About interview

You have learned already that by and large, there are two major ways of social inquiry:

  • quantitative (looking for quantities and numbers) and
  • qualitative (looking for qualities and meaning).

How do you collect the data to interpret with quantitative or qualitative methods? There are many ways and one popular method is an interview. An interview is a conversation where knowledge is constructed in the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee (Kvale, 2007).

There are many methodological, technological, and ethical aspects to be considered, while preparing and conducting a research interview. You need to be systematic and keep track of your choices and activities so that they will be transparent to other researchers.

First, you need to determine the aim of the interview(s), based on your research objective and research questions. Then you need to choose the right type of interview(s) to fit your purpose. There are different types of interviews:

  • individual and group interviews,
  • structured, semi-structured, unstructured interviews

While the difference between an individual and group interview is evident, let's have a look at structured vs unstructured interviews.

In a structured interview, the questions are posed to the interviewees in the exact predetermined order and wording. Sometimes, the questions are presented with a scale for the response: "On the scale of 1 to 10 where 1 means extremely unhappy and 10 means extremely happy -- how happy are you, overall?" This is basically a questionnaire completed in an interview format -- in person, by phone or the Internet. In this way, interviews can also be used to collect quantitative data.

An unstructured interview, on the other hand, follows the natural flow of the discussion and lets the interviewee talk about the things they consider relevant and important. This kind of interview is used in qualitative research. The qualitative interview provides a unique access to the lived-world of the subjects, who in their own words describe their activities, experiences and opinions (Kvale, 2007).

Between these two, there is a semi-structured interview where the interviewer has the questions planned beforehand, but there is some flexibility to change their order and ask additional questions if needed.

Which one to choose? There is no straightforward answer. You may want to use structured interviews if you are planning to use multiple interviewers and you want them to stick to your questions with as little personal input as possible. You may choose an unstructured interview when you don’t have clear concepts about the topic and are open to totally new perspectives unfolding during the interview.

Next, you need to select people to interview. How many of them? There is no universal answer, as it depends on your research purpose. Do you want to test a hypothesis with statistical means? Or do you want to understand the world of one person? Generally, you need to interview “as many subjects as necessary to find out what you need to know”. In most qualitative studies the number of interviewees tends to be 15±10 (Kvale, 2007).

Whatever method you use (random sampling, selected experts, most typical representatives of a group, maximum diversity of opinions, convenience sample, snowball method etc.), you need to describe and explain it in your research paper so that your methods are transparent to readers.

Then you need to conduct the interview(s) in an attentive, patient, and non-judgmental manner. It used to be the ideal that the interviewer be as neutral as possible, not commenting on the answers in any way, to not influence the outcome. These days, most researchers admit that the interviewer is an active participant in the conversation, but they need to be aware and reflexive of their position.

Interviews can be held in person, but it is increasingly common to use video calls (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet) for interviews. Interviews are generally recorded. However, you always need to ask for the consent to record. if your interviewees do not wish the interview to be recorded, you must respect this. Then you can take written notes. Write as much verbatim as possible and do not try to summarize during the interview (Bachiochi and Weiner, 2004). It is a good idea to have two people taking notes to improve accuracy. And you should revisit the interviewees with the draft of their responses so they can review it (Bryman and Cassell, 2006).

The audio records are transcribed for analysis. Speech-to-text software can sometimes be helpful, but the transcripts need to be checked for errors. Transcription style depends on your purpose and method; sometimes you only need the words, sometimes you need to specify the tone, the length of pauses etc.

Figure 1. Example of interview transcription with special notation for pauses, intonation, laughter etc.

Source: Rapley, 2001


Advantages of qualitative interviews

  • Useful way to obtain extensive, detailed information on a phenomenon.
  • Allows for data to be gathered in the participant’s natural setting.
  • Allows for immediate follow-up during the interaction.
  • Can be combined with other data collection strategies to provide a holistic view of the phenomenon (observation, journaling, reflection).

Limitations of qualitative interviews

  • Mostly limited to verbal behavior and self-reported data.
  • Mutual cooperation and engagement must be present to yield useful data.
  • Interviewees may be hesitant to be completely truthful or transparent.
  • Interviewers may not be familiar enough with the language used by participants to comprehend their meaning.
  • Data are subject to observer effects, the interviewer’s technique may compromise the quality of the data or the nature of the interaction (Billups, 2021; Morgan, 1997).
     

Case studies and examples

Some interview transcripts from actual research can be found at