Qualitative Research

In-depth interview

In-depth interview is a technique designed to elicit a vivid picture of the participant’s perspective on the subject of study which is an effective way in giving a human face to research. It is a rewarding experience for both participants and interviewers alike. For participants it offers the opportunity to express themselves in a way ordinary life rarely affords them. Many people are pleased with the significance of becoming the subject of study and have someone listen to their opinions and life experiences. For their part, interviewers engaged in in-depth interviews are satisfied to be entrusted with people’s personal issues. The researcher’s interviewing techniques is to establish a sincere dialogue which allows getting a grip on interviewee’s true perceptions on the research topic.

The researcher is motivated to learn everything the participant can share about the subject. Researchers engage with participants in a face-to-face interview by posing questions in a neutral manner, listening attentively to participants’ responses, and asking follow-up questions and probes based on those responses. They do not lead participants according to any preconceived notions, nor do they encourage participants to provide particular answers by expressing approval or disapproval of what they say. In-depth interviews are useful for learning about the perspectives of individuals, to gain insight into how people interpret and order the world, as opposed to, for example, group norms of a community, for which focus groups are more appropriate. We can accomplish this by being attentive to the “causal explanations” participants provide for what they have experienced and believe and by actively probing them about the “connections” and relationships they see between particular events, phenomena, and beliefs.

Interviews are also especially appropriate for addressing sensitive topics that people might be reluctant to discuss in a group setting. Focus group interviews are intended for identifying and eliciting opinions about group norms, and more important discovering variety within a population. While in a face-to-face interview the aim is to elicit in-depth responses, with nuances and contradictions; a focused group discussion aims at acquiring information on a range of norms and opinions in a short period of time.

Data analysis phase of the research follows after data collection by coding transcripts according to participant responses to each question and/or to the most salient themes emerging across the set of interviews. During data collection researchers use expanded interview notes to remind them of questions which needs to be highlighted and adding contextual details to what participants have said. When conducting an in-depth interview, researchers ask mostly open-ended questions – that is, questions that encourage a detailed response rather than “yes,” “no,” or one-word answers – to elicit unstructured talk from participants about their experiences and opinions. It is common to conduct in-depth interviews with several different categories of people as part of a single study. This often involves a separate question guide for each category. For example, in a study about maternal health practices, in-depth interviews might be conducted with health care providers, pregnant women, and women who have given birth within the last year.

The interviewer’s skills have an important influence on the comprehensiveness and complexity of the information that participants provide. The interviewer must be able to lend a sympathetic ear without taking on a counseling role; encourage participants to elaborate on their answers without expressing approval, disapproval, judgment, or bias; keep track of the questions yet let the conversation develop naturally; and manage the interview while still respecting the principle of participant- as-expert. The core skills required to establish positive interviewer/participant dynamics are rapport-building, emphasizing the participant’s perspective, and accommodating different personalities and emotional states Culturally specific manner should be studied before the interview and respected to build rapport such as friendly, impartial approach and remaining humble and patient.

Participants will talk freely, openly, and honestly about the research topic only if they:
- feel comfortable in the interviewer’s presence
-trust the interviewer
- feel secure about confidentiality
-believe the interviewer is interested in their story
- do not feel judged

The interviewer’s perspective on the research issue should be invisible. This avoids the risk that participants will modify their responses to please the interviewer instead of describing their own perspective. Different interviewing styles may be needed for different participants – for example, be able to retain control of a conversation with a dominant personality and to animate a shy participant.
Heightened emotions should be toned down, such as when a participant starts crying or becomes belligerent. Adapting to each individual may require softening the way you broach sensitive issues, adjusting your tone of voice to be more sober or upbeat, or exhibiting increased warmth or social distance.


Key skills for the interviewer include:
- Treating the participant as the expert
- Keeping the participant from interviewing you
- Balancing deference to the participant with control over the interview
- Being an engaged listener
- Demonstrating a neutral attitude

Clarifying roles can also be useful. while interviewer is ultimately responsible for making sure that all questions in the interview guide are addressed during the interview, the participant will play the role of expert and you, the interviewer, will be the student. It should be explained that the interview is about gaining from the participant’s own knowledge about the research topic, not to dispense advice. Therefore the participant should be assured that there are no right or wrong answers; it is his or her personal opinion and perspective that are of interest to the study.

Leading questions such as “Do you agree with the majority of people that the health service is failing?” should be avoided for obvious reasons that any right-minded individual can see. Don’t you agree?

Some general rules can be stated on question wording:
• Be concise and unambiguous
• Avoid double questions
• Avoid questions involving negatives
• Ask for precise answers
• Avoid leading questions

The questionnaire can be tested on a small sample of the subjects or even friends first. The aim here is to detect any flaws in questioning and correct these prior to the main survey. The piloting may enable the researcher to convert an open-ended question in to a closed question by determining the range of possible answers. A trial analysis may also be performed on pilot sample and hence enabling test out of all analysis procedures.
Having done the pilot survey, amendments can be made that will help to maximise response rate and minimise error rate on answers.

Data Analysis
The essential point to analysis is the coding, entry and checking of data. The statistical analysis packages available including e.g. SAS, Minitab and SPSS. In all instances data can either be entered direct or imported from other packages such as Excel, provided the instructions for the receiving package are adhered to. In all cases a similar approach is used for coding and formatting data.
Usually the data is help on the computer in a rectangular data table where each row represents a ‘case’, i.e. a specific respondent and their data. Each column represents a specific variable, i.e. the data for that variable for all respondents. Note that a question on the questionnaire may require more than one variable to specify the data collected by that question.
A variable will have a unique title and a specific level of measurement. The measurement level of a variable is important because it determines the type of analysis that can be undertaken. In ascending order of sophistication these levels are:
Nominal, Ordinal, Scale
For ease of data handling and analysis the values that variables can take are usually designated by numeric codes, even when the variable is a nominal one. For example, gender can take the value male or female, but would usually be coded O and 1 (or 1 and 0) for ease of handling. Putting these data entry codes on the distributed questionnaire can help at data entry time, but obviously has the downside of putting numbers on the questionnaire that are of no relevance to the respondent and therefore could make the questionnaire look messier than it needs to.

Analysis packages usually make arrangements for missing values to be coded automatically; if they do not, this will have to be specifically taken care of when entering data.


Ref.:
Oxford Univ., http://remiss.politics.ox.ac.uk/





Typical Questionnaires Personality Assessment
I constantly feel I am used by other people with different scope of vision.
1 2 3 4 5
I often feel pressured into doing things I do not want to do.
1 2 3 4 5
I feel there is a constant pressure on me to assert standards that do not match my value system.
1 2 3 4 5
I am not frightened of acting independently from the crowd.
1 2 3 4 5
I feel happy only when I am in relationship with like minded.
1 2 3 4 5
I feel threatened by being caught up in situations where I have to go against my own will.
1 2 3 4 5
I worry about being stereotyped as a mass production.
1 2 3 4 5
I feel pressured by others scrutinizing my behaviors with members of the opposite sex. 1 2 3 4 5
I feel pressured to distance my relationship with my close family.
1 2 3 4 5
I feel pressurised into spending free times doing what others prefer.
1 2 3 4 5
I feel free to be myself whilst socialising with a group of likeminded.
1 2 3 4 5
My work is disrupted and blocked by the influence of others.
1 2 3 4 5
I am judged by the views and attitudes held by people around me who are ignorant.
1 2 3 4 5