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!) 

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!

What have you learnt from your interview experience? Let me know on Twitter or Instagram.

Kate xx