Qualitative Research methods

Lecture 3

dr. John Gelissen

Designing Fieldwork Strategies and Materials 2

Structuring data collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Stages of discussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Designing topic guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Incorporating other research instruments and materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Incorporating other research instruments and materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

In-depth interviews 8

Perspectives on the interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Staging of an interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Asking questions to achieve breadth and depth I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Asking questions to achieve breadth and depth II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Question formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Further techniques for achieving depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Handling interview situations and practical issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Examples I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Examples II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Examples III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Examples IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

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Designing Fieldwork Strategies and Materials Page 2 / 19

Structuring data collection

4 Level of structure required

8 Very exploratory studies vs. studies needing more structured data collection8 Unstructured, non-standardized or in-depth interview vs. semi-structured or semi-standardized

interview8 dynamic consistency of data collection across interviews

4 Ordering data collection

8 Easy questions first; difficult ones later8 Neutral questions first; sensitive questions later8 Behavior and activities first; feelings, emotions, experiences and explanations later

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Stages of discussion

Introduction

Easy, opening questions; more surface level

Background and contextual information

Definitional questions

Core part of interview or group discussion - questioning and

discussion is more in-depth

Move from circumstantial to attitudinal/evaluative/

explanatory questions

Move from general to more specific

Follow chronological order

Winding down

Questions looking to the future, suggestions

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Designing topic guides

4 Purpose and nature of topic guides

8 Aide-memoire8 Documentation of fieldwork process

4 Establishing subject coverage4 The structure and length of a guide4 Language and terminology4 Specification of follow-up questions and probes4 Making the guide easy to use (objectives, introduction, summary of topics, layout, instructions,

ending, more than one topic guide)

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Incorporating other research instruments and materials

4 Collecting structured data4 Using case illustrations and examples4 Enabling and projective techniques

8 Vignettes (example: rate job, 10=best, 1=worst)

Type of contract

Permanent with a risk of losing the job and then

receive unemployment benefits More

Number of work hours 50 hours per week More

Influence on own work Nobody but you decide over your work More

Organisation of the work The job entails work in different teams More

Start/end time

The employer decides on work hours (not night

shifts) and can change this on a monthly basis More

Education and training The employer will not offer you a specific education

Intensity

The job is very demanding, which means that you

need to stick to tight deadlines most of the time

Pension age This firm has no early retirement plan More

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Incorporating other research instruments and materials

4 Enabling and projective techniques

8 Card-sorting8 Giving information or showing written material8 Mapping emergent issues8 Projective techniques

4 Fieldnotes

Preparing for fieldwork and refining fieldwork strategies

4 Research team briefing4 Preparation for fieldwork4 Initial use and testing the topic guide

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In-depth interviews Page 8 / 19

Perspectives on the interview

4 Perspectives on the interview

8 Knowledge constructed in interview vs. pre-existing phenomenon8 Degree of activeness of interviewer8 Degree of structuredness

4 Key features of the in-depth interview

8 Combine structure with flexibility, Interactive, Probing and other techniques to achieve depth,Generative, Face-to-face

4 Requirements of a qualitative interviewer

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Staging of an interview

4 Interview stages

8 Stage one: arrival8 Stage two: introducing the research8 Stage three: beginning the interview8 Stage four: during the interview8 Stage five: ending the interview8 stage six: after the interview

4 The interview contract4 Researcher and participant roles

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Asking questions to achieve breadth and depth I

4 Content mapping questions

8 Ground mapping questions (Have you ever collaborated with another company to innovateyour products?)

8 Dimension mapping questions (What aspects of innovation do you find important?)8 Perspective-widening questions (Are there any other reasons why you would collaborate with

another organisation to achieve innovation?)

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Asking questions to achieve breadth and depth II

4 Content mining questions

8 Amplificatory probes (What was it exactly that you disliked about the collaboration with theother organization?)

8 Exploratory probes (How did you react when you heard that the other organization wanted toend the collaboration?)

8 Explanatory probes (And why did you decide to stop the collaboration with the otherorganization?)

8 Clarificatory probes (Earlier you told me that the collaboration with the other organizationwent really well, but youve also told me that during the project some disputes with the otherorganization happened; so could those disputes be reconciled?)

4 In-depth iterative probing

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Question formulation

4 Using broad and narrow questions4 Avoiding leading questions (You must have been very disappointed when the other organization

decided to end the collaboration within the project?)

8 Neutralize question: add or not

4 Asking clear questions

8 Use simple preambles8 Avoid double-barreled questions8 Avoid academic language if you are not interviewing an academic, adapt to respondent

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Further techniques for achieving depth

4 Listening and remembering4 Facilitating the relationship with the participant

8 Expressing interest and attention8 Establishing that there are no right or wrong answers8 Being sensitive to tone of voice and body language8 Allowing the participant time to reply8 pacing the interview8 Handling extraneous information

4 Turning assumptions and interventions into questions4 Neutrality and avoidance of self-disclosure

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Handling interview situations and practical issues

4 Conducting sensitive interviews

8 Responding to emotion8 Responding to anxiety or reticence8 Responding to dominance of the interview agenda8 Rambling responses

4 Practical considerations

8 Scheduling appointments8 Venues8 Recording8 Other people attending the interview

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Examples I

4 How do you feel about being allow to simply say anything beause of freedom of speech?8 Hoe staat u tegenover het zo maar alles mogen zeggen in het kader van de vrijheid van meningsuiting?

4 What do you think about the plan of secretary of finance Jan Kees de Jager to increase the taxeson sigarettes?

8 Wat vindt u van het plan van minister Jan kees de Jager om de accijns op sigaretten te verhogen?

4 What do you like in your work? For example the interaction with students, your freedom of ascientist etc. . . .

8 Wat vindt u zoal leuk in uw werk? Bijvoorbeeld de omgang met studenten, uw zelfstandigheid alswetenschapper, etc?

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Examples II

4 Do you choose the side of the United States or the side of Russia with respect to the conflict inthe Middle East?

8 Kiest u de zijde van de Verenigde Staten, of die van Rusland in het Midden-Oosten conflict?

4 So surely you do not have money to afford a winter sports holiday?8 Voor wintersportvakanties hebt u dan zeker helemaal geen geld?

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Examples III

4 And now a question that especially interests me as a sociologist: To what extent do you thinkthat sociological research is useful with respect to integration policies for minorities?

8 En dan nu nog een vraag, die mij als socioloog speciaal interesseert: in hoeverre acht u sociologisch onderzoeknuttig in het kader van het integratiebeleid van minderheden?

4 Do you agree with the statement that current students are less motivated than the students of 20years ago to study very hard for good grades?

8 Bent u het eens met de stelling dat de huidige studenten minder gemotiveerd zijn om hard te studeren voorgoede cijfers dan die van 20 jaar geleden?

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Examples IV

4 As a supervisor, have you gained more insight in the individual differences between youremployees since the introduction of the new performance evaluation system?

8 Hebt u als leidinggevende sinds de invoering van het nieuwe beoordelingssysteem, meer zicht gekregen op deindividuele verschillen tussen uw medewerkers?

4 Do you, in any manner, perform active recreation?8 Doet u in enige vorm aan sportieve recreatieve?

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Designing Fieldwork Strategies and MaterialsStructuring data collectionStages of discussionDesigning topic guidesIncorporating other research instruments and materialsIncorporating other research instruments and materials

In-depth interviewsPerspectives on the interviewStaging of an interviewAsking questions to achieve breadth and depth IAsking questions to achieve breadth and depth IIQuestion formulationFurther techniques for achieving depthHandling interview situations and practical issuesExamples IExamples IIExamples IIIExamples IV