6 tips for designing a semi-structured interview guide
So, you want to design a guide (or protocol) for your semi-structured interview, as part of your qualitative research project? This video shows you how to develop the right questions and ask them in right order, so you can get the information you need every time!
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Video Transcript
So, you want to design a guide for your semi-structured interview but not sure of the best way to do this? I will show you how to develop the right questions and ask them in the right order, so you can get the information you need every time!
A semi-structured is a verbal exchange where one person (the interviewer) elicits information respectfully from another person (the interviewee/respondent) through a series of questions. It should feel like a good conversation.
First, remember the questions you develop rely very heavily on your knowledge of the topic. If you are researching a topic that you know well for example if you are a nurse researching patients experiences of taking medication, then you are in a good place. Whether you know something or nothing at all about the topic – always – always read the literature before developing your guide.
Once you have read the literature and have a good grasp of the topic – return to your research question and ask yourself – what information do I want to get from the semi-structured interview? Make a list of everything you want to find out using the semi-structured tool. Make sure that each item on the list only consists of one idea …questions asking about more than one thing can be unclear, confusing and introduce bias. Now you can start drafting your questions.
Remember in qualitative research, our aim to get the respondents perspective so we must use open questions and never use leading questions.
The first set of questions in your research guide must be broad questions that put the interviewee at ease and encourage them to give you their perspective for example - Tell me about your experience of coming to this school.
The middle section is where you pursue ideas in more depth and where you get the answers to your specific research questions. The interviewee is now at ease, feeling valued because you have listened to them. Now you may ask more detailed questions and use probes, to build on the respondents previous answers. For example, you mentioned that you like coming to this school because your teachers are very nice, what sort of things does your teacher do that makes you say they are nice?
In the concluding section, here you can seek clarification for anything that is still unclear and also that take into account any theories you may be using in your research for example research has shown that boys learn differently from girls. In your school how do your teachers meet the different learning needs of boys and girls
Let’s summarise
1. Make sure you are familiar with the topic – this helps you to ask relevant questions
2. Make a list of what information you want to get from the semi-structured interview – this helps you formulate questions that will provide an answer to your research questions
3. Start with broad open questions – this puts the interviewee at ease and encourages them to give you their perception
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