Interviews and focus groups

1. Interviews and focus groups Lesley Jolly ljolly@bigpond.net.au

2. Semistructured interviews • “… attempts to understand the world from the subjects' point of view, to unfold the meaning of peoples' experiences, to uncover their lived world prior to scientific explanations." (Kvale, 1996). • NOT for finding out about population parameters

3. When to use interviews • to generate ideas • to develop a greater understanding of an issue or topic • to refine a research question • to evaluate the impact of a particular program, policy or issue • to gain key stakeholder support

4. Circumstances calling for interviews • High status people are involved as respondents • People with extensive knowledge or expertise are involved • The population to be interviewed is small and homogeneous • You need in-depth information • The topic is sensitive, or the operating environment is sensitive and discretion is important

5. How to use interviews • Mix with other methods • Eg early in research to design surveys or late in research to explore issues raised by surveys • Use interview guide • List of topic areas to be covered • Ask good questions • Concrete, concise, probing

6. How to probe • Getting more information without injecting yourself too much • Silent probe – wait for answer/expansion • Echo probe – repeat what’s said and ask for more • Back channel – uh-huh • Tell-me-more – “why do you feel that?” • Long question – you elaborate • Phased assertion – reveal what you know

7. Focus groups • Not just a group interview – members chosen as representative of sub-group in factorial design • Should be done in series balanced with other data gathering techniques • Members should be homogenous on independent variables and not know each other. • See The Focus Group Kit by D. Morgan et al

8. Analysing data • Coding (Berkowitz, 1997) • What patterns and common themes emerge? • Are there any deviations from these patterns? If so, how can these be explained? • What interesting stories emerge from the responses? • Do any of these patterns suggest that additional data may be needed? • Do the patterns that emerge corroborate the findings of any corresponding qualitative analyses that have been conducted? • If not, what might explain these discrepancies?

9. Some references • Kvale, S. (1996). Inter Views: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. • Rubin, H.J. & Rubin, I.S. (2004). Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. • Denzin, N.K., & Y. S. Lincoln (ed). 1998. The Landscape of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. • Minichello, V., R. Aroni, E. Timewell and L. Alexander. 1995. Indepth Interviewing: Principles, Techniques, Analysis. Melbourne: Longman.