Objectives:

Identify situations in which the use of individual interviews as a data collection method is appropriate
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses in interview protocols in reported research
Evaluate the data analysis and interpretation of results from individual interviews
Assess how weaknesses in interview data analysis and interpretation affect your ability to apply your research findings in your work
Develop an interview protocol, including all instrumentation needed to conduct the procedure
Test the protocol and instruments, using qualitative and quantitative techniques to assess the validity, reliability and explanatory power of procedures and instruments

Assigned Materials

Note that the key concepts of instrument development are very similar for interviews and focus groups. The main difference in the two is that the interaction in an interview is between the researcher and the participant. In a focus group, the interaction is among the participants and the researcher is a guide and listener. Facilitating a focus group is harder than conducting an interview and requires well-developed facilitation skills as well as a good guide (instrument).

Bernard, pp. 180-214

Krueger, R.A. & Casey, M.A. (2015) Focus Groups, Fifth Edition. Pp. 39-76, "Developing a Questioning Route." Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. e-reserve These comments are just as relevant for conducting an individual interview as for conducting a focus group.

Joanna Chrzanowska. There are two videos. Please watch the "Demostration Interview - How It Should Be Done first. then watch the second one "Demo Interview with Mistakes." Try to identify the key mistakes in the second video compared to the first interview. 1. Demonstration Interview - How It Should Be Done. 2. Demo interview with mistakes. Note that the same issues are part of conducting focus groups.

We will look at these in class.

Hispanic & Latino Farmers -- Questions for Interview for all Respondents

Hispanic & Latino Farmers -- Question about Access to Resources

Recommended Materials

Brod, M., Tesler, L.E. & Christensen, T.L. (2009) Qualitative research and content validity: Developing best practices based on science and experience. Quality of Life Research 18(9), 1263-1278.

Fontana, A. & Prokos, A.H. (2007) The interview, from formal to postmodern. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, CA. pp 29-38 (types of group interviews). e-reserve

Herzog, H. (2005) On home turf: Interview location and its social meaning. Qualitative Sociology 28(1), 25-47.

Perakyla, A. (1997) Reliability and validity in research based on naturally occurring social interaction. Pp. 283-303 in Silverman, D. (ed.), Qualitative Rsearch: Theory, Method & Practice. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA. e-reserve

Warren, C.A.B. (2001). Qualitative interviewing. In J. F. Gubrium & J.A. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research. Context and method (pp. 83-102). London: Sage Publications. e-reserve

Recommended materials that deal with some special research contexts, such as interviewing children or covering sensitive topics.

Baxter, Suzanne Domel; Smith, Albert F.; Litaker, Mark S.; Guinn, Caroline H.; Nichols, Michele D.; Miller, Patricia H. & Kipp, Katherine. (2006) Body mass index, sex, interview protocol, and children's accuracy for reporting kilocalories observed eaten at school meals. Journal of the American Dietetics Association. 106(10), 1656-1662. DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2006.07.013.

Mellor, Ruth M.; Slaymaker, Emma & Cleland, John. (2013) Recognizing and overcoming challenges of couple interview research. Qualitative Health Research 23(10) 1399-1407.

Nunkoosing, K. (2005) The problems with interviews. Qualitative Health Research 15(5), 698-706.

Ogden, J. & Cornwell, D. (2010) The role of topic, interviewee and question in predicting rich interview data in the field of health research. Sociology of Health & Illness 32(7), 1059-1071.

Pelletier, Jennifer E.; Caspi, Caitlin E.; Schrieber, Liana R.N.; Erickson, Darin J.; Harnack, Lisa; Laska, Melissa N. (2016) Successful customer intercept interview recruitment outside small and midsize urban food retailers. BMC Public Health 16(1), 1-8. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-016-3717-2.

Platt, Lisa F. & Skowron, Elizabeth A. (2013) The Family Genogram Interview: Reliability and validity of a new interview protocol. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples & Families 21(1) 35-45.

Resources to use if you want to learn about some types of qualitative data analysis.

Remember that you need to explain how you will analyze your data in your semester project. Also please note that there are many types of qualitative data analysis. -- content analysis, thematic analysis, fuzzy set analysis, etc. These differ greatly. Content analysis, discourse analysis, and thematic analysis are very different things. Please do not assume that there is "one general way" to analyze data qualitatively. I include below a few links to brief (introductory) descriptions to a few types of qualitative analysis.

General Inductive Approach This gives an introduction to inductive approaches to qualitative analysis. Thematic analysis, for example, is an inductive approach. I strongly recommend this article. It is outstanding and goes through the processes step by step.

Swisher, M.E. (2007) Comments on qualitative data analysis.This is really a combination of thematic analysis and categorization. I use this a lot.

I highly recommend that you look at this site if you are considering qualitative data analysis. Online QDA If you click on "methodologies" you get a nice introduction to the many kinds of qualitative data analysis. It's a very complete list and there is at least a short description of each technique. For some, there is a link to further readings that generally provide quite a few resources. I have a copy of the Bernard book on Qualitative Data Analysis, which I find to be about the best there is.

Additional Resources

Bahn, S. & Barratt-Pugh, L. (2011) Getting reticent young male participants to talk: Using artefact-mediated interviews to promote discursive interaction. Qualitative Social work 12(2), 186-199.

Baker, C. (2004) Membership categorization and interview accounts. In D. Silverman (ed.), Qualitative Research: Theory, Method & Practice. Sage, Thousand Oaks, p. 162-176.

Bartlett, R. (2012) Modifying the diary interview method to research the lives of people with dementia. Qualitative Health Research 22(12), 1717-1726.

Beauclair, R., Meng, F., Deprez, N., Temmerman, M. et al. 2013) Evaluating audio computer assisted self-interviews in urban South African communities: Evidence for good suitability and reduced social desirability bias of a cross-sectional survey on sexual behavior. BMC Medical Research Methodology 13(1), 1-7.

Brick, J.M., Edwards, W.S., & Lee, S. (2007). Sampling telephone numbers and adults, interview length and weighting in the California health survey interview survey cell phone pilot study. Public Opinion Quarterly 71(5), 793-813.

Cicco-Bloom, B. & Crabtree, B.F. (2006). Making sense of qualitative research. The qualitative research interview. Medical Education 40(4), 314-321

Dirks, M.A. & Boyle, M.H. (2010) The comparability of mother-report structured interviews and checklists for the quantification of youth externalizing symptoms. Journal of child Psychology & Psychiatry 51(9), 1040-1049.

Fontana, A. (2001). Postmodern trends in interviewing. In J. F. Gubrium & J.A. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research. Context and method (pp. 161-175). London: Sage Publications. Get from Dr. Swisher.

Goldman, R., Hunt, M.K., Allen, J.D. et al. (2003) The life history interview method: applications to intervention development. Health Education and Behavior 30(5), 564-581.

Gubrium, J. & Holstein, J. (2002) Handbook of Interview Research. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.

Hartman, T. (2015) "Strong multiplicity": An interpretive lens in the analysis of qualitative interview narratives. Qualitative Research 15(1), 22-38.

Hawe, E. & Browne, I. (2010) National monitoring in social studies: The reliability of assessment interviews. Curriculum Journal 21(3), 281-297.

Hermanowicz, J. (2013) The longitudinal qualitative interview. Qualitative Sociology 36(2), 189-208.

Hill, C., Memon A. & McGeorge, P. (2008). The role of confirmation bias in suspect interviews: A systematic evaluation. Legal & Criminalogical Psychology 13(2), 357-371.

Holstein, J.A. & Gubrium, J.F. (2004) The active interview. In D. Silverman (ed.), Qualitative Research: Theory, Method & Practice. Sage, Thousand Oaks, p. 140-161.

Irvine, A., Drew, P. & Sainsbury, R. (2013) "Am I not answering your questions properly?" Clarification, adequacy and responsiveness in semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews. Qualitative Research 13(1), 87-106.

Jacobvitz, D., Curran, M. & Moller, N. (2002) Measurement of adult attechment: the place of self-report and interview methodologies. Attachment & Human Development 4(2), 207-215.

Lee, R.M. (1993). Doing research on sensitive topics. London, Sage Publications. Read pages 97-118, Asking sensitive questions: interviewing. Get copy from Dr. Swisher.

Loosveldt, G. & Beullens, K. (2013) The impact of respondents and interviewers on interview speed in face-to-face interviews. Social Science Research 42(6), 1422-1430.

McCarthy, J.R., Holland, J. & Gillies, V. (2003). Multiple perspectives on the "family" lives of young people: methodological and theoretical issues in case study research. Social Research Methodology 6(1), 1-23.

Miller, J. & Glassner, B. (2004) The "inside" and the "outside": finding realities in interviews. In D. Silverman (ed.), Qualitative Research: Theory, Method & Practice. Sage, Thousand Oaks, p. 125-139.

Murphy, J. (2005). Enabling frail older people with a communication difficulty to express their views: the use of Talking Mats (TM) as an interview tool. Health & Social Care in the Community 13(2), 95-107.

Ogden, J. & Cornwell, D. (2010). The role of topic, interviewee and question in predicting rich interview data in the field of health research. Sociology of Health & Illness 32(7), 1059-1071.

Orbach, Y., Hershkowitz, I., Lamb, M.E. et al. (2000) Assessing the value of structured protocols for forensic interviews of alleged child abuse victims. Child Abuse & Neglect 24(6), 733-752.

Ozhayat, E.B., Gotfredsen, K., Elverdam, B. & Owall, B. (2009). Patient-generated aspects in oral rehabilitation decision making I. Comparison of traditional history taking and an individual systematic interview method. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 36(1), 726-736.

Papadopoulos, I., Scanlon, K. & Lees, S. (2002). Reporting and validating research findings through reconstructed stories. Disability & Society 17(3), 269-281.

Poland, B. & Pederson, A. (1998). Reading between the lines: interpreting silence in qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry 42(2), 293-213.

Power, E.M. (2004) Toward understanding in postmodern interview analysis: Interpreting the contradictory remarks of a research participant. Qualitative Health Research 14(6), 858-865.

Reczek, C. (2014) Conducting a multi-family member interview study. Family Process 53(2), 318-335.

J. F. Gubrium & J.A. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research. Context and method (pp. 335-354). London: Sage Publications. Get from Dr. Swisher.

Scanlan, T.K., Russell, D.G., Magyar, M. & Scanlan, L.A. (2009). Project on Elite Athlete Commitment (PEAK): III. An examination of the external validity across gender, and the expansion and clarification of the sport commitment model. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology 31(6), 685-706.

Teachman, G. & Gibson, B.E. (2012) Children and youth with disabilities: Innovative methods for single qualitative interviews. Qualitative Health Research 23(2), 264-275.

Thompson, B. (2008). How college freshmen communicate student academic support: A grounded theory study. Communication Education 57(1), 123-144.

Tran, T. & Blackman, M.C. (2006). The dynamics and validity of the group selection interview. Journal of Social Psychology 146(2), 183-201.

Watson, C. (2015) What is qualitative interviewing? The problem-centered interview. Qualitative Research 15(4), 540-542.

Yoshihama, M., Gillespie, B., Hammock, A.C., Belli, R.F. & Tolman, R.M. (2005). Does the life history calendar method facilitate the recall of intimate partner violence? Comparison of two methods of data collection. Social Work Research 29(3), 151-163.

Zuwallack, R. (2009). Piloting data collection via cell phones: Results, experiences, and lessons learned. Field Methods 21(4), 388-406.