Interviews are an important way to collect qualitative data.  They may be used as the primary research method in a study, or they may be used in combination with other methods.  For example, before and after carrying out an observation, it is common to carry out interviews to get a deeper insight into the behaviours and cognitive processes of the participants.

As with the other research methods, researchers have to decide what type of interview is the best for the question that they are investigating. We will look at two types of interviews: Unstructured (semi-structured) and focus group interviews.

Unstructured interviews

Unstructured or semi-structured interviewing is the most widely used method of data collection in qualitative research in psychology. A list of predetermined questions - called an interview schedule - may not be used, and if there are some questions that are asked to all interviewees, they will be open-ended questions that can be asked in any order. Questions may be added as the interview progresses.

Contrary to what its name suggests, an unstructured interview requires planning.  The researcher must prepare an interview guide that lists themes that should be explored during the interview. This guide helps to ensure that the same information is obtained from all the participants in the study. There is a great deal of flexibility in that the order of the questions and the actual wording of the questions are not determined in advance.

The use of open-ended questions gives the participant an opportunity to respond more freely. Most of the questions posed to the participants in the semi-structured interview are open-ended and non-directive because the purpose of the interview is to get insight into people’s personal experience of the phenomenon under investigation. The interview will often appear to be informal and rather conversational because the semi-structured interview encourages two-way communication.

The interview may take place as a face-to-face interview, but there are many other ways to collect data - for example, via Skype or other forms of social media - or by telephone. Sometimes the data from the interview are supplemented with diaries or other pieces of writing that can be used in the analysis.

Focus groups

Focus groups were originally used in communication and market research.  Focus groups have gained popularity in psychology, especially in health psychology.

A focus group is a group interview that is used to study what a specific group of people think or feel about a topic. Group size usually ranges from eight to twelve people.  If there are more, it may be difficult for everyone to participate actively. The members of a focus group often have a common characteristic that is relevant for the topic of investigation, which is why purposive sampling is often used.

The idea behind a focus group is that group processes can help people to explore and clarify their views in ways that would be difficult to achieve in one-to-one interviews. Focus groups use open-ended questions that encourage the participants to explore the issues of importance to them. This enables the participants to talk freely and to generate further questions.

Participants in a focus group are supposed to interact with each other as they would do outside of the research context. This is more likely to happen if participants already know each other. The researcher has the role of facilitator - that is, someone in charge of making progress in the group and keeping the discussion focused on the topic. The facilitator introduces the group members to each other, establishes the topic of the research, and monitors the group discussion - for example, bringing the group back on track, asking group members to respond to issues raised by others, or identifying agreements and disagreements among group members. It is also the facilitator who sets the time limits for the discussion.

Considerations before, during, and after an interview

There is quite a lot of planning involved in conducting an interview. The researchers should consider relevant sampling methods. In most qualitative research, small samples are used, and the sample will often have particular characteristics in common. In that case, a purposive sample will be adequate.

Training of the interviewer is important in order to avoid interviewer effects. Interviewer effects include both characteristics and behaviours of an interviewer that may affect the way that an interviewee responds. The choice of the interviewer may also be an issue. People are known to respond differently to male interviewers than to female interviewers. Generally, it is appropriate to consider how interviewer effects can be counterbalanced by varying age, gender, and ethnicity in interviewers conducting research.  In addition, people are good at reading non-verbal signs, and this can have a profound effect on the way they respond. An unconscious non-verbal sign, such as the interviewer frowning, could make participants change their answers, or upset them. Therefore, interviewers must be trained so that they do not react in ways that may intimidate the participants and jeopardize the interview.

The interviewer should plan the interview carefully and establish an interview guide. The interview guide is a kind of script for how to conduct the interview. It is based on previous literature in the field and the aims of the actual research. The interviewer must also carefully consider ethical issues that could arise from the interview. This is particularly relevant if the research is about sensitive topics. In qualitative research, the interview guide should be used flexibly and should include a relatively small number of open-ended questions that allow the researcher to identify the respondent’s own ideas and terms in the interview so that questions become more relevant to the respondent.

There are several different strategies for writing open-ended questions.

Descriptive questions invite the participant to give a general account of something.  For example, how was life different for you once you had children?  What did it feel like when you first lost your job?

Structural questions are used to explore responses to descriptive questions. They are used to better understand the meanings and understandings of the interviewee, often asking the participant to explain the meaning of a word that they used or making explicit links between their own life and their response to descriptive questions.  For example, You said that your life became more "complicated" after you had children; could you explain what that means? or You said that you are very proud of your international identity and that you have lived around the world. To what extent do you think that this has had an effect on who you are?

Contrast questions allow the participant to compare events and experiences.  For example, Which type of holiday do you prefer? Is there a reason you like this more than other options?  or Which political party do you identify with more?  What is it about the party that resonates with your own beliefs, compared to the other party? 

Evaluative questions ask about the respondent’s feelings about someone or something. For example, Did you feel afraid when you had the HIV test? or Do you feel that you made the right choice in taking a gap year after university?

 Teacher only box

1. Do you travel a lot?  Open-ended: To what extent would say that the label "world traveler" reflects you?
2. Do you find travel stressful or does it alleviate your stress? Open-ended: On a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being highly stressful, how would you describe your experience with travel?  Explain your choice.
3. Which do you like more - planning the trip, being on the trip, or coming home from the trip? Open-ended: If you were going to rank the following three parts of travel -  planning the trip, being on the trip, or coming home from the trip - which do you find the most enjoyable and why?
4. What is one thing that stresses you out when you travel? Open-ended: Tell me a story about one thing that really stresses you out when you travel.
5. Thinking about your favourite holiday, where did you go? Open-ended: How do you make a decision about where you will go for a lovely holiday?

Data recording must be considered in the preparation of the interview. Taking notes during the interview interferes with eye contact and non-verbal communication, but in some situations, it may be the only solution. Today, researchers often use audio or video recording. However, recording the interview may also affect the situation and the participant may feel uncomfortable about being recorded. It is therefore important to ask the participant in advance and explain why the recording is being made and how it is going to be used. It is also a good idea to offer the respondent a copy of the transcript of the interview, if possible. This information should be part of the briefing that takes place before the interview.

Transcription of the data - that is, how to change the interview into a written text that can be used for analysis - should be decided in advance. Researchers often use professional transcribers because transcription is a time-consuming job, but they will have to decide which method of transcription to use. Most qualitative methods of analysis require that the material is transcribed verbatim (i.e. word by word), and this is generally enough for thematic analysis. However, some researchers may find it important to include features such as pauses, interruptions, intonation, the volume of speech, incomplete sentences, false starts, and laughter. It all depends on the research question and the method of analysis chosen. Transcriptions that include these features are called postmodern transcripts.

Finally, the researcher should inform the participant about the research and ask him or her to sign an informed consent before the research begins. This briefing should be extensive and should include the goal of the study, methods used, and any inconvenience that may occur.

The interviewer should use the interview guide flexibly, but ensure that all-important themes are addressed. Researchers often use an active listening technique in order to both encourage the interviewee and seek out clarity.  In this technique, the researcher restates the participant’s comments and integrates them into later questions. This not only shows that the interviewer is listening, but it allows the interviewees to hear their own responses and reflect on whether this is what they really meant. Generally, the interviewer should be a good listener, empathic, and non-judgmental, and should encourage the participants to develop their viewpoints in their own words.

After the interview, the participant must be debriefed. This includes information about the way the results are going to be used and reassuring the participants that ethical considerations such as confidentiality and anonymity will be observed. It could also include the researcher asking the participant to read the interpretation of the interview and give feedback. The post-interview situation is an important part of the research process and should ensure that the participant is fully informed and feels confident. If the participant has revealed very sensitive information during the interview and feels uncomfortable about having done so when reading the transcript, the researcher must accept that the participant has the right to withdraw the information.

Use of inductive content analysis (thematic analysis) on interview transcripts

A common practice in the analysis of qualitative data is the identification of key themes, concepts, and categories. In an inductive content analysis - also called thematic analysis -  researchers look for themes in the data. In the first stage of analysis, researchers read and reread the transcripts in order to become familiar with each participant’s account. The researcher produces notes about initial thoughts and observations that could be useful for analysis - for example, key phrases, preliminary interpretations, connections, contradictions, language use, summary statements.

The next step is that the researchers identify emergent themes that characterize each section of the transcripts. The themes spring out of the text and are assumed to capture something essential about it.  The emerging themes from this first reading could be called “raw data themes”.

The researcher will typically list all the emergent themes and see if they relate to each other in clusters and hierarchies. Clusters are then given labels that capture the essence of the theme.  One example could be a “childhood cluster”, which includes themes such as “relationship with friends” and “relationship with family”.  The clustering of themes into higher-order themes should make sense in relation to the original data, so the researcher needs to check the source material, again and again, to be sure that the interpretation can be supported by the data.

Based on these higher-order themes, the researcher then writes an interpretation of the data.  Ideally, this is given to the participant so that she can confirm that the interpretation reasonably reflects the original interview.  In doing so, this establishes the credibility of the research findings.

Checking for understanding

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