Teaching resource: Interview methods Illustrating interview methods using our extensive data collection Copyright © 2021 University of Essex. Created by UK Data Archive, UK Data Service Introduction Interviewing is a frequently used method in social research with its suitability being entirely dependent on the particular research question. Qualitative interviewing is generally distinguished from questionnaire-based interviewing, even if the form of communication, such as face-to face conversation, may be the same. This teaching resource provides instructors and students with materials designed to assist in teaching qualitative interviewing. The UK Data Service has created this resource to illustrate interview methods using its extensive data collection held as part of the UK Data Archive holdings, and, in particular, to assist instructors who have limited research materials of their own. The resource provides brief summaries of several different interviewing techniques and each summary is accompanied by full transcripts or excerpts and the interview schedule (or guidance notes). It concludes with selected references and practical suggestions for how to use the materials for teaching. Introduction to qualitative interviews Interviewing is a frequently used method in social research. It is generally distinguished from questionnaire-based interviewing, even if the form of communication, such as face-to face conversation, may be the same. Some interview styles produce highly structured data on people's opinions on a specific matter, whereas other interviews facilitate a more evocative communication of people's life experiences, activities, emotions and identities. Qualitative interviews In qualitative interviews the interviewees are given space to expand their answers and accounts of their experiences and feelings. Moreover, their answers are not pre-categorised in the interview schedule. Qualitative interviews are often used in an exploratory manner which seeks to investigate the subjective interpretations of social phenomena. They do not necessarily presume that most of the topics of interest are known in advance. The aim is often interpretation and understanding of how and why, not 'fact-finding' or getting answers to questions of how much or how many (Warren, 1988). In qualitative interviewing, the respondent's experience has diverse qualities and meanings and the interview can explore these and their social organisation (Gubrium and Holstein, Teaching resource: Interview methods | 4 | 2001). It is a valuable research method for exploring "data on understandings, opinions, what people remember doing, attitudes, feelings and the like, that people have in common" (Arksey and Knight, 1999, p.2). Interview typologies There are multiple typologies for qualitative interviews but very little consensus among those typologies (Rapley, 2004). Some interviews aim to gather descriptive data, more typical with many structured or semi- structured interviews, whereas other interviews seek to generate data which probe deeper into the lives of the interviewees. It is usually possible to identify an interview's form as structured, semi-structured or open- ended by looking at a transcript. However, other typologies are derived from methodological perspectives and it is not possible unambiguously to classify an interview as, for example, life history, oral history, or narrative, as these approaches can depend on the analytical framework applied to the transcript. Each style of interview creates different types of data and different forms of knowledge, each requiring a different kind of analysis. In addition to the different interview types there are also different types of sampling procedures, such as random sampling, purposive/quota, intergenerational, snowball etc., all of which will have implications for the types of analysis and interpretation which are possible from the interviews. Interview types used in this resource The UK Data Service has chosen to focus on seven interview types: structured, semi- structured, open-ended, feminist, life story, oral history and psycho-social. However, it recognises that there is often some degree of overlap between the categories and that an interview may simultaneously reflect more than one approach. Most structured and some semi-structured interviews are working from the tradition that Seale (1998) calls 'interview data-as-resource', where the assumption is the data being gathered are interviewees' knowledge and experience of the outside world. In contrast, more flexible interview formats are often informed by a tradition of 'interview data-as-topic', where the interview itself, including its structure, is an object of investigation. Teaching resource: Interview methods | 5 | In this view, all participants in the interview are agents and meanings are subjectively 'constructed', not objectively 'found'. The purpose is to explore co-constructed identities and social worlds, not to ascertain facts. This constructionist viewpoint informs many of the interview types described here, such as feminist, life story and psycho-social interviews. Ethical reuse of qualitative data All the data used here are available from the UK Data Service. Under standard conditions for accessing data held by the UK Data Service, users must register and sign an End User Licence specifying the terms and conditions of reuse. For this interview resource, different permissions were necessary as the materials are available via the web and other media without requiring users to register. Although registration is not required, anyone using these data must follow the standard conditions for use outlined in the End User Licence. All depositors whose data extracts are used here were contacted and the depositors gave their permission for the UK Data Service to use their materials for this purpose. Depositors were sent a copy of the introduction and their own extracts for review. Depositors were also consulted to ensure that their collection had been classified correctly (e.g. semi-structured, feminist). The access conditions that were required for web dissemination of this resource were explained to each depositor. In two cases, depositors requested that changes be made to their transcripts, usually concerning general tidying up and slightly revising the anonymisation strategy. UK Data Service has not attempted to standardise a format for these transcripts; style and presentation are the depositors' own. All depositors' suggestions for both extracts and the introductory material were incorporated into final versions. Due to the length of many of the interviews, extracts were chosen that represented a good understanding of the way the interview was conducted. Therefore some examples will not start at the beginning of their related schedules, nor cover all the questions that were asked in the interview. Structured interviews Introduction Structured interviewing involves asking each interviewee the same set of standardised questions. The order of questioning is fixed and wording is usually specific: there is little scope for probing or deviating from the specified agenda. The questions and the responses given Teaching resource: Interview methods | 6 | tend to fit into predetermined categories, confirming or disconfirming the hypothesis the interviewer is pursuing. In studies where interviewers need to make comparisons between responses from different interviewees, they will require their interviews to be more structured, so that the same issues are covered by each respondent (Arthur and Nazroo, 2003). This method is more closely related to the methods used in large-sample surveys and is usually based on a positivist epistemology. Example Study Number: 5069 Study Title: Presentation of Genetically Modified (GM) Crop Research to Non-specialists, 1997-2002: A Case Study Principal Investigator(s): Cook, G and Robbins, P.T Date of Fieldwork: 1997-2002 Abstract: The study investigated the presentation of genetic modification (GM) crop research at the University of Reading to non-specialists within the university, and to users, potential students, and the general public outside. The aim was to uncover how linguistic and rhetorical choices vary with the purpose of the communication and with the communicator's perceptions of audience knowledge and views, and how these choices may persuade or antagonise their receivers. Citation: Cook, G. and Robbins, P.T., Presentation of Genetically Modified (GM) Crop Research to Non-specialists, 1997-2002 : A Case Study [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive [distributor], February 2005. SN: 5069, http://dx.doi.org/10.5255/UKDA- SN-5069-1 Interview schedule Study title Presentation of Genetically Modified (GM) Crop Research to Non-specialists, 1997-2002: A Case Study First part of interview: questions for scientists at University of Reading First a brief introduction on our project, and then: 1. What in your opinion accounts for the public response to GM in Britain? [Probe the link with the idea of breakdown of trust, and the issue of risk.] 2. What do you see as the best strategy to convey information on GM research/products? Teaching resource: Interview methods | 7 | 3. What are the key themes/components that you wish to communicate about GM research? Do you have different strategies you use with different audiences? 4. How are communications with the public produced? In the form of adverts/ press releases? Who participates in their production? 5. Do you see room for improvements in the link between