Mistakes I’ve made in qualitative research interviews that you might be doing too
Well, this is embarrassing…
I recently commenced a new qualitative research project that sees me conducting semi-structured interviews with women and clinicians. Before I started interviewing I did a skill review of my interviewing technique. In this post I will share the things that I think I could have done better and how I have or will address them.
Like I said, embarrassing. But important.
Background
In my short research career I’ve completed three
different sets of interviews: (a) in-depth interviews with women about their
experiences of endometriosis, (b) semi-structured interviews with doctors (GPs
and gynaecologists) about their perceptions of women’s experiences of
endometriosis, and (c) semi-structured interviews with men who did and did not
have prostate cancer about their related perceptions and experiences.
I read back over all the interview transcripts focusing on what I had said, rather than what the participant had said. (If you're further in your career perhaps do a sample instead!)
I read back over all the interview transcripts focusing on what I had said, rather than what the participant had said. (If you're further in your career perhaps do a sample instead!)
Things to work on:
> Ask one question at a time
Sometimes I would think of an additional question to ask while already asking a participant something. So I would ask them both in one burst. This can be
confusing for participants and difficult for them to remember both questions, particularly if they gave a lengthy response to one of them.
Improve it! - I take notes throughout the interview
to remind myself of things I’m interested in so I can go back to them rather than
interrupt the participant. This usually helps with making sure I focus on one
topic and question at a time with the participant. (If interviewing in person,
make sure you tell the participant that you will be note taking and why, to save them feeling like they’re in an American sitcom at a
psychotherapist’s office.)
> Don't offer response options to participants (where appropriate)
Example (for clarification and not an actual question I asked!): "Did you feel sad or happy about being
diagnosed with infertility?" Instead of, "How
did you feel about being diagnosed with infertility?" I think I
sometimes did this as a way of making a very big, broad question seem less
daunting to participants. CRINGE.
Improve it! – Lead into a big question gradually and allow
participants time to think about their response. If you have adequately
informed them about the nature of the interview, they are unlikely to be shocked
by your ‘big’ questions.
> Try to avoid asking participants "why?"
In her fab textbook, Qualitative Research Methods, Pranee Liamputtong talks about how it can be very off-putting
to people to be asked why one does or believes something. People often do not
know why they do things and it can feel like you’re being interrogated to be
asked it.
Improve it! - Broader questions like “what do you think are
some of the reasons for…” may be more comfortable for the participant. It can sound
a bit long-winded to ask questions like this in text but it works in spoken
conversation, and definitely comes across as less intense than "why...?".
> Never assume to know what the participant means
Sometimes something a participant said seemed very obvious
to me so I would ask a follow-up question based on my understanding only to
find they meant a different thing. This might seem like an obvious thing not to do
but can be difficult in practice, particularly when you are familiar with the
community of people you are interviewing.
Improve it! - Even if something seems obvious to you or it is
something that people often say in that community take the time to explore this meaning with the participant. In
my experience, common phrases/endorsement of a discourse are often a flashing
reminder light to me that I shouldn’t assume to know what the participant means.
> Be comfortable with silence
Again, this is one of the most basic interview skills but to
actually practice it is a whole different thing from knowing it. Sometimes I
didn’t allow the participant enough time to think of a response. This can be particularly tricky when doing telephone interviews, as I’m doing in my current project. Silence seems awkward
because it’s not usually part of everyday conversation. But a research
interview is not an everyday conversation; the participant is usually so
focused on thinking of their response that they don’t notice it as being so
long.
Improve it! - I’ve since started counting slowly to 3 or 5 and
then checking if the participant would like more time to give their response. Taking a sip of water at around the count of 3 helps keep me in check (and hydrated).
> Don't be afraid to ask what is required of participants in powerful positions
When first interviewing doctors I was very mindful of how much time I had with them. Even though
they always made it seem like I had all the time in the world, everything about
them is busy. Interviews in their clinic rooms in particular felt like there
was a countdown timer on.
Improve it! - Becoming more familiar and experienced with
this setting has helped. So has reminding myself that I have given them
realistic time estimates, and that they volunteered to participate to contribute
something meaningful and can only do that in a space that provides the
opportunity to do so.
Side note: the good!
I think something I do well in my interviews
is create a safe space for participants. They tend to open up to me and talk
about intimate experiences or things that would be socially regarded as ‘taboo.’
It’s something I’m particularly proud of for my research with women. It’s an
honour to hear their experiences and I feel privileged that they trust me with
the story they are willing to give me.
I hope this exercise has helped others (and been
worth my embarrassment) as much as it has helped me. I highly recommend doing
it for yourself!
Kate xx