How do qualitative interviews help you understand economic actors' decision-making processes?

1 Benefits of qualitative interviews

Qualitative interviews can provide rich and detailed insights into economic actors' decision-making processes that are not captured by quantitative methods, such as surveys or experiments. They can help you explore the underlying meanings, values, beliefs, emotions, and preferences that shape economic behavior. They can also help you identify the contextual factors, such as social norms, institutions, power relations, and historical events, that influence economic outcomes. Qualitative interviews can complement quantitative data by providing explanations, interpretations, and narratives that enhance your understanding of the economic phenomena you are studying.

3 Designing qualitative interviews

Designing qualitative interviews requires careful consideration of the research question, purpose, and scope of the study. To start, you must define the research question and objectives, select the interview type and mode of delivery, identify and recruit interviewees, and develop an interview guide or protocol. Additionally, it is important to pilot and refine the interview guide or protocol with a small sample of participants before conducting the actual interviews. Doing so will provide valuable feedback and results to improve the interview guide or protocol. Ultimately, this process will help to ensure that the questions are clear, concise, and respectful.

4 Conducting qualitative interviews

Conducting qualitative interviews requires careful preparation, ethical consideration, and interpersonal skills. Before the interview, you need to make sure that all the materials and equipment are ready and working properly. During the interview, it's important to introduce yourself and explain the purpose, procedure, risks, and benefits of the interview. You should ask questions in a clear, concise, and respectful manner while listening actively and attentively to the interviewees' responses. Use verbal and non-verbal cues to encourage, clarify, or probe their responses. At the end of the interview, signal the end of the interview and summarize the main points. Thank the interviewee for their time and cooperation, and provide them with any additional information or follow-up.

5 Analyzing qualitative interviews

The analysis of qualitative interviews involves organizing, interpreting, and reporting the data collected from the interviews. To begin, it is necessary to transcribe and code the interviews into meaningful categories or themes that reflect the research question and objectives. Next, patterns and themes should be identified and compared, looking for similarities and differences, consistencies and contradictions, explanations and implications among the interviewees' responses. Finally, it is important to report and discuss the findings from the analysis of the interviews. This includes using quotes, examples, or illustrations to support your findings as well as relating your findings to existing literature, theory, or practice. Additionally, any limitations, challenges, or ethical issues of your study should be acknowledged.