Discovery Seminar - Discovering the Local Economy - Blake - Fall 2024

In social science, interviews are a method of data collection that involves two or more people exchanging information through a series of questions and answers. The questions are designed by a researcher to elicit information from interview participants on a specific topic or set of topics. These topics are informed by the author’s research questions.

You may be wondering when you should choose interviews as your data collection method. Interviews are an excellent way to gather detailed information. They also have an advantage over surveys, as they can be adapted as you learn more information. In an interview, you can follow up on new and unexpected topics that emerge during the conversation. Trusting in emergence and learning from your participants are hallmarks of qualitative research. In this way, interviews are a useful method to employ when you want to know the story behind the responses you might receive in a written survey.

Interviews are also useful when your topic is rather complex, requires lengthy explanation, or needs a dialogue between two people to thoroughly investigate. Additionally, interviews may be the best method to utilize if your study involves describing the process by which a phenomenon occurs, like how a person makes a decision. When they begin to share their story with you, new questions that hadn’t occurred to you in prior interviews will arise because each person’s story is unique.

1. Design interview questions
   • Who are you interviewing?
   • What information do you want to obtain from the interview?
   • Why do you want to pursue in-depth information around your research topic?
   • What information can you get from your interviewee that you can't get anywhere else?
2. Develop an interview guide
   • Introduce yourself and explain the aim of the interview
   • Devise your questions so interviewees can help answer your research question
   • Have a sequence to your questions / topics by grouping them in themes
   • Make sure you can easily move back and forth between questions / topics
   • Make sure your questions are clear and easy to understand
3. Plan and manage logistics
   • Will you have a second interviewer with you?
   • Will you have a notetaker?
   • How long will the interview take?
   • What confidentiality terms will you have? Make sure you clearly communicate them to the interviewee

An ideal research question is one that cannot be easily answered by a single source or result; in other words, it is un-Googleable!

Every source that you use in answering your research question (and your interview is an important source) is one piece of what will become your answer to your research question.

These prompts may help you when you are developing your research question:

• What do you already know about the topic?
• What questions do you have about this topic?
• Why would people want to know about this topic?
• What would different types of people say about this topic?
• What vocabulary would you need to use to discuss this?
• Are there any new terms or vocabulary you need to understand?
• What are the main ideas you could talk about?
• What information and sources are available about this?
• Do other people think that too?
• What is the connection between ...?
• What if ... (change something); is it still ...?
• What is interesting and/or unexpected?
• What do you notice about this data/information?
• Who might be interested in this?
• What else do you want to know?
• What is a better question you could ask?