Collecting primary data using semi-structured

1. Slide 10.1
Chapter 10
Collecting primary data using semi-structured,
in-depth and group interviews
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

2. Slide 10.2
Research interviews
Definition
‘An interview is a purposeful discussion
between two or more people’
Kahn and Cannell (1957)
Types of interview used in research
Semi-structured
In-depth
Structured
Group
Saunders et al. (2009)
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

3. Slide 10.3
Purpose of an interview
 Interview is a discussion between two or more people for a purpose
 Interviews help us to gather valid and reliable data that are relevant
to our research questions and objectives
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

4. Slide 10.4
Research purpose and strategy (1)
Forms of interview
Saunders et al. (2009)
Figure 10.1 Forms of interview
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

5. Slide 10.5
Structured Interview
 It uses questionnaires based on a pre-determined and ‘standardised’
or identical set of questions. These are referred to as ‘intervieweradministered questionnaires’
 You read out each question and then record the response on a
schedule usually with pre-coded answers
 As structured interviews are used to collect quantifiable data they
are also referred to as ‘Quantitative research interviews’
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

6. Slide 10.6
Semi-structured Interviews
 It allows researcher to have a list of themes and questions to be
covered in the interview although this may vary
 Because these interviews are non-standardised, they are often
referred to as ‘Qualitative research interviews’
 You may omit some questions in the interview whereas order of the
questions may also vary according to the flow of conversation
 Additional questions may be required to explore your research questions
 Nature of the questions and the discussion mean that data will be
recorded by audio-recording or perhaps note-taking.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

7. Slide 10.7
Unstructured Interviews
 These are informal interviews and we use them to explore in depth
a general idea in our research field
 There is no pre-determined list of questions to work through in this
situation
 The interviewee is given the opportunity to talk freely about events,
behaviour and beliefs in relation to the topic area
 Therefore, it is better known as ‘Informanl interview’ since it is the
interviewee’s perceptions that guide the conduct of the interview.
 In comparison, a participant’s (respondent) interview is one where
the interviewer directs the interview, and interviewee responds to
the questions of the researcher
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

8. Slide 10.8
Interview and type of research
• In an exploratory research study, in-depth interviews can be
very helpful to find out what is happening and to seek new
insight. Semi structured or un structured interviews may be
used in relation to an exploratory study.
• In descriptive studies structured interviews can be used as a
means to identify general patterns.
• In an explanatory study, semi structured and semi structured
interviews can be used in order to understand the
relationships between variables, such as those revealed from
a descriptive study, structured interview may also be used in
relation to an explanatory study, in statistical sense.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

9. Slide 10.9
Research purpose and strategy (2)
Uses of different types of interview in each of
the main research categories
Saunders et al. (2009)
Table 10.1 Uses of different types of interview in each of the main research
categories
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

10. Slide 10.10
Approaches to questioning
Open questions
Probing questions
Specific and closed questions
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

11. Slide 10.11
Open questions
• The use of open question will allow participants to
define and describe the situation or event. An open
Questionnaire is designed to encourage the
interviewee to provide an extensive and
developmental answer and may be used to reveal
attitudes or obtain facts. It encourages the
interviewee to reply as they wish. An open question
is likely to start with or include, one of the following
words: ‘what’, or ‘how’, or ‘why’,.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

12. Slide 10.12
Probing questions
• Can be used to explore responses that are of
significance to the research topic. They may
be worded like open questions but request a
particular focus or direction.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

13. Slide 10.13
Specific and closed questions
• These types of questions are simpler to those
used in structured interviews. They can be
used to obtain specific information or to
confirm a fact or opinion.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

14. Slide 10.14
Interviewing competence
In relation to semi-structured and in-depth research interviews,
we need to develop competence in following areas:
 opening the interview
 using appropriate language
Questioning
Listening
Testing and summarizing understanding
Recognizing and dealing with difficult participants
Recording data
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

15. Slide 10.15
Recognizing and dealing with difficult participants
Recognized difficulty
Suggestion
Participant appears willing only to give If it is due to limited time, or worries
monosyllabic answers (yes/no)
about anonymity, then this can be
minimized by careful opening of the
interview
Participant repeatedly provides long We actually need to impose more
answers which digress from the focus of direction although some long answers can
your interview
be tolerated.
By referring back to an earlier relevant
point and asking them to tell you more, or
requesting that they pause so that note
down what they have said.
Participant starts interviewing you
You need to stress that you are interested
in their opinions and if they wish, they
can ask you questions in the end.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

16. Slide 10.16
Participant is proud of their status This is extremely difficult and at times
relative to you and wants to show off you will have to listen attentively and be
their knowledge criticizing what you do
respectful.
Be confident and prepared to justify your
research and the research design you
have chosen as you should have
knowledge about your research.
Participant becomes noticeably upset Another difficult situation for you.
during interview
You need to give your participant time to
answer your question and, in particular,
do not do anything to suggest that you
are feeling impatient.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

17. Slide 10.17
Group interviews
 Non-standardized interviews may also be conducted on a group
basis, where the interviewer asks questions to a group of
participants
Group interview is used as a general term to describe all nonstandardized interviews (focus group, group interview, group
discussion etc ) conducted with two or more people.
 The term focus group is used to refer to those group interview
where the topic where the topic is defined clearly and there is
focus on recording interactive discussion between participants.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

18. Slide 10.18
Group Interview
 In a group interview you role will be to ensure that all
participants have the opportunity to state their points of view and
answer your question
 This type of interview can range from being highly structured to
unstructured although it tends to be relatively unstructured and
free flowing.
 Group interactions may lead to a highly productive discussion
as interviewees respond to your questions and evaluate points
made by the group
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009

19. Slide 10.19
Focus groups
 A ‘focus group interview’ is a group interview that focuses
clearly upon a particular issue, product, service or topic and
encompasses the need for interactive discussion amongst
participants
 If you are running a focus group, you will probably be referred
to as
moderator facilitator and your job will be to:
-- keep the group with the boundaries of the topic
-- generate interest in the topic and encourage discussion whilst
at the same time don’t allow the group towards certain opinions
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009