Slide 10.

Chapter 10
Collecting primary data using semi-structured, in-depth and group interviews

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.2

Research interviews

Definition
An interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people
Kahn and Cannell (1957)

Types of interview used in research Semi-structured In-depth Structured Group

Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.3

Purpose of an interview
Interview is a discussion between two or more people for a purpose Interviews help us to gather valid and reliable data that are relevant to our research questions and objectives

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.4

Research purpose and strategy (1)

Forms of interview

Saunders et al. (2009) Figure 10.1 Forms of interview

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.5

Structured Interview
It uses questionnaires based on a pre-determined and standardised or identical set of questions. These are referred to as intervieweradministered questionnaires You read out each question and then record the response on a schedule usually with pre-coded answers As structured interviews are used to collect quantifiable data they are also referred to as Quantitative research interviews

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.6

Semi-structured Interviews
It allows researcher to have a list of themes and questions to be covered in the interview although this may vary Because these interviews are non-standardised, they are often referred to as Qualitative research interviews You may omit some questions in the interview whereas order of the questions may also vary according to the flow of conversation Additional questions may be required to explore your research questions Nature of the questions and the discussion mean that data will be recorded by audio-recording or perhaps note-taking.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.7

Unstructured Interviews These are informal interviews and we use them to explore in depth a general idea in our research field There is no pre-determined list of questions to work through in this situation

The interviewee is given the opportunity to talk freely about events, behaviour and beliefs in relation to the topic area
Therefore, it is better known as Informanl interview since it is the interviewees perceptions that guide the conduct of the interview. In comparison, a participants (respondent) interview is one where the interviewer directs the interview, and interviewee responds to the questions of the researcher
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.8

Interview and type of research

In an exploratory research study, in-depth interviews can be very helpful to find out what is happening and to seek new insight. Semi structured or un structured interviews may be used in relation to an exploratory study. In descriptive studies structured interviews can be used as a means to identify general patterns. In an explanatory study, semi structured and semi structured interviews can be used in order to understand the relationships between variables, such as those revealed from a descriptive study, structured interview may also be used in relation to an explanatory study, in statistical sense.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.9

Research purpose and strategy (2)

Uses of different types of interview in each of the main research categories

Saunders et al. (2009) Table 10.1 Uses of different types of interview in each of the main research categories
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.10

Approaches to questioning

Open questions

Probing questions

Specific and closed questions

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.11

Open questions
The use of open question will allow participants to define and describe the situation or event. An open Questionnaire is designed to encourage the interviewee to provide an extensive and developmental answer and may be used to reveal attitudes or obtain facts. It encourages the interviewee to reply as they wish. An open question is likely to start with or include, one of the following words: what, or how, or why,.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.12

Probing questions
Can be used to explore responses that are of significance to the research topic. They may be worded like open questions but request a particular focus or direction.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.13

Specific and closed questions

These types of questions are simpler to those used in structured interviews. They can be used to obtain specific information or to confirm a fact or opinion.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.14

Interviewing competence In relation to semi-structured and in-depth research interviews, we need to develop competence in following areas: opening the interview using appropriate language Questioning Listening Testing and summarizing understanding Recognizing and dealing with difficult participants Recording data

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.15

Recognizing and dealing with difficult participants

Recognized difficulty

Suggestion

Participant appears willing only to give If it is due to limited time, or worries monosyllabic answers (yes/no) about anonymity, then this can be minimized by careful opening of the interview Participant repeatedly provides long We actually need to impose more answers which digress from the focus of direction although some long answers can your interview be tolerated. By referring back to an earlier relevant point and asking them to tell you more, or requesting that they pause so that note down what they have said.

Participant starts interviewing you

You need to stress that you are interested in their opinions and if they wish, they can ask you questions in the end.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.16

Participant is proud of their status This is extremely difficult and at times relative to you and wants to show off you will have to listen attentively and be their knowledge criticizing what you do respectful. Be confident and prepared to justify your research and the research design you have chosen as you should have knowledge about your research. Participant becomes noticeably upset Another difficult situation for you. during interview You need to give your participant time to answer your question and, in particular, do not do anything to suggest that you are feeling impatient.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.17

Group interviews
Non-standardized interviews may also be conducted on a group basis, where the interviewer asks questions to a group of participants Group interview is used as a general term to describe all nonstandardized interviews (focus group, group interview, group discussion etc ) conducted with two or more people. The term focus group is used to refer to those group interview where the topic where the topic is defined clearly and there is focus on recording interactive discussion between participants.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.18

Group Interview

In a group interview you role will be to ensure that all participants have the opportunity to state their points of view and answer your question
This type of interview can range from being highly structured to unstructured although it tends to be relatively unstructured and free flowing. Group interactions may lead to a highly productive discussion as interviewees respond to your questions and evaluate points made by the group

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

Slide 10.19

Focus groups

A focus group interview is a group interview that focuses clearly upon a particular issue, product, service or topic and encompasses the need for interactive discussion amongst participants
If you are running a focus group, you will probably be referred to as moderator facilitator and your job will be to: -- keep the group with the boundaries of the topic -- generate interest in the topic and encourage discussion whilst at the same time dont allow the group towards certain opinions

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009