This document is an introduction to qualitative interviewing by Prof. Dr. Hora Tjitra, outlining key concepts and stages involved in conducting interviews for qualitative research. It emphasizes the importance of understanding subjective meanings, establishing an interviewing relationship, and ensuring the quality of data collection through proper guidelines and methodologies. Various interview types, question types, and practical considerations are discussed to guide effective interviewing practices.

1. Hangzhou, January 2011
Prof. Dr. Hora Tjitra, Zhejiang University
Doing
Qualitative
Interviewing
访 谈 方 法 - An Introduction

2. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
2
14
years
in
Germany
7
years
in
China
Born
and
grew
up
in
Indonesia
Prof.Dr.Hora Tjitra - Cross-cultural and Business Psychology
Dipl.-Psych.,Technical University of Braunschweig
Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management
Dr.Phil.,University of Regensburg
Intercultural Psychology and Strategic Management
Executive Education,INSEAD
HR Management in Asia

3. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
Outline
1 Qualitative data collection - interview 4
2 Qualitative Interview 6
3 Different types of (qualitative) interview? 13
4 Doing qualitative interviewing? 17
5 Quality criteria for a good interview 22
3

4. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
4
Data
Collection
Preparation
Process
Analyzing
Process
Process of Qualitative Research
Single Case
Analyses
Document
Analyses
Action Research Field Research
Qualitative
Experiments
Qualitative
Evaluation
Qualitative Research Process:
From Ideas (Questions) to Results (Theory)
Writing Qualitative Research Report
Qualitative Research Design
The Foundations and Pillars of Qualitative Thinking
Research Topics, Problems and Questions (Hypotheses)

5. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
5
Qualitative
Data
Focus
Group
聚焦小组
Interview
访谈
Observation 观察,
Ethnography 民族志,
Visual Data可视数据
Qualitative Data Collection 定性数据收集

6. Whom
of
you
have
any
experiences
in
doing
interview?
as
interviewer
or
interviewee?
?

7. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
7
Life world Meaning Qualitative Specificity DeliberateDescriptive
Focused Ambiguity Change Sensitivity Interpersonal
Situation
Positive
Experience
The Purpose of Qualitative Research Interview treated
is to obtain descriptions of the lived world of the
interviewees with respect to interpretations of the
meaning of the described phenomena.
Aspects of Qualitative Research Interviews

8. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
8
Interviewing is a concern with subjective meaning rather than
with eliciting responses
Interviews can permit exploration of issues that maybe too
complex to investigate through quantitative means.
Doing interview is a salutary lesson in research involvement
and practice.
The questions of power relations in the research.
1
2
3
4
Four main reasons for conducting interviews
实施访谈的四个主要理由

9. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
9
Knowledgeable
Qualification Criteria for the Interviewer
Structuring
Clear
Gentle
Sensi4ve Open
Interpre4ng
Remembering
Cri4cal
Steering
Qualification Criteria for the Interviewer
访谈者的资格标准

10. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
10
Thematizing
Formulate the purpose of an investigation and describe the
concept of the topic to be investigated before the interviews start.
Designing
Considerate all seven stages to obtain the intended
knowledge and taking into account the moral implication.
Interviewing
Base on interview guide, reflective approach to the knowledge
sought and the interpersonal relation of the interview situation
Transcribing
Prepare the interview material for analysise,
including a transcription from oral speech to written text.
Analyzing
Decide methods of analysis
1
2
3
4
5
Reporting
A readable
product
7
Verifying
Ascertain generalizability,
reliability, validity
6
Seven Stages of Interview Investigation

11. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
11
1.
Which
form
of
learning
mo1va1on
dominates
in
high
school?
2.
Do
the
grades
promote
an
external,
instrumental
mo1va1on
at
the
expense
of
an
intrinsic
interest
mo1va1on
for
learning?
3.
Does
learning
for
grades
socialize
to
working
for
Do
you
find
the
subjects
you
learn
important?
Do
you
find
learning
interes1ng
itself?
What
is
your
main
purpose
in
going
to
high
school?
Have
you
experienced
a
conflict
between
what
you
wanted
to
read
(study)
and
what
you
had
to
read
to
obtain
a
good
grade?
Have
you
been
rewarded
with
money
for
good
grades?
Do
you
see
any
connec1on
between
money
and
grades?
Research and interview questions:
Learning motivation and performance

12. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
12
• Basic descriptive questions
– Can you talk to me about your car accident? Tell me what
happened on that evening?
– Describe how you felt that evening?
• Follow-up questions
– You mentioned that “planning time” is important to you. Can
you tell me how you use planning time?
• Experience/example questions
– You mentioned that you loved going to London. Can you give
me an example or two of what made you love London?
– Talk about your impressions of London.
• Simple clarification questions
– You have used the term “constructivist teacher” today. Can
you clarify that for me? What exactly can you talk about
regarding your constructivist teaching?
• Structural/paradigmatic questions
– You state that this class was a problematic one. What would
you describe as the cause of these problems?
– Of all the things you have told me about being a critical care
nurse, what is the underlying premise of your work day? In
other words, what keeps you going everyday?
• Comparison/contrast questions
– You said there was a big difference between a great principal
and an ordinary principal. What are some of these
differences? Can you describe a few for me?
Types of interview questions 访谈问题的类型

13. How
many
kind
of
interviews
do
you
know
or
aware
of?
-­
what
are
the
main
differences
between
them
? ?

14. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
14
Semi-structured Interview
半结构化访谈
Narratives as data
Focused Interview
Semi-standardized Interview
Expert Interview
Problem-centred Interview
Ethnographic Interview
Narratives Interview
叙述式访谈
Episodic Interview
插话式访谈
Adapted from Flick, 2002
Interviewing method
as an effective qualitative verbal data

15. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
15
• It
is
regarded
as
a
specific
forms
of
applying
semi-­‐structured
interviews.
In
contrast
to
biographical
interviews,
here
the
interviewee
is
of
less
interest
as
a
(whole)
person
than
in
his
or
her
capacity
o
being
an
expert
for
a
certain
field
of
ac1vity.
• The
interview
guide
has
a
much
more
stronger
direc1ve
func1on
with
regard
to
excluding
unproduc1ve
topics.
Some possible problems in conducting the interviews:
• The
expert
blocks
the
interview
in
its
course,
because
he
or
she
proves
to
be
not
an
expert
for
this
topic
as
previously
assumed.
• The
expert
tries
to
involve
the
interviewer
in
ongoing
conflicts
in
the
field
and
talks
about
internal
maLers
and
intrigues
in
his
or
her
work
field
instead
of
talking
about
the
topic
of
the
interview.
• He
or
she
oMen
changes
between
the
roles
of
expert
and
private
persons,
so
that
more
informa1on
results
about
him
or
her
as
a
person
than
about
his
or
her
expert
knowledge.
• As
an
intermediate
form
between
success
and
failure,
the
“rhetoric
interview”
is
men1oned.
I
this,
the
expert
gives
a
lecture
on
his
or
her
knowledge
instead
of
joining
the
ques1on-­‐answer
game
of
the
interview.
If
the
lecture
hits
the
topic,
this
form
of
interac1on
makes
it
more
difficult
to
return
to
the
actual
relevant
topic.
Meuser and Nagel (1991, pp. 449-450)
The expert interview from Meuser and Nagel (1991)

16. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
16
• This
interview
method
is
generally
used
in
combining with participative observation in the context
of field research.
• The
method
should
help
how
to
shape
conversa1ons
arising
in
the
field
into
interviews
in
which
unfolding
of
the
other’s
specific
experiences
is
aligned
with
issue
of
the
research
in
a
systema1c
way.
• It
is
best
to
think
of
ethnographic
interviews
a
series
of
“friendly
conversa1ons”
into
which
the
researcher
slowly
introduces
new
elements
to
assist
informants
to
respond
as
informants.
Some elements which distinguish ethnographic interviews from such
“friendly conversations”:
• A
specific
request
to
hold
the
interview
(resul1ng
from
the
research
ques1on)
• Ethnographic
explana1ons,
in
which
the
interviewer
explains
the
project
(why
an
interview):
these
are
completed
everyday
language
explana1ons
and
interview
explana1on
and
explana1on
of
certain
type
of
ques1ons.
• Ethnographic
ques1ons,
I.e.
descrip1ve
ques1ons,
structural
ques1ons
and
contrast
ques1ons.
Spradley (1979, pp 59-60)
The Ethnographic interview（民族志访谈）
from Spradley (1980)

17. Qualitative Research Method
@ Tjitra,2010
What are the most important
factors in doing good qualitative
interviewing?
17
?

18. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
18
The Interviewing Relationship is a Research Partnership
• The
interviewer
and
the
respondent
will
work
together
to
produce information useful
to
the
research
project.
• The
interview
will
define
the
areas
for
explora9on
and
will
monitor
the
quality
of
the
material.
The
respondent
will
provide
the
kind
of
report
that
is
needed,
accep9ng
the
interviewer’s
guidance
regarding
topics.
• The
interviewer
will
not ask
ques9ons
out
of
idle
curiosity.
• The
interviewer
will
respect
the
respondent’s
integrity.
• Respondent
will
not be damaged
or
disadvantaged
because
of
the
par9cipa9on
in
the
interview.

19. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
Guidelines to know the needed information
and to help respondents provide it
Scenes
and
events
External
to
the
respondent
Respondent’s
own
thoughts
and
feelings
concrete descriptions
of
something
he
or
she
has
witnessed
What
is
it
you
want
to
obtain?
• Asking respondents to particularize
(Last
1me
you
went
to
court)
just
what
happened?
•
Discussion of the most recent
occurrence
•Be wary of the generalized present
or generalized past to get a density of detail
(
what
happens
while
you’re
wai1ng
to
be
called?
or
What
happened
while
you
were
wai1ng
to
be
called?
The
later
one
is
beLer.)
• Questions to ask
(Helping
respondents
develop
informa1on,
markers,
etc.)
• Managing the interview
(Intrusions,
talking
about
yourself,
etc.)

20. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
20
The effects of interviewing on respondent and interviewer
What is it like to be a respondent?
 Interviewing
provides
respondents
with
an
opportunity
to
talk
about
maLers
of
emo1onal
importance
while
remaining
at
an
emo1onal
middle
distance:
close
enough
to
the
emo1ons
to
experience
them
but
distant
enough
to
maintain
self-­‐control.
 Interviewing
may
cause
someone
to
reflect
on
his
or
her
life
and
make
changes.
 One
risk
is
a
consequence
of
the
1me-­‐limited
nature
of
the
interviewing
rela1onship.
The
experiencing
a sense of loss.
 A
respondent
regreLed
having
talking
too
freely
in
the
interview
is
a
very
few
occasions.
They
may
concerned
that
they
will
be
iden1fiable
in
the
publica1ons.
 If
the
study
is
needed,
an
interviewer
do
have
the
right
to
ask
respondents
about
poten1ally
painful
material.
What is it like to sit and listen?
 Sometimes exhilarated, sometimes only a
task. Feel privileged to have been admitted
in to someone else’s private experience.
 Feel in tune with the other person’s rhythm
of speaking and thought, to see the world
through the other person’s eyes.
 Emotionally understand someone’s account
without allowing my attention to be
captured by my own feelings and thoughts.
 “ I am totally in the interview, aware of it
and nothing more.” ( Csikszentmihalyi )
 Usually tiring. It take energy to maintain an
unswerving attention. Some interviews
leave me feeling washed out.

21. An
Introduc+on
to
Qualita+ve
Interviewing
21
Issues of Validity: Do respondents tell the truth,the whole
truth,and nothing but the truth?
 I did not invent events that had not occurred.
 Nor can we be sure we will be told the precise truth.
 There are some kinds of events that we are unlikely to hear about unless we
have established an interviewing relationship in which there is extraordinary
trust. People will not endanger themselves to contribute to social truth.
 Information is context dependent.
 Our best guarantee of the validity of our material is careful, concrete level,
interviewing within the context of the a good interviewing relationship.

22. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
22
Quality criteria for an interview 一 个访谈的质量标准
• The
extent
of
spontaneous,
rich,
specific,
and
relevant
answers
from
the
interviewee.
• The
shorter
the
interviewer’s
ques4ons
and
the
longer
the
subjects’
answer,
the
beIer.
• The
degree
to
which
the
interviewer
follows
up
and
clarifies
the
meaning
of
the
relevant
aspects
of
the
answers.
• The
ideal
interview
is
to
a
large
extent
interpreted
throughout
the
interview.
• The
interviewer
aIempts
to
verify
his
or
her
interpreta4ons
of
the
subject’s
answers
in
the
course
of
the
interview.
• The
interview
is
“self-­‐communica4ng”
-­‐
it
is
a
story
contained
in
itself
and
that
hardly
requires
much
extra
descrip4ons.
Kvale, 1996

23. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
23
The qualitative research interview is NOT:
1. Scientific, but only reflects common sense
2. objective, but subjective
3. trustworthy, but biased
4. reliable, it rests upon leading questions
5. intersubjective, different readers find different
meaning
6. a scientific method, it is too person dependent
7. scientific hypothesis testing, only explorative
8. quantitative, only qualitative
9. generalizable, there are too few subjects
10.valid, it relies on subjective impressions
Discussion: Standard reactions to qualitative interview

24. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
24
Individualistic
IdealisticIntellectualistic
Cognitivist
Immobile
Verbalizing
Alinguistic
Arhetorical
Atheoretical
Insignificant
Interview
Research
Ten Internal Critiques of Interview Research

25. An
Introduc+on
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Qualita+ve
Interviewing
25
Final Summary
 Get
started
with
the
easy
ques/ons,
step by
step,
maybe
to
do
the
interview
with
Chinese
respondents,
we
should
spent
more
/me
to
build the research relationship
 Pay
your
a:en/on
on
the
two
important
Guidelines:
questions to ask & managing
the Interview
 Matching interviewers to respondents,
we
should
consider
this
point
the
Project.
Esp.
on
the
race,
cultural
background
and
ethnicity

26. Thank
You
Contact us via …
Mail: hora_t@mac.com
Follow: twitter@htjitra
Website: http://horatjitra.com
Zhejiang
University,
Hangzhou
(China)