Interviews
Depth and Structure
The interviews will involve an in-depth exploration of the issues. The questions will be structured around themes that arose in the focus groups and the surveys. The interviews will be semi-structured and should be perceived as a dialogue between the interviewer and the participant. A good qualitative interview “is more like an intimate and personal sharing of a confidence with a trusted friend.” Therefore, an interview is based on a personal relationship that is grounded in respect.
Ethical Considerations
Research participants are entitled to complete honesty. At the beginning of the contact with a potential interviewee, you must explain the nature of the interview, the purpose and how the participant has been selected.
Research participants have the right to know who you are. You must state your name and to which organization you belong (or professional affiliation). Furthermore, you must provide a phone number from a supervisor (or the LC) that research participants can verify that you are the person you say you are if they ask for it.
Research participants have the right to know how the data will be kept secure. They have to be assured that no child or family member will be identified and that only a few people will know the identity of the participants and where the securely locked “raw” data will be kept. The researchers will work with codes as much as possible instead of names. Further details on this will be provided to interviewers once the ethics documents to the REB have been finalized.
Research participants should be assured that the data they provide will be treated in confidence. That means using codes but it also means that the researchers will be very careful with the “raw” data (i.e. transcripts). Printed copies that are not used will be immediately destroyed (shredded or burned). Never discuss anything with friends or family members. Report lost or stolen confidential material immediately to the research team in Halifax.
Interview Guide
We will be preparing an interview guide for your use. Like the focus groups, we would like you to remain relatively neutral – try to avoid offering your own opinions or filling in examples from your own experience.
Recording
The interviews should be tape recorded, as long as the participant is comfortable with this. Otherwise, the interviewer will be taking hand-written notes and expected to flesh them out and polish them once the interview is completed.
Location
When arranging the interview be sure to find a place that is suitable (ideally, a quiet room in a community organization) and comfortable for you and the respondent.
How to Arrange Interviews
Contact the research participant and arrange an interview date. A letter (provided to you by the research team) will have preceeded. Be sensitive to the participant’s concerns. Offer the participant a choice of interview locations, e.g. a public space, an office, her house. Try to make sure that the place of interview is safe and quiet for the duration of the interview (i.e. children are in school).
Make it clear that the contribution of the research participant is very important in the research process and for the research goals and that it will ultimately benefit the participant (the final report will be widely disseminated).
Inform the participant of the expected duration of the interview.
Inform the participant of the honorarium provided.
Offer to pick up and drop off the participant if needed.
Assure the participant about anonymity and the confidentiality of the information s/he is going to give you. There will be a statement about confidentiality in the invitation letter as well.
Ideally do not schedule more than one interview per day and a maximum of two.
After the interview guide has been prepared, try to memorize the questions in order to avoid looking at the interview schedule too much while interviewing. If you know the questions by heart, the questions become a natural part of the interview/conversation.
One Day Before An Interview
Call the participant one day before the arranged interview to inquire if the time, date and location are still okay. Reschedule the interview if the arranged time is not possible.
Ask directions if you travel to the participant’s house. Do not assume that you can find the address easily. Leave your phone number behind. Have the person’s telephone number handy.
Make sure that the tape-recorder is in good shape, that you have clean tapes, at least one extra tape than anticipated, fresh batteries and an adaptor. We suggest that you use the adaptor whenever possible. Also, have a pen and writing pad with you, in case the participant does not want to be taped.
On the Day of the Interview
Make sure you have all the materials you need before departing for the interview: recorder, adaptor, fresh batteries, tapes, pencils, pads, consent forms, the interview guide, the honorarium money (depending on the arrangement you have with your LC), an external microphone, a telephone number and address instructions for the participant’s house (if the interview takes place in her house).
Arrive on time, not too early or too late. Make sure you have lots of time for the trip so that you can cope with eventualities such as locked-in car keys, flat tires, road construction, missed turns, etc.
Be calm, natural and positive. Do not overdress or underdress. Accept whatever is offered to you, such as coffee and tea, if the interview takes place in a private home.
Do not rush the participant if s/he is caught up in some other activity, particularly when the interview is taking place at his/her home. You may use that time to have some pleasant chit-chat or you could comment on some pictures or other interesting items in the person’s house.
Give some appropriate personal information. For example, if you have children, you can mention that. This often breaks the ‘ice’. Although this time is not ‘official’ interview time, it may be the most important period to establish a positive rapport.
Ask the participant where s/he wants to be interviewed (first choice is often the kitchen table). If you feel this is not a quiet spot because a dishwasher is running etc., suggest somewhere else.
Set a policy for when the telephone rings (i.e., shut the tape-recorder off and start again after the participant has returned).
Before you start interviewing, discuss the issue of confidentiality and consent. Have the consent form signed before you start the interview. We will provide the consent form.
Ask permission to tape-record the interview. If the participant objects, take notes. Most people do not mind to be tape-recorded.
Take time to answer all the participant’s questions about the interview and the project before you start the interview.
Make sure the tape-recorder is set up properly and works before you start the interview. Test if it actually records. Make sure you turn it on before you start.
During the Interview
Frequently during the first few minutes of an interview both, the interviewer and the participant, are often a bit nervous. This will disappear when you start with an opening question that is general, open-ended and deals with a topic that is close to the participant’s heart. Awareness of the tape recorder will disappear.
Do not forget your role as interviewer however. You are conducting an interview. Try to keep on track. Keep a copy of your interview guide in front of you but try not to ‘read’ the questions. Make the questions a part of your conversation. If you miss a question, do not interrupt but try to get to it when appropriate in the conversation / interview.
Keep an unobtrusive eye on the tape-recorder. Try to anticipate when the tape has to be turned or changed. Do not forget to turn it on again, after you have changed tape, and to check again that it actually records.
Stay ‘with’ the participant. Listen carefully and ask clarifications if you do not fully understand what is being said. Remember when the tape is being transcribed, the transcriber does not see the non-verbal gestures of the speaker thus the intent of the spoken word has to be very clear.
Important Skills
The ability to listen: Active listening involves a total acceptance of the other person and what they have to say. Body language and tone of voice are as important as actual words alone. Make sure you face the participant directly and make eye-contact. Do not fidget; concentrate on the participant. Try to maintain an open posture, avoid crossing arms, legs or clenching your hands.
The ability to acknowledge: One of the most important tasks an interviewer has is to acknowledge to the participant that they have been heard.
The ability to summarize: Points are rephrased as briefly and clearly as possible, including feelings.
The ability to probe: Probing is a request for more information and it can be accomplished in various ways:
- when the interviewer repeats the respondent’s words as stated, the respondent reflects on the issue further and may add more information.
- the interviewer repeats, with different words, the question if the participant does not seem to understand it.
- a brief response such as: “That is interesting” or “I see” may encourage the respondent to share more information.
- a five second pause gives respondents the feeling that you, the interviewer, feels that they have more to say.
Characteristics of a Good Interview
Make it clear to the participant that s/he is the person with the knowledge.
Do not fidget but give the participant all your attention. Be prepared to prompt or ask clarifications. When the participant asks: “where was I?” you, as interviewer, should be able to answer that question.
Show respect.
Do not rush the participant. Silences can be OK. Remember, an interview is not an interrogation. If the participant gets ‘way off topic’, gently lead the participant back to the interview. (Sometimes ‘off topic’ can provide the most interesting data).
Do not use jargon language.
Do not become a therapist, even in the case of heart wrenching personal stories.
If the interview schedule seems illogical in the field, do not jump around with the questions but ask them in the logical way. Therefore it is important that you have memorized the questions.
Do not be satisfied with one syllable answers. Be aware when the participant starts to give yes and/or no answers. When this happens, probe with something like: “Can you tell me a bit more about it?” Do not push when the participant is reluctant to continue.
Avoid double barreled, “why?” and leading questions.
Do not play the expert. When a participant asks: “what do you think?” be honest and tell the participant that you are willing to discuss the issue(s) after the interview, but that you are now interested in what the participant thinks.
If you have reached the end of the interview always ask if the person wants to ask something more to the interview or if an important issue has been ignored.
If, for some reason, shortly after you have started the interview a major interruption takes place, do not insist that the interview be continued but offer to re-schedule the interview.
After the Interview
Bring the interview to a closure when appropriate. Sometimes not all the questions have been discussed because children are arriving home from school or another major interruption is going to take place. Take time to chit-chat. Finish the interview, if possible, when the disruption has ended. In the short duration of the interview you have become very close to the participant. You may be invited for lunch or supper. It is better to decline the invitation. You need a break, particularly when you have another interview scheduled that day or other work. By now you may feel exhausted.
Make sure you thank the person for her/his time and the valuable information provided.
Either pay the honorarium in cash to the participant or forward his/her name to the LC for payment. The exact arrangement will be discussed between interviewers and LCs. The researchers will provide a check in advance to each LC.
When you are back in the car or a quiet place, check if the tape recorder has recorded properly. If, for some reason, the interview was not properly recorded, start to reconstruct the interview immediately on tape. If the tape recorder still does not work, reconstruct the interview on paper.
If the tape recorder worked properly, take a few minutes to record your own impressions of the interview and to describe the physical environment of the interview. These “fieldnotes” may be very helpful in the tape transcription and to the researchers when analyzing the interview data.
Do not write the name of the participant on the tape but use the code number/name. Store the tape in a safe place until you send it to the research team in Halifax.
If possible, transcribe the tape before doing other interviews in order to learn from the experience.
An official thank-you letter will follow at the time specified by the research team. The research team will supply the model for the letter. Also, a telephone call will be made, in about a week’s time, by the interviewer to the participant in order to confirm that things are OK.
