Yamamoto1

TheQualitativeInterviewingMethod:
WhyStructureisKeytoSuccessfulDataCollection

ChaseYamamoto

ExpositoryWritingII,Period5
Mrs.Yuasa

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TheQualitativeInterviewingMethod:
WhyStructureisKeytoSuccessfulDataCollection

Introduction:
Itisquiteclearthatoursocietywouldbeunabletoprogresswithoutproperinterviews.
Ourstudiesandexperimentswouldbecompromisedwithoutit.AccordingtoDr.Owen
DoodyPh.D,Interviewsareprobablytheapproachmostusedtocollectdatainstudies.They
areparticularlyusefulinuncoveringthestorybehindaparticipant'sexperiences.Interviews
areavitaltoolincollectingdataandinformation.Manyoftodayssocialexperiments,
projects,andstatisticsareformedthroughtheuseofinterviews.Whiletherearemultiple
formsofconstructinganinterview,qualitativeinterviewsarepossiblythemosteffectivefor
conductingresearchandcollectingdata.However,itisonlysuccessfulifitfollowsand
effectiveinterviewprotocol.Ifwedonotsticktoasolidinterviewprotocol,wewillnotbeable
toretrievetheinformationthatwearesearchingfor,andoureffortswillbeinvain.

WhatisQualitativeInterviewing?
Ifwedesiretoachievethegreatestunderstandingofaparticularissue,itmost
beneficialtouseastructuredversionoftheQualitativeInterviewingMethod.Qualitative
interviewingisclearlythebestwaytointerviewothers,andcollecttheinformationthatthey
provide.AccordingtoScottClifford,Qualitativeinterviewingprovidesamethodforcollecting
richanddetailedinformationabouthowindividualsexperience,understandandexplain
eventsintheirlives.Qualitativeinterviewingisusedtounderstandspecificthings,suchas
issuesthatpeopleface,ortheirpersonalopinionsontodayscurrenttopics.Thereisa
multitudeofusesorqualitativeinterviewing,anditisanunbeatablemethodforcollecting
data.Therearetwomaintypesofinterviews:QualitativeInterviewsandQuantitative

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Interviews(SociologicalInquiryPrinciples9.29.3).Qualitativeinterviewsallowthesubject
toansweropenendedquestions,whilequantitativeinterviewsaremuchmorestandardized.

WhoisAffectedByIneffectiveDataCollection:
Qualitativeinterviewsareusedonaconsistentbasis.Thelackofaneffective
interviewprotocolwheninterviewingasubjectwillthrowoffyourdata.Therepercussionsof
inaccuratedatadoesnotonlyaffectyou.Theentireexperiment/researchprojectis
invalidated,affectingthetestsubjectsthatyoucollecteddatafrom,andmisinformsanyone
thatobservesyourfindings.Theaccuracyofyourdataisvitalwhenconductingresearch.
Theuseofaneffectiveinterviewprotocolwillincreasetheprobabilityofgettinganswersthat
willeitherprove/disproveyourhypothesis(Clifford,1).Thepossibilityofdistorteddatamust
beeliminated,throughtheuseofastructuredinterview.Acommonmisconceptionisthe
notionthatstructuredqualitativeinterviewsdontreallymatterandareusedfortrivial
purposesratherthanpracticalpurposes.Thisisabsolutelyuntrue.Manyoftodaysinterviews
arebasedontheStructuredQualitativeInterviewingMethod.Jobinterviews,news
interviews,evenmanyoftodayssocialexperimentsrelyonsomesortofstructuredqualitative
interviewingmethod.

PreparationinaStructuredQualitativeInterview:
Theuseofqualitativeinterviewsareimportant,andrequireaplanned,thoughtout
interviewprotocol.Thequalitativeinterviewingmethodfocusesonallaspectsoftheinterview,
ensuringthatthedatacollectedisprecise,sincere,andreliable.Believeitornot,preparation
isthekeyforasuccessfulinterview.Asuccessfulinterviewprotocolhasalistofreasonable
prerequisitesthatmustbemetbeforetheactualinterviewcantakeplace.Preciseplanning

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cannarrowthefocusoftheinterviewtotheimportantdetailsthatyourequire.Accordingto
DanielW.TurnerIIIfromtheQualitativeReport,thereare8majorstepsinpreparingforan
interview:
1. Chooseasettingwithlittledistraction.
2. Explainthepurposeoftheinterview.
3. Addresstermsofconfidentiality.
4. Explaintheformatoftheinterview.
5. Informtheparticipantsoftheestimated
lengthoftheinterview.
6. Telltheparticipantshowtocontactyou.
7. Askparticipantsiftheyhaveanyquestions.
8. Dontcountonmemorytorecalltheiranswers.
Preparationisimportanttoyourownabilitytoconductresearch,andthesubjecttoprovideit.
Withoutagoodsenseofpreparationinyourqualitativeinterviewprotocol,ityourresearchwill
notbesuccessfuldueyourinabilitytocollectdata,ortheirinabilitytoprovideyouwith
answers.QualitativeInterviewsshouldtreatbothparties,theintervieweeandtheinterviewer
withcare.

TheContentofanEffectiveQualitativeInterviewProtocol:
Asstatedbefore,qualitativeinterviewsarecapableofextractingrichanddetailed
informationifusedwithaneffectiveinterviewprotocol.Aninterviewwithoutstructure/an
interviewprotocolisinitselfflawed.Therearekeyideasthatneedtobeimplementedinto
everyqualitativeinterview.Thepurposeofastructuredinterviewprotocolisforthecollection
ofconsistentdata,ensuringthattheresponsesyoureceivefromparticipantsareparallelto

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theanswersyouaresearchingfor.Thecontentofanyqualitativeinterviewprotocolmust
meetcertainrequirementsregardingitsconsistency,relativity,andreliability.Firstthingsfirst,
itisincrediblydifficulttoextractthesamedatafromalltestsubjectsunlessyouareasking
themthesamequestions.Inconsistentdatacollectionwillresult(unfortunately)in
inconsistent/spottydata.Thisalsojeopardizesthereliabilityoftheinterviewaswell.Ergo,
eachinterviewshouldhaveidenticalpromptswithareasonableamountofroomforvariations.
Regardingthereliabilityofthequestionsthemselves,theyshouldbesufficientintheir
openendedness,neutrality,andsensitivitywithregardstotheinterviewee(Doody,30).What
doesthisallmean?Eachquestionthattheinterviewerasksshouldnotbemisleading,
offensive,orresultinasimpleyesorno.Whilethisincreasesthedifficultyofcreatingan
acceptableinterviewprotocol,Dr.OwenDoodyinsiststhatitincreasesthequalityofyour
data.Finally,theinterviewprotocolmustberelativetoyourtopic.Whilethisseems
selfexplanatory,anunfocusedscriptwillundoubtedlyaffectyourinterview,leadingto
irrelevantdata.Thecontentoftheprotocolisarguablythemostessentialpartoftheinterview
process,anddemandsthemostattention.

TheExecutionofaQualitativeInterview:
Despitetheincredibleimportanceofthepreparationandcontentofyourinterview
protocol,itsvalueisnullifiedwithouttheproperexecution.Themannerandfashioninwhich
theinterviewispresentedintrulyinfluencestheresponsivenessoftheintervieweeandthe
qualityofhis/herresponse.Thereareavarietyofwaystoensurethatyourinterviewisas
effectiveasyourinterviewprotocol.Everyinterviewshouldstartwitheasilyunderstood
questions,slowlymovingontomoredifficultones(Jacob,4).Interviewprotocol(interview
guides)aretheresultofthethoughtfulandcarefulworkonthepartoftheresearcher.

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Withoutascriptthatcoversallaspectsoftheinterview,youareboundtolosefocusofthe
topic.Byconductinganinterviewthatcorrespondstotheirprotocol,theresearcherismore
likelytofindthedatahe/sheislookingfor.

ArgumentsAgainstStructuredQualitativeInterviews:
Despitethereliabilityofthequalitativeinterviewingmethodandstructuredinterview
protocols,therearestillsomewhodoubtitsabilitytocollectaccurateinformation.Some
researchersbelievethatunstructuredinterviewsareasuperiorformofcollectingdata,while
othersbelievethatquantitativeinterviewsaremorebeneficialthaneithermethod.However,
unstructuredinterviewsandquantitativeinterviews(unlesstheyareincrediblyimportantto
thatparticularinterview)areinferiortostructuredqualitativeinterviews.Bothresearch
methodsarelesslikelytoobtainthedatatheydesire.UnstructuredInterviewsareclaimedto
beagoodtoolforinterviewing.However,theyaremuchlesseffective.JasonDanafrom
YaleUniversity,asupporteroftheunstructuredqualitativeinterviewingmethod,himself
admitsthatstructuredinterviewsarestillsuperiortohisownmethods(Dana,512).Withouta
structuretothequalitativeinterview,itlacksasenseofcontrol,andisunabletoefficiently
guidethetestsubjectthroughtheprocess,andblindsthesubjecttowhatpointyouregetting
to.Also,unlesstherethepointofyourinterviewistoacquirenumericalvalues,yes/no
answers,etc.,quantitativeinterviewingwillnotprovideyouwithsufficientinformationto
understandyoursubjects.Quantitativeinterviewingisunabletoretrievetheemotionsand
opinionsoflivingparticipants.Inshort,quantitativeinterviewingandunstructuredinterviews
arebothinadequatewaysofconductingresearchandcollectingdata.However,Inastudyby
RebeccaFrelsandAnthonyOnwuegbuzie,theyconfirmedthattherearecertaincasesin

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whichtheuseofbothqualitativeandquantitativeformsofinterviewisaneffectivewayof
conductingresearch.

ApplicationsForStructuredQualitativeInterviews:
Lookingattheevidence,itisquiteclearthatstructuredqualitativeinterviewsdeserves
tobeusedmorefrequentlyfordatacollection.Theseinterviewsareundoubtedlythemost
effective,timeefficient,andaccurateformofcollectingdata.Unstructuredinterviews,(whileit
maybeaformofqualitativeinterviewing)lacksaneffectiveinterviewprotocol.Using
structuredqualitativeinterviews,Iwillproveitsaccuracyandeffectivenessbyinterviewing
theteachersatalocalclubknownastheNationalHistoryClub,heldattheMililaniIke
ElementarySchool.Thepurposeofthisclubistoeffectivelyteachstudentshowtowrite
NationalHistoryDayessays,whilehelpingthemacquirenewresearching,writing,and
thinkingskillsduringtheprocess.Ourstudentsthenmoveontocreatewebsites,display
boards,etc.andpresentthemindistrict/statecompetitions.Weequipourstudentswiththe
toolstheyneedtoachievesuccessintheirfuture.Despiteoursuccess,thisclubhasflaws,
likeanyotherclub.ThestudentsofNHDCdeservetohaveaclubthatisconstantly
improvingitself.However,theissuesthatrunintheclubarecurrentlyunknown,and
encouragesourleaderstoidentifythem.Usingastructuredqualitativeinterview(withan
effectiveinterviewprotocol),Iwillbeabletoconductqualitativeresearchontheleadersand
educatorsatMililaniIkeElementaryandcollectdatafromthem.Byconductingthis
experiment,Icanverifythatstructured/semistructuredqualitativeinterviewsshouldbethe
standardforfutureexperiments,andthecreationofaneffectiveinterviewprotocolshouldbe
mandatorybeforeconductinganyinterview.Iwillbewritinganinterviewprotocol,soImay
effectivelyinterviewtheteachersthattheMililaniIkeElementaryschool.

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Conclusion:
Qualitativeinterviewsarevitaltooursociety.Wewouldbeunabletoprogressinour
societywithouttheaidofaneffectivemethodofdatacollection.Therefore,theuseofthe
StructuredQualitativeInterviewmethodneedstobewidelyusedtocollectdataandsolve
issues.However,weneedtoacknowledgethattheyrequireasolidinterviewprotocolinorder
fortheinterviewtobeeffective.Poorlymadeinterviewswillkeepyoufrombeingableto
obtainthedatathatyouneed.Theemphasisofanyinterviewshouldbeonitsinterview
protocol,anditsexecution.

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WorksCited:

Clifford,Scott."TipsheetQualitativeInterviewing."DukeInitiativeonSurveyMethodology:
14.DISM.Web.4Nov.2014.
CreativeCommons."Chapter9Interviews:QualitativeandQuantitativeApproaches."
SociologicalInquiryPrinciples:QualitativeandQuantitativeMethods.Web.5Nov.
2014.
Doody,Owen,andMariaNoonan."PreparingAndConductingInterviewsToCollectData."
NurseResearcher20.5(2013):2832.AcademicSearchPremier.Web.5Nov.2014.
Frels,RebeccaK.,andAnthonyJ.Onwuegbuzie."AdministeringQuantitativeInstruments
WithQualitativeInterviews:AMixedResearchApproach."JournalOfCounseling&
Development91.2(2013):184194.ProfessionalDevelopmentCollection.Web.5Nov.
2014.
Interviewinprogress.Digitalimage.EHow.Amazon.Web.4Dec.2014.
Jacob,StacyA.,andS.PaigeFurgerson."WritingInterviewProtocolsandConducting
Interviews:TipsforStudentsNewtotheFieldofQualitativeResearch."TheQualitative
Report17(2012):110.2012.Web.4Nov.2014.
TurnerIII,DanielW."QualitativeInterviewDesign:APracticalGuideforNovice
Investigators."TheQualitativeReport15.3(2010).May2010.Web.4Nov.2014.

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AnnotatedBibliography:

Bhatnagar,GauravC."InterviewProtocol."Sakai.Atlassian,8Nov.2009.Web.07Nov.
2014.Thiswebsiteisespeciallyhelpfulinpresentinganeffectiveinterviewprotocol,and
breakingitupintosmallersegmentsthatIcanunderstandindividually.Thiswillbeused
tomakemyinterviewprotocolregardingtheNationalHistoryDayClub.
Clifford,Scott."TipsheetQualitativeInterviewing."DukeInitiativeonSurveyMethodology:
14.DISM.Web.4Nov.2014.Thissourceisincrediblyhelpfulbecauseitgavemetips
inconstructingqualitativeinterviews.Thisarticleprovidesmewithtipsonhowtomake
theintervieweffectiveandcomfortablefortheinterviewee.
CreativeCommons."Chapter9Interviews:QualitativeandQuantitativeApproaches."
SociologicalInquiryPrinciples:QualitativeandQuantitativeMethods.Web.5Nov.
2014.Thistextbookwasaverysimpleandinformativeoverviewofqualitativeand
quantitativeinterviews.Ilearnedthedifferencesbetweenthetwotypes,alongwiththeir
uses,advantages,anddisadvantages.
Dana,Jason,RobynDawesy,andNathanialPeterson."BeliefInTheUnstructuredInterview:
ThePersistenceOfAnIllusion."Judgment&DecisionMaking8.5(2013):512520.
AcademicSearchPremier.Web.5Nov.2014.Thisinterestingjournalshowedmea
perspectiveonacertaintypeofinterviewthatIdonotplanonusing.Whileitmaybe
different,itshowedmethattherearemultiplewaysofobtainingdata.
Doody,Owen,andMariaNoonan."PreparingAndConductingInterviewsToCollectData."
NurseResearcher20.5(2013):2832.AcademicSearchPremier.Web.5Nov.2014.
Thisacademicjournalemphasizedtheimportanceonthequalityandtheexecutionof
theinterviewinordertocollectsufficientdata.Thisjournalhelpedmefurther
understandwhatmyinterviewprotocolwilllooklike.

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Farber,NancyK."ConductingQualitativeResearch:APracticalGuideforSchool
Counselors."ProfessionalSchoolCounseling9.5,SPECIALISSUE:RESEARCH
METHODSINSCHOOLCOUNSELING(2006):36775.Web.4Nov.2014.This
informationalarticleclarifiestheideaofqualitativeinterviewing,andit'sapplications,
especiallyintheeducationalfield.Thissourceprovidedmewithknowledge,and
theoreticalinterviewstohelpme.
Frels,RebeccaK.,andAnthonyJ.Onwuegbuzie."AdministeringQuantitativeInstruments
WithQualitativeInterviews:AMixedResearchApproach."JournalOfCounseling&
Development91.2(2013):184194.ProfessionalDevelopmentCollection.Web.5Nov.
2014.Thisjournaltaughtmethatqualitativeinterviewsarecapableofcollecting
qualitativedatathatenhancestheinterpretationsthatweareabletomake.
Interviewinprogress.Digitalimage.EHow.Amazon.Web.4Dec.2014.Thisisapicture
usedinmyessaytodisplaywhatasuccessfulinterviewissupposedtolooklike.
Theyareinaprofessionalenvironmentandtalkingwithoneanotherinarespectful
manner.
Jacob,StacyA.,andS.PaigeFurgerson."WritingInterviewProtocolsandConducting
Interviews:TipsforStudentsNewtotheFieldofQualitativeResearch."TheQualitative
Report17(2012):110.2012.Web.4Nov.2014.Thisarticleisextremelyhelpful
becauseitwasdirectedtowardsme.Thepurposeofthisarticleistoteachstudents
howtoconductqualitativeinterviews,andIobtainedalotofinformationfromthis
source.
"PreparingQuestionsForaQualitativeResearchInterview."Weblogpost.IndianScribes.13
Oct.2011.Web.07Nov.2014.Thisblogwasanicesummaryoftipsregarding

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creatingaqualitativeinterview.Ifoundthisresourcehelpful,andintendtouseitforthe
basicknowledgeaspectofmypaper.
"TheTranscript."Interview.UniversityoftheWestofEngland.Web.6Nov.2014.
<http://learntech.uwe.ac.uk/da/Default.aspx?pageid=1414>.Thisparticularinterview
transcripttaughtmeaboutdataanalysis,anditsimportance.
TurnerIII,DanielW."QualitativeInterviewDesign:APracticalGuideforNovice
Investigators."TheQualitativeReport15.3(2010).May2010.Web.4Nov.2014.This
sourceisveryusefulbecauseitclassifiedthedifferenttypesofqualitativeessays,
allowingmetounderstandtheprocessofqualitativeinterviewingbetter.Also,ithad
adviceregardingtothe"do'sanddon'ts"ofinterviewing.
UniversityofDerby."WhatMakesaGoodInterview?AdvancedQualitativeMethods."
YouTube.YouTube,11Sept.2013.Web.07Nov.2014.Thisonlinevideoisa
discussionaboutwhatmakesasolidinterview.ItprovidedmewithgoodtipsthatIcan
showothersinmyessay.