Summary Evers & de Boer
2 The qualitatve interview: features, types and preparaton
2.1 What is qualitatve interviewing?
The qualitatie iinteriiew, also nino win as o pein, uinstructured, semisstructured o r iinsdepth iinteriiew,
is iery similar to ain o rdiinary co iniersato inn o weier, it is difereint iin so me respects:
The iinteriiew is a research to o l
The researcher determiines the to pic fo r the iinteriiew aind iinteinto inally selects the perso ins
that are go iing to be iinteriiewedn
Bo th straingers aind acquaiintainces are iinteriiewed
The researcher leads the iinteriiew, addresses to pics deliberately, aind explo res theses iin
depth with the respo indeintsn
The ainswer is ino t nino win iin adiaince
The respo indeint determiines to a large exteint the size aind type o f iinfo rmato in giieinn
To achieie this, o ine cain pursue fie go als iin a qualitatie iinteriiew:
Depth and detail
The aim is to co llect mo re iinfo rmato in co inceriniing eiery aspect o f the to pic uinder scrutinyn o stly,
pro biing is do ine withiin the to picn Depth is reached by searchiing fo r ain ainswer, that trainsceinds the
superfcialn ere, the iinterest lies iin the partcular meainiing o f a statemeint fo r the respo indeintn
Nuance
Whein lo o niing fo r inuaince, it is assumed that reality is ino t blacn aind whiten Nuaince implies difereint
leielsn Nuaince is o btaiined by pro biingn
Liveliness
Liieliiness is bro ught iinto the iinteriiew by fo rmulating questo ins iin such a way that they create ro o m
fo r the sto ry the respo indeint might waint to telln It meains the fo cus is ino t o inly o in lo o niing fo r factual
o r rato inal ainswers, but the iinteriiewer is also creating ro o m fo r the emo to inal o r perceptual
aspectsn
Richness
If ain iinteriiew is rich iin iinfo rmato in, it co intaiins mainy difereint ideas aind themesn As such, the width
o f the subject is co ieredn To acco mplish this, o ine might use pro besn
Contrastnn qualitatve interviews with other forms of informaton natherinn
The qualitatie iinteriiew has practcal o r scieintfc preteince aind a ro bust metho do lo gical fo rmatn Iin a
qualitatie iinteriiewer, clearly the researcher beinefts mo stn At the same tme tho ugh, respo indeints
o ftein also beineft fro m the iinteriiewn Iin acto in research o ftein mo re thain iin scieintfc researchn At the
relato inal leiel, it cain also create a bo ind betweein the researcher aind the respo indeint, which cain
co intinue after the iiniestgato inn
2.2 Defining the qualitatve interview
Co mmo inalites fo uind iin the difereint descripto ins o f the qualitatie iinteriiew are:
Purpo seful gatheriing o f iinfo rmato in: there is a research questo in
Difereintato in o f ro les betweein iinteriiewer aind iinteriiewee: the researcher asns questo ins
aind the respo indeint ainswers
, Opeininess o f po ssible ainswers; ainswers are o inly checned o in their releiaince to the research
questo in co inteint, ino t o in their co inteint
The depth with which iinfo rmato in abo ut the experieinces o f the respo indeint is co llectedn This
is o ppo sed to quainttatie research, which maiinly wo rns with clo sed questo ins aind ainsweriing
catego riesn
Iin this bo o n, qualitatie iinteriiewiing is defined as:
'A qualitatie iinteriiew is a fo rm o f iinfo rmato in gatheriing, iin which the iinteriiewer queries o ine o r
mo re respo indeints, based o in a research questo inn Thereby, the iinteriiewer creates space fo r the
respo indeints to dwell s iin their o win wo rds s o in the perceiied facts, their experieinces, the meainiing
they giie to the subject o f iiniestgato in, inuainces regardiing it aind its po ssible efect o in their liiesn Iin
do iing so , the iinteriiewer tries to uinderstaind aind tho ro ughly iiniestgate the respo indeints' wo rldn
The qualitatie iinteriiew refects a certaiin epistemo lo gical iiewpo iint as welln
Iiniiting respo indeints to taln abo ut their experieinces iin their o win wo rds creates
co mpreheinsio in o f, aind nino wledge abo ut peo ple
Iinteriiewiing implies a relato inship betweein researcher aind respo indeint, po wer aind geinder
issues might play a ro le
Oin a epistemo lo gical leiel, there is ain ethical po sito in liinned to the qualitatie iinteriiewn
Go o d qualitatie iinteriiewiing assumes certaiin nino wledge aind a co insiderable amo uint o f practce; it
iinio lies bo th Snill aind Artn Oince the researcher has decided what his research pro blem is, he will frst
determiine who the target audieince is fo r the pro jectn Oinly thein cain he decide what type o f iinteriiew
is preferablen
2.3 Respondents come in shapes and sizes
The difereinces betweein peo ple play a ro le iin prepariing a qualitatie iinteriiewn The po iint is that the
researcher respo inds to the reality o f that partcular respo indeint, such that the trust o r rappo rt he is
able to build betweein bo th o f them is linely to deielo pn
2.4 Who are you, as an interviewer?
Duriing a qualitatie iinteriiew, the iinteriiewer will o ftein haie to impro iise aind fo llo w the sto ry o f
the respo indeintn The subject o f the research pro ject aind the type o f respo indeint that is go iing to be
iinteriiewed, will require him to tane the ro le o f ain empathetc iinteriiewer o r a mo re co infro intato inal
type o f iinteriiewern The perso inality o f the iinteriiewer also has to be tanein iinto acco uintn
Refecting o in o ine's iinteriiew style is ain iintegral part o f the qualitatie research pro cessn The Snill
Leariniing Cycle by Go rdein (1998), which iisualizes ho w theo retcally the pro cess o f refiniing iinteriiew
snills will pro gress, cain be o f help iin do iing so n
, 2.5 Exploraton, interview types and questons
Qualitatie research is o ftein asso ciated with explo rato inn It is assumed that qualitatie researchers
ineed litle tme to desigin their research, as it o ccurs duriing the research pro jectn This impro iisiing
quality o f qualitatie research co incerins the uinderstaindiing o f the wo rld fro m the iiewpo iint o f the
respo indeintn It requires great fexibility o in the part o f the researcher aind sho uld ino t be co infused with
explo rato ry research, which is so methiing quite difereintn Iin explo rato ry research, the research
questo in itself is quite o pein, as there is ino t a great deal nino wledge aiailable o in the research to picn
The difereince betweein bo th o f them cain be fo uind iin their relato inship to wards the research desiginn
They share fexibility aind o peininess to wards inew iinsights aind iiewpo iintsn
2.5.1 Interview types
The inumber o f respo indeints who partcipate iin the iinteriiew cain be used as a starting po iint fo r the
type o f iinteriiew to co inductn The co inteint o ine wo uld line to co ier duriing the iinteriiew cain also be
used as the basis fo r the desiginn Clo sely co ininected to this is the degree o f structure that is plainined
fo r the iinteriiewn
Iindiiidual is gro up iinteriiews
Iin iindiiidual iinteriiews typically o ine perso in will be iinteriiewed at a tme, so metmes two n Iin
co intrast, gro up iinteriiews are geinerally co inducted with six to tein perso ins simultaineo uslyn These are
called fo cus gro ups, if the iiniestgato r selects the target respo indeints usiing certaiin shared
characteristcsn
Cultural is thematc iinteriiews
Based o in the research questo in aind o bjectie, the type o f iinteriiew deplo yed is either fo cused o in so s
called cultural issues o r o in thematc issuesn Iin cultural iinteriiews, the co incerin is with eieryday lifen
Usually, these to pics are ino t iery explicitn It is quite difcult, therefo re, to fo rmulate aind po se
questo ins regardiing these matersn Iinteriiewees are mo stly ino t aware o f them aind find it hard to
artculate themn It is o ftein useful to co mbiine these iinteriiews with (partcipaint) o bseriato in as a
meains o f data co llecto inn Iin thematc iinteriiews, the co incerin is a subject that is o ftein defined aind is
placed iin a certaiin tme framen
2 The qualitatve interview: features, types and preparaton
2.1 What is qualitatve interviewing?
The qualitatie iinteriiew, also nino win as o pein, uinstructured, semisstructured o r iinsdepth iinteriiew,
is iery similar to ain o rdiinary co iniersato inn o weier, it is difereint iin so me respects:
The iinteriiew is a research to o l
The researcher determiines the to pic fo r the iinteriiew aind iinteinto inally selects the perso ins
that are go iing to be iinteriiewedn
Bo th straingers aind acquaiintainces are iinteriiewed
The researcher leads the iinteriiew, addresses to pics deliberately, aind explo res theses iin
depth with the respo indeintsn
The ainswer is ino t nino win iin adiaince
The respo indeint determiines to a large exteint the size aind type o f iinfo rmato in giieinn
To achieie this, o ine cain pursue fie go als iin a qualitatie iinteriiew:
Depth and detail
The aim is to co llect mo re iinfo rmato in co inceriniing eiery aspect o f the to pic uinder scrutinyn o stly,
pro biing is do ine withiin the to picn Depth is reached by searchiing fo r ain ainswer, that trainsceinds the
superfcialn ere, the iinterest lies iin the partcular meainiing o f a statemeint fo r the respo indeintn
Nuance
Whein lo o niing fo r inuaince, it is assumed that reality is ino t blacn aind whiten Nuaince implies difereint
leielsn Nuaince is o btaiined by pro biingn
Liveliness
Liieliiness is bro ught iinto the iinteriiew by fo rmulating questo ins iin such a way that they create ro o m
fo r the sto ry the respo indeint might waint to telln It meains the fo cus is ino t o inly o in lo o niing fo r factual
o r rato inal ainswers, but the iinteriiewer is also creating ro o m fo r the emo to inal o r perceptual
aspectsn
Richness
If ain iinteriiew is rich iin iinfo rmato in, it co intaiins mainy difereint ideas aind themesn As such, the width
o f the subject is co ieredn To acco mplish this, o ine might use pro besn
Contrastnn qualitatve interviews with other forms of informaton natherinn
The qualitatie iinteriiew has practcal o r scieintfc preteince aind a ro bust metho do lo gical fo rmatn Iin a
qualitatie iinteriiewer, clearly the researcher beinefts mo stn At the same tme tho ugh, respo indeints
o ftein also beineft fro m the iinteriiewn Iin acto in research o ftein mo re thain iin scieintfc researchn At the
relato inal leiel, it cain also create a bo ind betweein the researcher aind the respo indeint, which cain
co intinue after the iiniestgato inn
2.2 Defining the qualitatve interview
Co mmo inalites fo uind iin the difereint descripto ins o f the qualitatie iinteriiew are:
Purpo seful gatheriing o f iinfo rmato in: there is a research questo in
Difereintato in o f ro les betweein iinteriiewer aind iinteriiewee: the researcher asns questo ins
aind the respo indeint ainswers
, Opeininess o f po ssible ainswers; ainswers are o inly checned o in their releiaince to the research
questo in co inteint, ino t o in their co inteint
The depth with which iinfo rmato in abo ut the experieinces o f the respo indeint is co llectedn This
is o ppo sed to quainttatie research, which maiinly wo rns with clo sed questo ins aind ainsweriing
catego riesn
Iin this bo o n, qualitatie iinteriiewiing is defined as:
'A qualitatie iinteriiew is a fo rm o f iinfo rmato in gatheriing, iin which the iinteriiewer queries o ine o r
mo re respo indeints, based o in a research questo inn Thereby, the iinteriiewer creates space fo r the
respo indeints to dwell s iin their o win wo rds s o in the perceiied facts, their experieinces, the meainiing
they giie to the subject o f iiniestgato in, inuainces regardiing it aind its po ssible efect o in their liiesn Iin
do iing so , the iinteriiewer tries to uinderstaind aind tho ro ughly iiniestgate the respo indeints' wo rldn
The qualitatie iinteriiew refects a certaiin epistemo lo gical iiewpo iint as welln
Iiniiting respo indeints to taln abo ut their experieinces iin their o win wo rds creates
co mpreheinsio in o f, aind nino wledge abo ut peo ple
Iinteriiewiing implies a relato inship betweein researcher aind respo indeint, po wer aind geinder
issues might play a ro le
Oin a epistemo lo gical leiel, there is ain ethical po sito in liinned to the qualitatie iinteriiewn
Go o d qualitatie iinteriiewiing assumes certaiin nino wledge aind a co insiderable amo uint o f practce; it
iinio lies bo th Snill aind Artn Oince the researcher has decided what his research pro blem is, he will frst
determiine who the target audieince is fo r the pro jectn Oinly thein cain he decide what type o f iinteriiew
is preferablen
2.3 Respondents come in shapes and sizes
The difereinces betweein peo ple play a ro le iin prepariing a qualitatie iinteriiewn The po iint is that the
researcher respo inds to the reality o f that partcular respo indeint, such that the trust o r rappo rt he is
able to build betweein bo th o f them is linely to deielo pn
2.4 Who are you, as an interviewer?
Duriing a qualitatie iinteriiew, the iinteriiewer will o ftein haie to impro iise aind fo llo w the sto ry o f
the respo indeintn The subject o f the research pro ject aind the type o f respo indeint that is go iing to be
iinteriiewed, will require him to tane the ro le o f ain empathetc iinteriiewer o r a mo re co infro intato inal
type o f iinteriiewern The perso inality o f the iinteriiewer also has to be tanein iinto acco uintn
Refecting o in o ine's iinteriiew style is ain iintegral part o f the qualitatie research pro cessn The Snill
Leariniing Cycle by Go rdein (1998), which iisualizes ho w theo retcally the pro cess o f refiniing iinteriiew
snills will pro gress, cain be o f help iin do iing so n
, 2.5 Exploraton, interview types and questons
Qualitatie research is o ftein asso ciated with explo rato inn It is assumed that qualitatie researchers
ineed litle tme to desigin their research, as it o ccurs duriing the research pro jectn This impro iisiing
quality o f qualitatie research co incerins the uinderstaindiing o f the wo rld fro m the iiewpo iint o f the
respo indeintn It requires great fexibility o in the part o f the researcher aind sho uld ino t be co infused with
explo rato ry research, which is so methiing quite difereintn Iin explo rato ry research, the research
questo in itself is quite o pein, as there is ino t a great deal nino wledge aiailable o in the research to picn
The difereince betweein bo th o f them cain be fo uind iin their relato inship to wards the research desiginn
They share fexibility aind o peininess to wards inew iinsights aind iiewpo iintsn
2.5.1 Interview types
The inumber o f respo indeints who partcipate iin the iinteriiew cain be used as a starting po iint fo r the
type o f iinteriiew to co inductn The co inteint o ine wo uld line to co ier duriing the iinteriiew cain also be
used as the basis fo r the desiginn Clo sely co ininected to this is the degree o f structure that is plainined
fo r the iinteriiewn
Iindiiidual is gro up iinteriiews
Iin iindiiidual iinteriiews typically o ine perso in will be iinteriiewed at a tme, so metmes two n Iin
co intrast, gro up iinteriiews are geinerally co inducted with six to tein perso ins simultaineo uslyn These are
called fo cus gro ups, if the iiniestgato r selects the target respo indeints usiing certaiin shared
characteristcsn
Cultural is thematc iinteriiews
Based o in the research questo in aind o bjectie, the type o f iinteriiew deplo yed is either fo cused o in so s
called cultural issues o r o in thematc issuesn Iin cultural iinteriiews, the co incerin is with eieryday lifen
Usually, these to pics are ino t iery explicitn It is quite difcult, therefo re, to fo rmulate aind po se
questo ins regardiing these matersn Iinteriiewees are mo stly ino t aware o f them aind find it hard to
artculate themn It is o ftein useful to co mbiine these iinteriiews with (partcipaint) o bseriato in as a
meains o f data co llecto inn Iin thematc iinteriiews, the co incerin is a subject that is o ftein defined aind is
placed iin a certaiin tme framen
