Interviews Interviews are a conversation in which questions are asked by interviewer and answers are provided by interviewee. 3 Types of Interviews: 1. Structured interviews a. Gather data for quantitative analysis 2. Semi-structured interviews 3. Unstructured interviews a. Both of these gather data for qualitative analysis Structured Interviews 4. Limited social interaction 5. Standardised questions for everyone 6. Pre-coded answer 7. Quantitative data 8. Interviewer administered questionnaire 9. Interviewer reads question 10. Interviewee responds Examples with pre-coded answers: Opinion based question How do you feel about the following statement? 'Financial advisors should place their clients' interests before their own? Strongly disagree/disagree/neutral/agree/strongly agree Belief based question Do financial advisors place their clients' interest before their own? Always yes/usually yes/sometimes yes/seldom yes/never yes Behaviour based question How often do you place your clients' interests before your own? 81-100% of my time/61-80% of my time/41-60% of my time/21-40% of my time/0-20% of my time Fact based question How old are you? 0-17 years/18-32 years/33-52 years/53-72 years/73+ years Semi-structured Interview 11. Extended social interaction 12. Non-standardised questions 13. Themes to cover
14. Qualitative data 15. Questions may vary 16. Not everyone has same questions 17. Additional questions may be asked Types of question: Open questions Questions about describing a situation or event, questions which encourage extensive answers and seek to reveal facts or attitudes. Normally start with what, how or why. Examples: 18. why did company develop and implement a new brand image 19. how has companies' direction changed ... 20. what methods have been used ... Probing questions Questions used to explore further responses, structured like open question but with specific focus. Examples: 21. how would you evaluate the success of company's new brand image Specific closed questions Introductory questions: 22. can you tell us about the culture of our company 23. can you describe the sales ordering process to me Data gathering questions 24. how many customers attended the focus group? 25. do you prefer the new companies brand image or the old one? Unstructured Interviews 26. Initial social interaction 27. Agreed theme for interview 28. No questions are asked 29. Qualitative data 30. Non-directed interview 31. Interviewee talks freely regarding topic 32. Topic explored without agenda Should I Record the Interview? Advantages Allows interviewer to concentrate on what's being said Ensures accuracy of data being collected Disadvantages May adversely affect the relationship between interviewer and interviewee Interviewee may be unsettled by recording
Permits re-listening to ensure accuracy of interpretation May inhibit interviewee being fully open in some responses Ensures complete data collection reducing bias Risk of technical problems Enables quotes to be extracted Time to transcribe full interview can't be overestimated so use software Creates permanent record to be accessed by other researchers Problems with data: device Reliability: Lack of standardisation leads to uncontrolled variabilityfi ACTION seek trends and issues not details. Validity: does the interviewer have enough understanding to infer the correct meaning and interpretation. ACTION seek clarification regularly. Generalisability: The more representative the sample, the more generalisable the findings