Collecting primary data using research interviews and research diaries - Conducting semi-structured or in-dept interviews
11 important questions on Collecting primary data using research interviews and research diaries - Conducting semi-structured or in-dept interviews
Critical incident technique =
How should you behave during the interview?
-sit slightly inclined towards the interviewee and adopt an open posture, avoid folded arms.
-tone of voice: project interest and enthusiasm through your voice, avoiding any impression of anxiety, disbelieve, astonishment or other negative signal.
Why is taking notes during the itnerview a good idea?
- making notes can help you to maintain your concentration.
-making notes can help you to formulate points to summarize back to the interviewee to test your understanding and devise follow-up probing questions
- note-taking demonstrated to your interviewee that her of his responses are important to you
- it allows you to record your own thoughts and any events that would not be evident from the audio recording.
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Recognized difficulty: Participant appears willing only to give monosyllabic answers, these being more than 'yes' or 'no'. What are your suggestions?
Reasons for this are varied:
- If it is due to limited time, or worries about anonymity, then this can be minimized by careful opening of the interview
- if the participant gives these answers despite such precautions, try phrasing your questions in as open a way as possible; also use long pauses to signify that you want to hear more.
Recognized difficulty: Participant repeatedly provides long answers which digress from the focus of your interview. What are your suggestions?
This must be done subtly so as not to cause offence, such as by referring back to an earlier relevant point and asking them to tell you more, or requesting that they pause, so you can note down what they have just said.
Recognised difficulty: Participant starts interviewing you. What is your suggestion?
Recognised difficulty: Participant is proud of their status relative to you and wants to show off their knowledge, criticising what you do. What is your suggestion?
Remember that you are also likely to be knowledgeable about the research topic, so be confident and prepared to justify your research and the research design you have chosen.
Recognised difficulty: Participant becomes noticeably upset during the interview and, perhaps, starts to cry.
If your participant starts crying or is obviously very distressed, it is probably a good idea to explain that the question does not have to be answered
Do not end the interview straight away as this is likely to make the participant even more upset.
In addition to your notes from the actual interview, you shoudl also record the following contextural data:
- The date and time;
- The setting of the interview (e.g.) was the room quiet or noisy, could you be overheard, were you interrupted?)
- background information about the participant (e.g. Role, post title, gender)
- Your immediate impression of how well (or badly) the interview went (e.g. Was the participant reticent, were there aspects about which you felt did not obtain answers in sufficient dept?)
What are advantages of audio-recording the interview?
- Allows questions formulated at an interview to be accurately recorded for use in later interviews where appropriate
- Can re-listen to the interview, especially during data analysis
- Accurate and unbiased record provided
- Allows direct quotes to be used
- Permanent record for other users
What are the disadvantages of audio-recording the interview?
- May inhibit some interviewee responses and reduce reliability
-Possibility of a technical problem
-time required to transcribe the audio-recording.
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