INTERVIEWS in Research

Sundee-Pearl O. Arocco, RN Mary Shine, RN Joanna Bridgette Lorraine C. Siglos, RN Renmel F. Solidum, RN

104 DAYS TO GO BEFORE CHRISTMAS 26 DAYS TO GO BEFORE SEM-BREAK

Not everything that can be counted, counts and not everything that counts can be counted.

-Albert Einstein

WHAT IS AN INTERVIEW?

INTERVIEW
a data collection strategy in which an investigator verbally presents questions to study informants and elicits a verbal response (Norwood, 2010). The backbone and main source of data qualitative studies. Objective: get rich and detailed information

INTERVIEWS
DESIGN PHENOMENOLOGY ETHNOGRAPHY GROUNDED THEORY PURPOSE Essence or meaning of experiences to gain insight & understanding Discover cultural knowledge & traditions Uncovering social processes

ELEMENTS OF AN INTERVIEW
Rapport Debriefing Setting Language used Listening analytically or active listening Probing techniques Prompting techniques Control

STRENGTHS OF AN INTERVIEW
Is simple, efficient and practical way of gathering complex data that can t be easily observed or measured. Provides rich and vivid information Avoids the literacy & visual issues of using a written questionnaire. Easy to record or document

WEAKNESSES OF AN INTERVIEW
Quality depends on the skill of the interviewer and the ability of the respondent to articulate his or her experiences Time consuming

TYPES OF INTERVIEW
STRUCTURED SEMISTRUCTURED UNSTRUCTUR ED

STRUCTURE

INTERVIEW
INDIVIDUAL FACE-TO FACE GROUP

FORM
TELEPHONE

REMOTE
VIDEO CALL or CONFERENCE

Rules & Guidelines

Salustiano (2009) suggested some rules & guidelines of an effective interview:
 Be precise with the choice of words and observe pronunciation & intonation.  Keep questions short.  Use language understandable by interviewee. Avoid jargons.  Use open-ended questions and avoid closeended ones.

Rules & Guidelines

 Observe proper ordering or logical sequencing of questions.
 General to specific

 Avoid leading questions or improper emphasis on words or phrases so as not to indicate answer desired by the interviewer.
 Bracketing  Were you angry with God when you were diagnosed with end-stage renal disease?

 Avoid loaded or double-barreled questions.

INTERVIEWS BASED ON STRUCTURE

STRUCTURED
SUPERFICIAL RESEARCHER IS IN CONTROL RIGID

SEMI-STRUCTURED
Researcher tries to balance Somehow flexible Interview guide

UNSTRUCTED
IN-DEPTH THE INFORMANT IS MORE IN CONTROL FLEXIBLE

ARE A OF COMPARISON FLEXIBILITY

STRUCTURED RIGID

SEMISTRUCTURED SOMEHOW FLEXIBLE Interviewer tries to balance direction and freedom on the interviewee s agenda Conversational

UNSTRUCTURED FLEXIBLE Led by the informant s perspective and viewpoint conversational

CONTROL OF THE INTERVIEW

Interviewer directs the process

MANNER DATA COLLECTION TOOL RESEARCH METHOD TYPE OF DATA GATHERED

Formal INTERVIEW SCHEDULE/ QUESTIONNAIRE USUALLY QUANTITATIVE FACTUAL, STATISTICAL, SUPERFICIAL DATA

JUST A FEW INTERVIEW GUIDE GENERAL OR BROAD QUESTIONS QUALITATIVE QUALITATIVE

RICH IN-DEPTH RICH IN-DEPTH EXPERIETIAL DATA EXPERIENTIAL More difficult More difficult

DIFFICULTY IN DATA Easier ANALYSIS

STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
Designed to ensure the interviewer covers the same general areas with each interviewee. Takes the form of a questionnaire administered verbally (researcher administered questionnaire). Pre-defined set of questions and normally does not allow additional questions.
used when study participants would be unable to complete a written questionnaire.

Usually used for survey purposes and assessment.

STRUCTURED INTERVIEW (cont d)

EXAMPLE: In a study, of Bennett & Colleagues (1995), they made use of a structured interview schedule to assess the side effects of antipsychotic drugs among patients.
SESCAM Side Effects Scale/Checklist for Antipsychotic Medication

Do you have any of the following: 1. Dizziness 2. Drowsiness 3. Sexual problems (ejaculatory, erectile, libido) 4. Constipation 5. Urinary problems 6. Skin problems (rashes, photosensitivity) 7. Excessive weight gain 8. Blurred vision 9. Feeling restless 10. Lack of get up and go 11. Others

Yes

No

If yes, specify problem

SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW
There is a schedule of topics to be covered in no particular order. Allows responsiveness to what the informant is saying. More informal and conversational in nature Has the benefits of both structured and unstructured interview.

SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW (cont d)

EXAMPLE With the aim to describe and explore the lived experiences of persons with neurofibromatosis (NF), Dheensa and Williams (2009) made use of semistructured interview in phenomenological study.

SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW GUIDE 1. Tell me something about your self. Age, marital status, profession, ethnic origin, homecc town, whether the participant has children. When were you diagnosed with NF? Do you have a family history of NF? Who is affected? Briefly, how are they affected? Describe how NF affects you physically. How does it affect you psychologically? How are your relationships affected by NF? FAMILY/FRIENDS/SEXUAL How do you feel about having NF? How do you cope with NF? Optimism (defense/functional); realism; social support; culture; inspiration; challenges set by NF.

Probes strategy used by the interviewer to further extract in-depth 4. 5. information

6. 7. 8.

2. 3.

UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
No pre-defined set of questions No pre-conceived ideas about the content and flow of information to be collected Interview starts with a general or broad question. Interview flow is generally directed by the answers of the interviewee. Questions EMERGE during the interview.

UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS (cont d)

Allows prompts and probes to encourage an informant to provide additional detail. Weakness: lack of uniformity of questions for each informant.

UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS (cont d)

EXAMPLE Robichaux & Clark (2006) used unstructured interview to explore the practice of critical care nurses during end of life conflicts and describe actions taken when nurses thought continued aggressive medical interventions were not warranted.

 GRAND TOUR STATEMENT:

Sometimes critical care nurses find themselves in situations in which they believe the patient will not regain an acceptable quality of life despite the provision of all therapies and interventions. Caring for the patient at this time can become an ethical dilemma for the nurse if aggressive medical treatment is continued. I would like you to reflect about whether you have experienced the situation and tell me what you chose to do.

UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS (cont d)

EXAMPLE Brady (2009) made use of drawings as prompts for unstructured interviews.
Hospitalized children were asked to draw a picture of a good nurse and a bad nurse. The picture will be the basis of the questions. tell me something about the picture

INTERVIEWS based on FORM

FACE TO FACE REMOTE

FACE-TO-FACE / IN-PERSON
The interviewer and the informant/s is physically together within the same location. Advantage:
Able to simultaneously observe the non-verbal response of the informant i.e. body language, eye contact, etc. and contextual factors. High response rate

Disadvantage:
Time consuming

INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW

INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW

FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW

FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW

An in-depth open-ended group discussion that explores a specific set of issues on a predefined topic. Purpose:
Obtain views and experiences of a selected group about an issue. Increase understanding about a certain topic through the forum.

Usually involves 2 researchers:

Moderator Observer or if not, the interview can be video-recorded

FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW

FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW

Usually involves 2 researchers:
Moderator Observer (another option, video-recording)

Exposes inconsistency within a group as well as conformity and agreement. group size: 5-12 people (Gerrish & Lacey, 2010)
big enough for diversity and small enough for all to have a chance to participate

FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW

FOCUS GROUPS (cont d)
Are sometimes used prior to individual interviews as a basis for the interview guide (Vouzavali, et al.)

REMOTE INTERVIEW
TELEPHONE VIDEO CALL/CONFERENCE

REMOTE INTERVIEWS
Telephone
Convenient Cheaper Less-threatening Useful in gathering quantitative data Disadvantages
Issue of establishing authentic identities Lesser response rate Limited to those with telephones. LOL.

Video
Easy to use and enables access to participants difficult to reach Face to face (virtually) Disadvantages
Restricts samples to those who have access to technology Lesser opportunity to observe body language

IN-PERSON vs. TELEPHONE

For semi-structured or unstructured format, personal interviews is often used. However, for structured interviews, the use telephone call should be considered.
In a national survey on alcohol use, Midanik & Greenfield (2003) compared telephone and inperson interviews. They found no significant difference in the number and quality of responses, thus, they advocated the use of telephone interviews for national surveys.

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