑ Pauses
❑ Facial expressions
❑ Hand gestures
❑ All of it is ‘data’
◼ You can’t analyse what you
don’t notice!
◼ Remove all the distractions from 30

your mind:
❑ Thoughts (recalling previous
conversations)
❑ Senses (focusing on the room
temperature)
❑ Emotions (excitement at new
promotion)

◼ Other impediments to active

listening
❑ Being preoccupied (not feeling well,
argument)
❑ Lack of interest in the topic
❑ Audio noise (background music) or
visual noise (tv on but muted,
people walking in).
 31

◼ Built-in disadvantage:
❑ Our own brains are a major
obstacle to being a good
listener
❑ We talk at a rate of 120 to 150
words per minute
❑ We think at a rate of 600 to
800 words per minute.
◼ Employ empathy. 32

❑ Try to both psychologically and

emotionally connect with the
speaker: are they expressing a
frustration, a warm memory, an
opinion?
❑ Paraphrase – allows you to
verify what you’ve heard with
the speaker to confirm and
refine understanding
◼ ‘It seems like what you’re saying is
that your previous experience is
making you reluctant to try
something new again.’
 33

◼ Stop anticipating
❑ Don’t assume you know where
the speaker is going.
❑ Don’t interrupt on the
assumption you know what
they are going to say.
Paralanguage 34

◼ Not just what is said but how

it is said:
❑ Volume (drops voice to a
whisper, gets quite loud and
agitated)
❑ Rate of speech (Excited, rapid
pace, thoughtful, considered
pauses)
❑ Tone, pitch and inflection (can
change the interpretation)
◼ You want me to go?
◼ You want me to go?
◼ You want me to go?
◼ You want me to go?
 35

Interviews

◼ Difference between
quantitative and qualitative
interviews is flexibility
❑ Quants – wording must be
asked identically; question
order cannot be changed;
❑ Qual – questions can be
rephrased; order of questions
is flexible;
◼ Qualitative interviewing’ as a 36

term indicates the use of

semi-structured and
unstructured interview
techniques.
◼ Focus is not upon eliciting a
predetermined response, but
in the opinions, viewpoints, or
experiences of the
interviewee.
◼ Instead of short answers, the
interviewer encourages full,
rich responses to questions.
 37

◼ Questions can be asked in a

different order, and
rephrased.
◼ As the question and response
structure is more flexible,
interviews can take place
over two or three meetings if
necessary.
 38

THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN STRUCTURED,
SEMI- STRUCTURED AND
UNSTRUCTURED
INTERVIEW
 39

STRUCTURED INTERVIEW

◼ Structured interviews are defined as

research tools that are extremely
rigid in their operations are allows
very little or no scope of prompting
the participants to obtain and
analyze results. It is thus also known
as a standardized interview and is
significantly quantitative in its
approach.
 40

SEMI-STRUCTURED
◼ Researcher pre-prepares a
list of questions on specific
topics (interview guide).
◼ Interview guide does not have
to be followed in order.
 41

◼ In-depth interviews are

semi-structured interviews
where the researcher has
topics and questions in
mind to ask, but questions
are open-ended and flow
according to how the
participant responds to
each.
INTERVIEW GUIDE DISPLAYING TOPICS
42
RATHER THAN QUESTIONS
Interview guide displaying questions
rather than topics 43
 44

For example, the interviewer

endeavors to follow up
immediately with a standard
question, such as
“please tell me more about
that [...]” when the
interviewee suddenly
discloses an area of great
interest.
 45
SAMPLE QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Interview Protocol: Perspectives on Deafness

1.
Can you describe how you first became aware of your
deafness

2.

How do you see yourself today, in terms of your deafness?

3.
What does your deafness mean to you?

4.

Can you describe any particularly difficult or traumatic

experiences in your life related to your deafness?

5.

Can you describe how you fit into deaf culture?

6.
UNSTRUCTURED 46

◼Researcher has general topics

to be covered but does not
prepare specific questions.
◼A question is asked and the
interviewer listens to the
responses:
❑ Can follow-up on certain points
for elaboration
❑ Requires dynamic listening –
noting areas of follow-up while
allowing the respondent to
complete their answer (e.g. do
not interrupt)
❑ May sound more like a
conversation than an interview.
 47

WHAT IS THE BEST TYPE OF

INTERVIEW TO BE USED IN
CONDUCTING A
QUALITTAIVE RESEARCH?
 Which format? 48

◼ Allow research question to guide

you
❑ If your research question has clear
focus, specific areas of interest (what
motivates 18 to 25 year olds to vote?)
❑ If your research question is
exploratory, attempting to illuminate
individual experiences, views,
memories (what are the perceptions
and experiences of voting amongst
18 to 25 year olds).
 49

Preparing Your Interview

Guide

◼ Be sensitive to your own tunnel

vision. Ask open-ended (not
leading)
◼ Think outside the box – what
other things might be relevant to
understand this person’s
perspective:
 50

◼ Avoid leading
questions/normative
assumptions. People may
try to give you the answers
they think you want.
Evaluate your question
wording for your own
biases:
 51

• Leading questions are phrased to suggest a

particular answer or to imply that one answer is
expected or more correct:
“What fears do you have when your baby’s
diarrhea does not stop?”
“What actions do you take to stop his/her
diarrhea?”
“How good was the treatment your baby got at
the health center?”
• Non-leading questions on the same topics could be
asked this way:
“How do you feel when your baby’s diarrhea
does not stop?”
“What do you do when his/her diarrhea does
not stop?”
“How do you feel about the treatment your
baby got at the health center?”
 KVALE’S (1996)
EIGHT TYPES OF
QUESTIONS

1. Introducing questions To kick start the conversation

and move to the main interview

“Can you tell me about [...]?

” “Do you remember an occasion when [...]?

” “What happened in the episode mentioned?”

 53

2. Follow-up questions

To direct questioning to what has

just been said Nodding,
“mm”, Repeating significant words
..
Can you elaborate on that?
Could you tell me a little more
about that?
 54

3. Probing questions. To draw out

more complete narratives

“Could you say something more

about that?

” “Can you give a more detailed

description of what happened?

” “Do you have further examples of

this?”

‘
Probes can be nonverbal and involve the use of 55

gestures, facial expressions, nods, body posture, and

silence.

Verbal probes like,

“uh-huh,” “Yes,”
“okay,”
“Go on,”
“Can you give me an example,” or
“That’s interesting, could you tell me more,” can also
facilitate detailed descriptions and
exploration (Rubin & Rubin, 2012, p. 118).
These
56

Probes can also

be used;
(a) to steer the interviewee back on track, “You were saying
that…”
or “Could you go
back and tell me about…,”
(b) to summarize and reflect to ensure understanding, “You
said
that…,”
(c) to ask for clarification, “I did not quite understand,” “Can
you explain this to me
in more detail,” or “Are you saying that…,”
(d) to check for understanding, confirmation, or to
facilitate communication,
(e) as open requests to elaborate, “Sounds like…,” or “That
sounds…,” and
(f) as a check for credibility, “How exactly did that occur,”
“What happened
that made it so,” “What words were used when…,” or “What
 57

◼ Interpreting questions: Interpreting

questions. Interpreting questions are
similar to some forms of probing
questions in their rephrasing of a
respondent’s answer.

Some examples could be

“You then mean that [...]?
” “Is it correct that you feel that [...]?”,
or “Does the expression [...] cover
what you have just expressed?”
 58

4. Specifying questions To develop more

precise descriptions from general
statements

“What did you think then?

” “What did you actually do when you

felt a mounting anxiety?

” “How did your body react?”

 59

5. Direct questions To elicit direct

responses

“Have you ever received money for

good grades?

” “When you mention competition,

do you then think of a
sportsmanlike or a destructive
competition?”
 60

6. Indirect questions To pose

projective questions

“How do you believe other pupils

regard the competition of
grades?”
 61

7. Structuring questions To refer

to the use of key questions to
finish off one part of the interview
and open up another, or to
indicate when a theme is
exhausted by breaking off long
irrelevant answers

“I would now like to introduce

another topic [...]”
 62

8. Silence To allow pauses,

so that the interviewees have
ample time to associate and
reflect, and break the silence
themselves with significant
information
 63

10. Throw away questions

To serve a variety of
purposes,

i.e. to relax the subject when

sensitive areas have been
breached “Oh, I forgot to ask
you [...]”
STAGES OF THE
INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS
Charmaz (2002) categorise interview questions
into three stages:
• Open-ended initial questions – ‘How did
you first learn of…’; ‘When did you start…?’
• Intermediate questions – ‘ How did you feel
when…?’; ‘What impact do you think this
will have on you?’
• Ending question – ‘Has this been a good
experience for you?’; ‘Has your views of this
changed since…?; ‘Looking back, is there
anything you would have done differently?’
 65

Tips for Conducting

Qualitative Research
Interviews
 TIP 1
BUILD RAPPORT WITH
YOUR RESPONDENTS
Building rapport and establishing
comfortable interactions in the qualitative
interview situation is very important and is
preferably done well in advance of the
interview, but also during the interview itself.
TIP 2
REMEMBER YOU ARE A CO-
CREATOR OF THE DATA

In qualitative research, the researcher is the prime

instrument of data collection. Consequently, the
interviewer needs to be reflexive, conscious, and
aware about how his or her role might impact the
conversation between the interviewer and
interviewee.
TIP 3
TALK LESS AND LISTEN MORE

Inexperience as novice interviewers may result in

the interviewer being overly active in the
conversations. Due to nervousness in such
situations, or a lack of experience, the
interviewee may end up filling in blanks and
driving the conversation in a certain direction
without being aware of doing so. Interviewers
may need to talk less and allow for silence to act
as the catalyst that will drive the conversation
forward.
TIP 4
BE PREPARED TO HANDLE
UNANTICIPATED EMOTIONS

We sometimes engage with research topics

involving illness and death or interviewees’
own experiences of e.g. harassment, stress,
failure, or interviewee’s experiences of
students with mental illness. These and
many other topics may evoke uneasy
emotions in the interviewee, which he or she
previously might have been unaware of.
TIP 4
TRANSCRIBE THE INTERVIEWS
IN GOOD TIME
Once the data has been collected, the
process of data transcription commences.
Although rarely explicitly defined,
transcription can be described as the
process of reproducing spoken words,
such as recorded data from an interview,
and converting it into written form so the
data can be analyzed.
 71

◼ Don’t consider transcription

and data analysis as
separate tasks.
 72

◼ Precision in transcribing:
❑ Structure of spoken word is
different from written word.
 73

THANK YOU