The interview process can be considered in three stages, namely; before the interview, during the interview, and after the interview. The steps in each interview stage are detailed below.
Before the Interview Process
Decide on Type & Method of the Interview
First, you will need to identify the information you need to gather to achieve your objectives and determine if interviews are the most appropriate for collecting this data. Then, you will need to decide whether to use structured, semi-structured, or unstructured interviews based on the information required, time, and budget. Also, you will need to decide how to conduct the interviews depending on the characteristics of potential participants. For instance, if the target population is children, elderly, or disabled individuals, face-to-face interviews are more suitable for communicating with the respondents as opposed to writing or phone conversations. On the other hand, you can conduct interviews online via Google Hangouts if the target population is college students. You can read tips or guidelines on when to use interviews, types, and methods of interviews that you can employ in research here.
Sample the Population
The next step in the interview process is to consider your sample and how you will recruit the participants. The commonly used technique for choosing subjects for the interview is purposive sampling where you select participants whom you believe will provide the most relevant and important information for the study. You may also opt to select key informants or specific persons whom you believe will provide the most information. Key informants are sometimes used to start snowball sampling or developing interview questions. Snowball sampling is a technique where you ask participants to provide names of other individuals who can provide the required information. Also, you may use convenience sampling which entails asking participants to whom you have easy access to be included in the research.
Determine the Sample Size
How many participants are enough for the interviews? This is a common question and there are several debates on what is the right sample size for interviews. The most important factor to consider when determining the sample size in interviews is saturation. Saturation is the point at which the gathering of fresh interview data no longer generates any new or relevant information. A good way to tell if you have reached saturation is when start hearing the same information repeatedly. Most qualitative research books, book chapters, and articles suggest that a sample of anywhere between 6 and 40 participants is adequate to achieve saturation. In most of the research projects done by experts at Project Editing Help, we have found that it takes12-16 interviews to reach 92%-97% saturation. You may use the following criteria to determine the appropriate sample size for your study;
- Is the sample reflective of the variation of the target group? – A homogenous population will need a smaller sample size to reach saturation compared to a heterogeneous population
- What are the selection criteria? – A smaller sample size is needed when you recruit key informants compared to when you are purposefully choosing from various subgroups.
- What is your budget for carrying out the study? – Do you have the funding/resources to continue?
- What is the timeline? – Do you have the time to conduct more interviews?
Invitations
The next step is to send invitations to potential participants. You should obtain contact information for a number of respondents that is larger than the sample size since some may not respond or consent to participate in the study. You can contact potential participants by phone, e-mail, or regular mail to set up appointments. In the invitation, introduce yourself and include the following details;
- Information about the study (what is the topic, why are you studying it, the purpose of the interview, what you plan to do with the data)
- How the sample was chosen (why them, the importance of their participation)
- Information regarding incentives
- Confidentiality
- Respond by date
- Possible dates/time/location of interviews
Remember to follow up or send reminders to potential participants.
Structure Interview Questions & Train Research Assistants
If you are using structured or semi-structured interviews, make a list of questions and pilot-test them with a sample of respondents. You may also need to form a panel of subject matter experts (three or more) to check and validate if the intended questions are relevant to your research issue. You will also need to decide who is going to conduct the interviews. If you will have an interviewer or translator, it is good to train him/her on the interview procedure. If more than one interviewer is involved, you will have to develop an information kit that introduces the topic and give instructions on the interview process. For unstructured interviews, you may need to hire skilled interviewers.
During the Interview Process
Ordering Questions
- Questions should be asked one at a time.
- Questions should be worded or explained clearly.
- Questions should be as neutral as possible
- Ask less “risky” questions first.
- Ask about some facts before asking about controversial issues such as feelings or attitudes.
- Ask specific and thought-provoking open-ended questions while avoiding yes/no questions.
- Avoid leading or biased questions.
- Be wary of asking “why” questions since they may make the respondent feel defensive or encourage him/her to answer unnaturally.
- Be patient, sensitive, and tolerant when you receive unconventional and provocative opinions.
- Use the common language/their language when possible.
Facilitating the Interview
- Be on time, and be prepared with interview questions, audiotapes, voice recorder, paper, and pen/pencil.
- Be prepared to reschedule the interview if a respondent has a problem with the timing.
- For the first 5-10 minutes, introduce yourself, the study, and initiate a friendly conversation.
- Explain the purpose of the study, the importance of their participation, the format of the interview, and the expected duration of the interview.
- Also, inform the participants how the interview will be recorded, confidentiality measures, the relationship of the interviewer to the subject, and how the information collected will be used.
- Ask the respondent if they have any questions.
- After the introduction, obtain their written consent to participate.
- Establish rapport by speaking slowly and clearly, show that you are engaged through eye contact, leaning in slightly, nodding, repeating a summary of a response when appropriate, etc.
- Try to stay focused on the topic of inquiry, ask all the questions and any follow-up questions as appropriate to get the depth of information you need.
- Ask the interviewee to repeat what they said if necessary, but only when it is something important.
- Take good notes.
- Ensure proper recording by regularly checking the voice recorder without distracting the respondent.
- Complete the interview session within the agreed time limit.
- Make sure all questions were asked, thank the respondent for participating, and ask them if they have any questions.
After the Interview Process
Debrief each participant after the interview session, provide additional information if needed, reassure confidentiality, explain again how data will be used, and ask for permission to contact them for clarity. Listen to the audiotape to ensure the interview was properly recorded and make additional notes if needed. After all interview sessions have been conducted, organize the responses properly to ensure you do not mix up the participants’ responses. You can use numbers (e.g. P01, P02, P03, and so on) or pseudonyms to name the audio files and organize them in a computer folder. You will need to transcribe the responses from semi-structured and unstructured questionnaires or hire a professional transcriber. Also, get ready for the data analysis by searching for resources for analyzing qualitative data and/or quantitative data if a structured questionnaire was used. For qualitative data, you can use thematic analysis or a qualitative data analysis program such as NVivo or RQDA. For quantitative data, there are many data analysis software that may be used such as Excel, SPSS, R Project, and STATA.
Analysis of Interview Data