Depth/intensive Interviewing: A Qualitative Research Method

Depth/intensive interviewing
A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD

Depth/intensive interviews
 An interview is “a conversation between a researcher

(someone who wishes to gain information about a
subject) and an informant (someone who
presumably has information of interest on the
subject).”
 (Berger, Media and communication research methods)
Why use depth/intensive interviewing?
 Intensive interviewing is used to develop a

comprehensive picture of the respondent’s
background, attitudes and actions
 Open-ended questions
 Varies from structured to unstructured
 Interviews can be lengthy
 Could be hours in length

 Becomes similar to a directed conversation
 Requires active probing of responses

 When you are uncertain what the most significant

issues in an area of study are, a depth interview with
an expert or a typical group member can be
especially valuable
 Few assumptions prior to gathering data
 Get as much information as possible from especially
valuable sources
 Information-rich method
 Can gain insights you had not imagined prior to the

interview
 Often respondents will hit you with something you had
not expected
 Can follow the internal logic of respondent’s
thinking rather than imposing one from outside
 Map the ways that people form their understanding of the
topic
 Can learn the actual language, metaphors, etc.
respondents use to discuss topics
 Depth interviews allow for the development of the

greatest levels of rapport between interviewer and
respondent
 If respondent is uncomfortable or unwilling to provide
information in other formats, this may be the best way to
gather that info
 Greatest interviewer ability to help/guide the
respondent
 Respondents with limited language skills, uncertainty of
research protocols, etc.
 Experts/famous people, etc. may be unwilling to sit

still for traditional closed-ended questionnaire
 The depth interview format often suits them, allows them
to demonstrate their expertise
 Much of what they gain from the research is that
opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge
 Recognition of their knowledge and expertise
What’s the catch?
 The intensive interview demands a great deal of time and

effort
 It is not easily passed along to professional data
collection providers
 Need for significant knowledge/understanding to carry out the
interview
 Skill in interviewing is crucial
 Potential for bias is great
 Safety concerns
 Data analyses are difficult and time-consuming
 No two interviews are identical, so ‘adding up’ responses is difficult
and perhaps invalid
Preparing for the interview
 Study the topic

 Know the language used to describe the content area
 Know about the respondent, if possible
 Plan an outline of topics to cover in an

interview
 Be ready to begin interviewing at any point from
initial contact on
 Provide a compelling reason why the person
should be willing to talk to you
 Expert respondents could tell you “I make $1,000 an hour
and you are on the clock”
Sampling
 Random selection of informants is rare

 ‘Typical’ group members
 Experts
 Demanding respondents
 People who have had unusual experiences
 Select interviewees who
 Are knowledgeable on the subject of interest
 Are willing to talk
 Represent a range of perspectives from within a group
How many interviews do I need?
 Selection of new respondents should continue until

a saturation point is reached, that is, until new
interviews yield little additional information
Establishing and maintaining rapport
 Do not violate standards of social behavior

 Show respect for interviewee
 Do not react in a negative manner to what she/he says
 Demonstrate your appreciation for the time and effort
the respondent provides you
 Assure the informant of confidentiality
 Before beginning the interview, explain clearly

your purpose for asking the questions
Asking questions and recording answers
 Plan questions around an outline (but be flexible)

 Begin with a question relating to the respondent’s
experience/relationship with the topic
 For specific information, make questions short and
to the point
 Don’t waste your respondent’s time
 To gain insight into respondent’s views, provide
questions that are open platforms drawing her into
the topic and letting her provide context, elucidate,
etc.
 “Grand Tour” questions
 “What problems have you had with your broadband
connection?”
 Use nondirective probes
 Follow-up questions should be tailored to answers
 Clarifications should be specific—not “What do
you mean?”
“When you mentioned that you had difficulty
setting up your Second Life account, what were you
referring to?”
 When a respondent is ‘on a roll’ do not try to
change direction
 Unless the respondent is simply repeating
himself/herself
Data collection
 Tape recorders are a good idea and usually are

ignored
 Make sure you are recording!
 Constant note-taking is a distraction
 However, some respondents will give away good
information when the tape recorder gets turned
off
Triangulation
 Depth interviews are often useful in concert with

other methods
 Combining participant observation and intensive interviewing
can deepen understanding
 May follow up an experiment with depth interviews
 May call back selected survey participants to conduct depth
interviews
 Etc.
 Sources used:
 Schutt, R. K. (2004). Investigating the Social World, (4th ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.

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Depth/intensive interviewing

A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHOD

 An interview is “a conversation between a researcher

 Intensive interviewing is used to develop a

 Interviews can be lengthy

 Could be hours in length

 Requires active probing of responses

 When you are uncertain what the most significant

 Can gain insights you had not imagined prior to the

 Depth interviews allow for the development of the

 Experts/famous people, etc. may be unwilling to sit

 The intensive interview demands a great deal of time and

 Study the topic

 Plan an outline of topics to cover in an

 Random selection of informants is rare

 Selection of new respondents should continue until

 Do not violate standards of social behavior

 Before beginning the interview, explain clearly

 Plan questions around an outline (but be flexible)

 Tape recorders are a good idea and usually are

 Depth interviews are often useful in concert with

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