ATS3222 Chap.6 Qualitative Data and the Research Interview
Qualitative Data and the Research Interview
Week 5 turns the study of data collection to qualitative material: the people and organisations that rely on it, how it is collected, and the limits of what it can show. The workshop is hands-on.
Students interview each other with a prepared guide, record notes, and then compare what they heard using a constant comparison activity: similarities, differences, surprises and what stood out.
The chapter describes the shape of a semi-structured interview, from a very open opening question through grouped topic blocks and probes to an open close.
It summarises the Week 5 interview guide, whose research question concerns how students' experience of university changes across an undergraduate degree, and whose questions are grouped under seven headings comparing first and third year.
It sets out the strengths of interviews, reaching reasons and sequences of events, against their costs in time, sample size and interviewer influence.
Practice tasks rewrite a leading question and adapt the guide for mature-age students.
The chapter closes with how notes should be kept, separating what participants said from your interpretation, ready for the Week 7 coding activity.
The interview skills in this chapter feed directly into later weeks. Week 7 asks you to code a transcript, which is much easier when you understand how the answers were produced, and both later assessments ask you to justify interviews as a method.
A clear sense of what interviews are good for, and what they cannot do, makes that justification short and convincing.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Who uses qualitative data
- 02
The semi-structured interview
- 03
Opening with a very open question
- 04
Topic blocks and probes
- 05
Avoiding leading questions
- 06
Constant comparison of notes
- 07
Adapting an interview guide
Worked example · free
Turn a closed question into an interview sequence
- +1Opening: 'Can you tell me about the work you do alongside your studies?' invites a narrative rather than a yes or no.
- +1Probe for an example: 'Can you describe a recent shift that clashed with something at university?'
- +1Probe for meaning: 'What did that mean for how you think about the job?'
Key terms
- Semi-structured interview
- An interview that follows a guide of topics and questions but adapts wording and order to the participant.
- Probe
- A follow-up question that asks for an example, detail or meaning behind an earlier answer.
- Constant comparison
- Comparing new accounts with earlier ones as data is gathered to see which ideas recur and which differ.
- Leading question
- A question that suggests the answer the researcher expects and invites agreement.
- Interview guide
- A planned set of topics and questions used to steer a semi-structured interview while allowing flexibility.
Qualitative Data and the Research Interview FAQ
How should an interview begin?
The Week 5 guide recommends starting with a very open question so the participant chooses where to begin. Topic-specific questions follow, adapted to what the person has already said.
What is constant comparison?
It is comparing interview notes and data as they come in. The Week 5 activity asks groups to look for similarities, differences, surprises and what stood out, the first step towards coding.
What can interviews not tell you?
They explain experiences and reasons in depth but cannot show how common those experiences are across a whole population. Answers are also shaped by the interviewer, the questions and the setting, which is why reflexive notes matter.
Should I follow the interview guide exactly?
No. The guide itself tells you to adjust or adapt questions to your focus and to the participant. Treat it as a map of topics, not a script.
How long should a research interview be?
The Week 5 materials do not fix a length. For a student project, plan for a length participants can comfortably give, often well under an hour, and pilot the guide to check that your key questions fit.
How should I record interview data?
Keep notes or recordings stored without names, label who said what and in answer to which question, and write your own interpretations separately. Clear records make the later coding faster and help a second reader check your analysis.
Assessment move
Write a six-question guide for your own topic: one very open opener, four questions in two topic blocks, and a closing question. Pilot it with a friend for ten minutes and note any question that produced a one-word answer. Rewrite those, and keep your pilot notes as practice material for the coding chapter. Time the pilot as well, since a guide that runs long in practice usually needs fewer questions rather than faster ones.
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