RESEARCH TIPS _ KEY TIPS IN CONDUCTING QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS

While administering quantitative surveys is rather straight forward and require minimal skills, it requires a well-trained and/or experienced qualitative interviewer to collect high quality qualitative data. In other words, the quality of the data collected in qualitative research is highly dependent on the interviewing skills of data collectors.

Remember, the goal of qualitative interviews is to gather detailed information on a topic of interest. Hence, all the tips discussed below are aimed at achieving this goal.

Below are the key tips for conducting high-quality qualitative interviews that we capacitate our trainees with: -

1)????Use open ended questions

-???????Avoid questions that trigger ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers

-???????Avoid closed questions i.e., questions suggesting answer options (these are most suited for quantitative surveys).

Use ‘5WH’ to remember the six common words used in open-ended questions i.e. What, Who, Where, When, Why, and How. How and Why are the key words used in qualitative inquires. Use these as much as you can.

?2)????Avoid leading questions

-???????Leading questions are phrased to suggest a particular answer or imply that one answer is expected or more correct. Avoid these.

-???????Instead, allow respondents to answer in their own terms, voicing their own views, values and experiences.

?3)????Probe issues in depth

-???????The key to successful interviewing is learning how to probe effectively to stimulate an informant to produce more information without injecting yourself so much into the interaction that you only get a reflection of yourself in the data.??

-???????Try to encourage informant to expand on their answers and give as many details as possible by asking follow-up questions and using probes.

-???????Use the following follow-up questions as often as?you can in order to get a better picture of whatever is being discussed;

????????????????????????????????????????????????????i.????Would you give me an example?

??????????????????????????????????????????????????ii.????Can you elaborate on that idea?

?????????????????????????????????????????????????iii.????Would you explain that further?

?????????????????????????????????????????????????iv.????Is there anything else?

-???????Do not move on to a new topic until you feel you have sufficiently explored the informant’s knowledge on the question at hand.

-???????We will have a dedicated article on probing techniques.

?4)????Let the informant lead

-???????Keep the conversation focused on a topic while giving the informant room to define the content and direction of the discussion.

-???????The rule is: get an informant on the topic of interest and get out of the way. In other words, let the informant provide information that he or she thinks is important.

OTHER TIPS

5)????Start by establishing a rapport: Rapport facilitates respondents to feel relaxed and become cooperative in the discussions (discussed in detail later).

6)????Learn how to re-phrase/re-think questions: In some instances, questions may not be clear, and you may need to rephrase for participants to understand what is being inquired.

7)????Do not cut off the participant: If they discuss an issue that is not relevant but gently lead them back to the interview questions.

1)????Intervene politely and refocus the discussions if the participant(s) shows too much interest in one question or appear to go out of the topic.

2)????Remain neutral: don’t approve or disapprove

3)????Be friendly and be interested in what participants are saying.

4)????Conversion vs. Interview: Try as much as possible to make the interview more like a conversation rather than a strict question & answer exchange.

5)????Maintain Eye Contact: Try as much as possible to keep eye contact.

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