Interviews or Interviewing

we will cover …
• Various forms that interviews can take

• How many interviews to conduct

• Real and virtual spaces in which interviews may take place

• How to carry out an interview

 What is Interview?
• “The interview is a conversation with a purpose.”

Purposes?

• To collect huge amounts of information about a topic through asking or talking

to people.
• To answer some research questions in a better and more appropriate way.
• To provide more flexibility for the researcher to probe and ask following up
questions.
• To extend our knowledge about others’ thoughts, behaviours, and feelings.
Forms/types of interview
• Structured interviews

• Semi-structured interviews

• Unstructured interviews

• Focus groups interviews

 Structured Interviews
• All asked questions are pre-planned.

• Replicating the interview with other interviewees.

• Generalize findings to the population for some extent.

• Surveys and questionnaire can be examples of structured interview.

• Data collected through structured interviews are comparable.

• Data collected are usually subjected to statistical methods of analysis.

 Semi-structured interviews
• Provide much more information than structured interviews.

• Partially, pre-planned questions. There is a schedule of questions.

• Allowing replication with other interviewees with less control.

• More flexible and relaxed atmosphere to collect data and talk to people.

• Flexibility in how and when questions put

• Space for interviewees to answer on their own terms

• Some structure for comparison across interviewees

 Types of questions
• Introductory questions “Can you tell me about …”

• Follow-up questions (pause, mmh, nod, …)

• Probing questions “Could you say more about that?”

• Specifying questions “And what did you do then?” “Why was that?”

• Direct questions “Do you think it’s mainly social norms that hold people back
changing their behaviour?”

• Indirect questions “How do parents see their role in relation to behaviour change?” 
“Do you think this of your situation, too”?

• Interpreting questions “So do you mean by this that …?”

 Unstructured Interviews
• Sometimes called “ethnographic interviews”.

• Following the interviewee in unpredictable directions. No detailed interview

guide is prepared.

• Interviewer may ask for clarification

• Topic headings guide

• Interviewee talks from own perspective

• Develop unexpected themes

• Emphasis of research can change

 Focus group interviews
• “involve a small group of people engaging in collective discussion of a topic
previously selected by the researcher”. (Edwards and Holland, 2013, p. 37)

• One-two hours duration

• Six to ten participants are often suggested in literature.

• The researcher moderates, or runs the discussion, with a series of questions to

guide its course.
 How many interviews?
How many interviews? ‘It depends’. But usually depends on:

• Data saturation - sampling until interviewees aren’t saying anything different

• Nature and purpose – commonality/ difference/uniqueness/complexity/

comparison/instances

• Practicalities – time/funding/regulations
 Strengths of Interviews
Through interviews we can explore:

• the texture and weave of everyday life;

• the understandings, experiences and imaginings of research participants;

• how social processes, institutions, or relationships work; and

• the significance of the meanings that they generate.

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 Interviews Practicalities
• Identify proper participants.

• Ethical research standards (consent form).

• Interview setting.

• Interview equipment (audio recorder, interview guide).

• Pilot the interview.

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Before, and start of Interview
Before: Brief introduction (purpose, duration).

• Recording interview (consent, information confidentiality).

• After agreement and consent, conduct interview.

• Have your interview guide.

Start: Ask the interviewee if s/he has any question about the interview
before starting.

• Open the interview by asking general, broad questions for example:

‘Please tell me how you started learning a third language’.

• Remember, simple questions then hard questions. Avoid complex/long

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Qs
 During Interview
• Shift from a question to another smoothly.

• Listen and attend to what the interviewee is saying.

• Be ready to probe and ask following up questions if needed (give

example, explain that further).

• As the interview progresses, the questions gradually focus on more

specific and targeted enquiries.

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 Finishing Interview
• Be sure you’ve covered everything.

• Ask the interviewees to review their experience or identify the most

important thing that they feel they have discussed or mentioned or if they
want to add anything.

• Thank the interviewees warmly.

• But maybe it’s not the end. Interviewees may say something interesting after
turning of the audio recorder.

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 Things to Remember
• Noises may affect recording quality.

• Audio recorders may stop or be faulty.

• All interviews will not last for the same period of time.

• Interviewees’ facial expressions, silences, pauses laughter can be

of interest.

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