Top 10 things that make or break a qualitative interview

Are you a student and you have to do a qualitative interview or a focus group interview for your thesis or study project? Feeling nervous and don’t know where to start? In this short article, we’ll give you the best tips & tricks to get the best out of your interviewees.

What is a qualitative interview?

Compared to questionnaires, a qualitative interview is a more personal method of interaction. The purpose of a quantitative (quant) interview is to better comprehend one’s  way of thinking and to collect information about their skills and experience. A minimum of two people participate in an interview, one of whom is in charge of posing the questions. Interviews are a great approach to gain a person’s subjective opinion on a subject and are frequently used in the following fields:

• Research
• Media
• Legal
• Medical

1. Before the interview

1. Use an automatic transcription software. Hours and hours wasted transcribing text? Not anymore! We have developed a powerful transcription software, that will do the job for you with 95% accuracy! Learn more about our transcription services.

2. Find a suitable indoor location for the interview.
Make sure the place is quiet and private. Otherwise, your interviewee won’t feel comfortable and you run the risk of having a poor audio recording.
3. Test your equipment beforehand.
No matter what you use, a phone, a recorder or a microphone – give it a solid quality test before bringing it to the interview. “Nothing can go wrong”, “It was working just fine” – are phrases we commonly hear from students, who are frustrated with their own gear on the day of the interview. You don’t want to lose your professionalism in the eyes of the interviewee, so prepare well.

P.s – don’t have a good voice recorder yet? Check out this guide on the best voice recorder for interviews for some recommendations.
4. Briefly describe how are you going
to treat the data collected from the interview. If you’re recording the interview, make sure to ask the interviewee’s permission!
5. Quickly describe the structure and key topics
that are going to be addressed during the interview. Also, don’t forget to mention its duration and try not to go past that time limit.

2. During the interview

1. Human memory isn’t that great.
   If possible, record the entire interview and take useful notes along the way.
2. You want to obtain rich, saturated information
   about a subject you’re investigating. That’s why you should avoid asking “yes/ no” questions.
3. ALWAYS remain calm and neutral.
   You’re the researcher, who’s just collecting the data. Avoid your personal judgments, criticism or strong emotional reactions, despite what the interviewee says.
4. Keep your questions simple and precise.
   Adapt your language style to one of the interviewees and forget all the jargon.
5. Avoid double-barreled questions –
   questions that raise 2 topics, but allow for only 1 answer. For example: How satisfied are you with the quality of education and on-campus facilities in your university?

3. After the interview

1. Make sure to thank the interviewee for his time and input.
   If he/she has any questions or is interested in learning outcomes of your project, leave some of your contact details.