INTRODUCTION TO

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
AND THE QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH INTERVIEW
Dr. Sumita Mishra

THE CASE FOR QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH

The first highlight came in a special issue of

Administrative Science Quarterly (December 1979)
Call for a balance in research in organization sciences as
the 1960s and the 1970s have been dominated by the use
of quantitative methods
Call for a balance in the different methods
Empirical mismatch between the research paradigm,
research objectives, research questions, research
constructs, variables, tools of data collection and data
analysis

THE CASE FOR QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH

Qualitative and quantitative research are not mutually

exclusive
The difference is in their overall form, focus and the
emphasis of the study
Qualitative research tends describe unfolding social
processes rather than social structure
Several unresolved questions stand out such as 1) distance
between the researcher and the researched 2) availability
of data 3) complex, sophisticated mathematical models
vis--vis loose and flexible qualitative models 4) wide scale
scepticism against the results on survey research.

THE ISSUE OF METHODOLOGY

The very nature of the phenomena under investigation

challenges the utility of methodological closure
Historical change, contextual fields of information and
processes through which human beings engage in symbolic
modes of discourse can be captured through static in a
partial and limited manner
Qualitative Research stands for an approach rather
than a particular set of techniques and its
appropriateness like that of quantitative research is
contingent on the phenomena to be studied

AN INTRODUCTION TO INTERVIEWS

An Interview whose purpose is to gather descriptions of

the life world of the interviewee with respect to the
interpretation of the meaning of the described
phenomena [Kvale, 1983]

Etic vs the Emic Perspective in Research

What are the characteristics of a qualitative interview?

1.

Low Degree of Structure Imposed by the Interviewer

2.

Focus on specific situations in the life world of the

interviewee

TYPES OF INTERVIEW
Structured Interview

Control is of paramount importance in a structured interview

But what is the meaning of control?

Is a complement to positivist studies

Is required to quantify responses

Less Structured Interview/Qualitative Interview

Compose your questions as you go along

The use of a probe (what are probes?) and why would we use
a probe?
The Interview as a secondary relationship: Primary and
Secondary groups
Relationship between the Interviewer and Interviewee is of
paramount importance
Looking Glass Self-Charles H Cooley

PROBES

Repeat the question

Repeating the answer

Indicating understanding and interest

A Neutral question or a comment

TYPES OF INTERVIEW
Semi Structured Interview

Mertons Focused Interview

What are the elements of a focused interview?

1.

Situational Analysis

2.

Interview Guide

3.

Definitions of the Situation

4.

Flexible and may lead to the gathering of qualitative data

The Clinical Interview

. Freudian
. Social

emphasis on such interviews

Case workers, Counsellors etc.

. Life

Story Analysis (Allan Rolands work in India)

. Use

of a semi structured and often unstructured interview

USES OF INTERVIEWS

When to use the Qualitative Research Interview?

1.

Emic Perspective

2.

Individual perception of processes is required

3.

Individual Historical Accounts are generated

4.

Exploratory work is required before a quantitative study can

be carried out

5.

Where a quantitative study has already been carried out and

a qualitative results are required to validate findings

. When

to use the Structured Interview?

1.

Testing of a formal hypothesis is desired

2.

Data can be gathered readily and quantified

3.

Factual Information and Deductive Research

4.

Postal Survey would produce poor results

5.

Generalizability of previous qualitative studies can be tested

CONSTRUCTING AND CARRYING OUT

A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
INTERVIEW
What are the steps of conducting a qualitative research
interview?
1.

Defining the Research Question

. What

do these questions mean and why should they not

include any bias?

. Research

Question should focus on how participants describe

and make sense of particular elements of their lives

. In

what ways is Unemployment a Bad Thing?

. R.Q.

1 How is diversity in the national culture of team

members, in MCTs perceived by Indian team members as
having an impact upon knowledge sharing in the team?

CONSTRUCTING AND CARRYING OUT

A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
INTERVIEW
What are the steps of conducting a qualitative research
interview?
2. Creating the Interview Guide

What is the difference between an interview schedule and

interview guide?
The three sources for topics to be included in a qualitative
interview are:

-Review of Literature
-interviewer's own personal experience about the research
question
-Informal preliminary work done earlier through unstructured
interviews

CONSTRUCTING AND CARRYING OUT

A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
INTERVIEW
What are the steps of conducting a qualitative research
interview?
3. Recruiting Participants for the study

Largely depends upon the objectives of the study

Time and the resources to be spent need to be taken into
account
How do you record interviews that are not tape recorded?
When would you know to stop the qualitative interview and
that you have arrived at an adequate sample?
Concept of theoretical saturation-Glaser and Strauss

CONSTRUCTING AND CARRYING OUT

A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
INTERVIEW
What are the steps of conducting a qualitative research
interview?
4. Carrying out the Interview
1.

Starting the Interview

2.

Phrasing of Questions

3.

Ending of Interviews

4.

Difficult Interviews

-The Uncommunicative Interviewee

-The over communicative interviewee
-The High Status Interviewee
-Interviews on Emotionally Charged Subjects

CONSTRUCTING AND CARRYING OUT

A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
INTERVIEW
What are the steps of conducting a qualitative research
interview?
4. Analysing the Interview Data
-The importance of Para linguistic information in interview data
analysis
-Content Analysis and the observations of Kassarijanobjectivity, systematization and quantification
-Can be used for Positivist and Interpretive Research
-Template Analysis and how does it differ from content
analysis (Code book revision; qualitative analysis vs. statistics)
-Interpretations, editing and grounded theory
-The process of constant comparison
-Theoretical and philosophical underpinnings in Phenomenology
(Husserl, 1931)-bracketing

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Flexibility

Response Rate

Non Verbal Behaviour

Control over environment

Question order

Spontaneity

Respondent alone can answer

Type of Interview

Greater Complexity of Questionnaire

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Cost

Time

Interview Bias

No opportunity to consult records

Inconvenience

Less Anonymity

Less Standardized question wording

Lack of accessibility to respondents

ISSUES OF RELIABILITY AND

VALIDITY

Reliability

1.

Sensitivity vs. Objectivity

2.

What is the meaning of reliability in qualitative research

interviews?

3.

Should Standardized objectivity yield to individual

sensitivity

4.

Self Biases in interviews can be tackled through the

process of bracketing

5.

Inter Rater Reliability through the calculation of KAPPA

Coefficients can also be done

6.

What are the alternatives?

ISSUES OF RELIABILITY AND

VALIDITY

Validity

1.

The essence of validity remains the same in both the

research situations

2.

The stress in qualitative research is on the validity of

the interpretation

3.

Rightness of an opinion is inter subjective in nature and

hence it is important to involve others in the interpretive
process

4.

How does one maintain validity of qualitative research

interviews?

-Initiating feedback loops

-Developing a sound process of triangulation

ASSIGNMENT

Consider a research question within your topic of

interest
Would you or would you not conduct a qualitative
research interview?
If no then why? If yes then how will you go
about the interview.
Total number of words=250