An in-depth interview is an unstructured qualitative research technique that allows for discussion between an interviewer and respondent. It aims to explore topics in depth through open-ended questions, follow-ups, and probes. This format permits insight into people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors on important issues. Effective in-depth interviews require skilled interviewers who can build rapport, adapt to different personalities, and ask open-ended questions to understand perspectives in respondents' own words. Though time-consuming, in-depth interviews can generate rich descriptive data through personalized discussions.

1. In Depth Interview
Prepared By
Mohammad Aslam Shaiekh
Master of Public Health (MPH)
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2. Introduction
• An in-depth interview is a qualitative research technique that
allows person to person discussion. It can lead to increased
insight into people's thoughts, feelings, and behavior on
important issues. This type of interview is often unstructured
and therefore permits the interviewer to encourage an
informant (respondent) to talk at length about the topic of
interest.
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3. Cont…
• In-depth interviews offer the opportunity to capture rich,
descriptive data about people‟s behaviors, attitudes and
perceptions, and unfolding complex processes.
• The in-depth interview uses a flexible interview approach. It
aims to ask questions to explain the reasons underlying a
problem or practice in a target group.
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4. In depth interview
• Various kinds and purposes
• Open-ended questions
• Looking for meaning and context and information in
respondents‟ own words
• Combine structure with flexibility
• Interactive
• Follow new lines of inquiry as they arise
• Explore a topic in-depth with follow-ups and probes: whys,
hows, examples, etc.
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5. Interview Steps
A. Preparing for the interview
a. Getting familiar with the instruments:
1. Study the interview guide.
2. Study the informed consent document.
3. Practice with the partner.
b. Day of the interview:
4. Using a checklist, verify that you have all the equipment.
5. Label all data documentation materials with an identical
archival number, including tapes, notebooks and question
guides.
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6. 6. Arrive early at the interview site to set up equipment
7. Test your recording equipment.
B. Conducting the interview
8. Greet the participants in a friendly manner to begin
establishing positive rapport.
9. Briefly describe the steps of the interview process
(informed consent, question and answer, their questions,
reimbursement).
10. Obtain informed consent.
11. Turn on the tape recorder and verify that it is working.
12. Verify informed consent orally with the tape recorder on.
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7. 13. Conduct the interview according to the interview guide.
14. End the question asking phase of the interview
15. Give the participant an opportunity to ask questions.
16. Reconfirm the participant‟s consent while the tape recorder
is still on.
17. Turn off the tape recorder and thank the participant.
18. Clarify any factual errors expressed by participants during
the interview.
19. Reimburse the participant in accordance with study
procedures.
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8. C. After the interview
20. Check the tape to see if the interview was recorded. If it
was not , expand your notes immediately.
21. Punch out the re-record tab.
22. Make sure all materials are labelled with the archival
number.
23. Debrief with other field staff.
24. Assemble all materials into one envelope. Double check
that you have completed all forms and that all materials
are appropriately labelled. Note and explain any
missing materials on the archival information sheet.
25. Expand your notes within 24 hours if possible.
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9. Interview Checklist
A. Interview Checklist
• Private setting for interview site.
• Transportation of staff to interview site.
• Transportation of participants to interview site.
• Refreshments for participants (if applicable)
B. What to take to the interview
a. Equipment
• 1 voice recorder (plus 1 extra, if available)
• 1 extra storage device per interview
• Spare batteries
• Field notebook and pens Aslam Aman 9

10. b. Interview packet
• 1 large, heavy-duty envelope
• Archival information sheet with archival number
• 1 copy of interview guide (in the appropriate language for
participants)
• 2 informed consent forms (1 for interview, 1 for
participant, in the appropriate language)
• Participant reimbursement (if applicable)
• Reimbursement form (if applicable)
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11. c. What to place in the envelope after the interview
• Completed archival information sheet
• Signed informed consent form (signed only by interviewer
if oral, by participant and interviewer if written)
• Labelled interview guide with notes
• Field notes
• Labelled cassette tapes, re-record tabs punched out
• Signed reimbursement form (if applicable)
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12. How to Be an Effective Interviewer
• Be familiar with research documents
• Practice interviewing
• Practice using the equipment
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13. Key skills for in-depth interviewing
• Rapport-building
• Be friendly, smile, use a pleasant tone of voice, use relaxed body
language, incorporate humor, be humble, do not scold, coerce, or
cajole participants, be patient
• Emphasizing the participant‟s perspective
• Treating the participant as the expert
• Keeping the participant from interviewing you
• Balancing deference to the participant with control over the
interview
• Being an engaged listener
• Demonstrating a neutral attitude
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14. •Adapting to different personalities and emotional
states
• Quickly adjust your style to suit each individual
participant. By adopting an appropriate behavior for each
individual, the interviewer can help the participant be
comfortable enough to speak freely about the research
topic.
• Know how to tone down heightened emotions, such as
when a participant starts crying or becomes belligerent.
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15. Techniques for effective questioning
• Keep track of which questions have and have not been asked
and answered
• Know how to phrase questions that encourage participants to
provide elaborate, detailed (rather than brief) responses;
• Ask questions that elicit the participant‟s own views and
experiences as opposed to reflecting the convictions of the
interviewer.
• Ask one question at a time, verifying unclear responses,
• Ask open-ended questions, avoiding leading questions, and
using follow-ups and probes
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16. Tips for taking interview notes
• Begin each notebook entry with the date, time, place, and
type of data collection event.
• Leave space on the page for expanding your notes, or plan to
expand them on a separate page.
• Take notes strategically. It is usually practical to make only
brief notes during data collection. Direct quotes can be
especially hard to write down accurately. Rather than try to
document every detail or quote, write down key words and
phrases that will trigger your memory when you expand
notes.
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17. • Use shorthand. Because you will expand and type your notes
soon after you write them, it does not matter if you are the
only person who can understand your shorthand system. Use
abbreviations and acronyms to quickly note what is
happening and being said.
• Write on the interview question guide. Save time by
writing notes directly in the question guide under the relevant
question. If it is not possible to record direct quotations, write
down key words and phrases.
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18. • Distinguish clearly between participant comments and
your own observations. You could use your own initials or
“MO” to indicate “my observation.” For example: "MO –
embarrassed by empty beer bottles in room.” This documents
the researcher‟s observation that the participant seemed
embarrassed about the empty beer bottles in the room.
• Cover a range of observations: body language, moods, or
attitudes; the general environment; and other information that
could be relevant.
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19. Expanding the notes
• Scheduling time to expand your notes, preferably within 24
hours of the interview.
• Expanding your shorthand into sentences so that anyone can
read and understand your notes.
• Composing a descriptive narrative from your shorthand and
key words.
• Identifying questions for follow-up.
• Reviewing your expanded notes and adding any final
comments.
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22. Sample of interview guide on Obesity
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23. The "Do’s"
• Begin interview with a friendly and familiar greeting.
• Listen with attention to capture every piece of information
from respondents.
• Explore key words, phrases, terms as they occur in the
discussion.
• Listen to impressions, topics avoided by informant, deliberate
distortions and misconceptions or misunderstandings. Take
prompt action to explore each of these. Where appropriate,
use "probes."
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24. • Ensure a natural flow of discussion by guiding informant
from one topic to the next.
• "Play dumb"(be silent) to give the respondent plenty of room
to talk.
• Be open to unexpected information.
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25. The “Don'ts”
• Influence or bias responses by introducing one's own
perceptions or asking leading questions which encourage a
particular response.
• Move too quickly from one topic to the next
• Interrupt the informant.
• Do not mislead about the subject matter in order to obtain
information.
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26. Advantages
• Interviewers can establish rapport with participants to make
them feel more comfortable and at-ease, which can generate
more insightful responses – especially regarding sensitive
topics.
• Interviewers have much more opportunity to ask follow-up
questions, probe for additional information.
• Interviewers can monitor changes to tone and word choice to
get a deeper understanding (and if the in-depth interview is
face-to-face, researchers can also focus on body language).
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27. • Researchers need fewer participants to get useful and relevant
insights.
• There are none of the potential distractions or peer pressure
dynamics that can sometimes emerge in focus groups.
• Because in-depth interviews can potentially be so insightful,
it is possible to identify highly valuable finding very quickly -
- and sometimes in the first interview.
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28. Disadvantages
• In-depth interviews are quite time consuming, as interviews
must be transcribed, organized, analyzed and reported.
• If the interviewer is not highly skilled and experienced, the
entire process can be undermined.
• The process can be relatively costly compared to other
methods (however, telephone in-depth interviews vs. in-
person can significantly reduce the costs).
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29. • Participants must carefully chosen to avoid bias, and this can
result in a longer vetting process.
• Participants typically expect an incentive to participate, and
this must be carefully selected to avoid bias.
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30. Bibliography
• Collector, D. and Module, F. G. „In-Depth Interviews‟.
• Boyce, C. and Associate, E. (2006) „CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH
INTERVIEWS : A Guide for Designing and Conducting In-Depth
Interviews‟, (May).
• https://www.cfrinc.net/cfrblog/in-depth-interviewing
• Kumar, R., 2017. Research Methodology. s.l.:SAGE text.
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