Step 9: Interviews, Focus Groups and Observation
- Interviews come in three types: structured (fixed questions in a fixed order), semi-structured (a guide of main questions with follow-ups) and unstructured (a conversation around a topic). Most dissertations use semi-structured.
- An interview guide has a few open main questions, each with probes (“Can you give an example?”).
- Focus groups of 5–8 people reveal shared views and how people discuss a topic, but quieter voices can be lost.
- Observation records what people actually do, which may differ from what they say.
- Record (with consent), transcribe, anonymise, and keep reflective notes on your own influence.
When to use qualitative data collection
A survey can tell you that 46% of students work more than 15 hours a week. It cannot tell you what a 6 a.m. café shift before a 9 a.m. seminar feels like, or why one student sees work as a burden and another as the thing that keeps them organised. When your question asks how or why, in people’s own words, you need interviews, focus groups or observation.
Three kinds of interview
| Type | How it runs | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structured | Same questions, same order, often closed | Easy to compare | Little depth; close to a spoken survey |
| Semi-structured | A guide of open questions; follow-ups as needed | Depth with comparability | Needs skill to probe well |
| Unstructured | A guided conversation around a theme | Maximum depth and openness | Hard to compare and analyse |
Chapter 9 of Research Methods Made Simple covers this in full, with an interview guide template and ten companion transcripts.Get the textbook · $15
Writing an interview guide
Draft a semi-structured guide for 30–40-minute interviews with working students.
Five or six main questions is plenty for 40 minutes. The probes do the real work.
Good interviewing practice
- Ask open questions (“how”, “what”, “tell me about”), not yes/no questions.
- Ask one question at a time, then wait. Silence often brings the best answers.
- Do not lead: “That must have been stressful?” suggests an answer; “How did that feel?” does not.
- Use the participant’s words when you probe: “You said it was ‘chaos’. What did that look like?”
- Listen more than you speak; aim for the participant to talk at least 80% of the time.
Focus groups
A focus group brings 5–8 people together for a moderated discussion of 60–90 minutes. It is good for exploring shared views, the language a group uses, and where people agree and disagree. It is weaker for sensitive personal topics, because people may not speak openly in front of peers, and confident participants can dominate. The moderator’s job is to keep the discussion on topic and bring everyone in (“We haven’t heard from you yet, what do you think?”).
Observation
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Non-participant | The researcher watches without taking part | Recording how students use library study spaces at different times |
| Participant | The researcher joins in the activity | Working shifts in a student café and keeping field notes |
| Structured | Counts pre-defined behaviours on a checklist | Tallying how often students check phones in a lecture |
| Unstructured | Open field notes on whatever seems relevant | Ethnographic notes on a workplace |
People may change their behaviour because they know they are being watched (the Hawthorne effect), so observers often allow time for people to get used to them before recording.
Recording, transcribing and reflexivity
With consent, audio-record every interview. Transcribe verbatim (word for word), replace names with pseudonyms, and remove details that could identify someone (a rare job, a named workplace). Automatic transcription tools save time, but you must check every transcript against the recording and make sure the tool is allowed under your ethics approval. Keep a short reflective note after each interview on how you may have shaped the answers: your role, your assumptions, how the participant reacted to you. This is reflexivity, and it strengthens qualitative work.
Practise until it sticks: Research Methods Made Simple Practice Questions has 1,004 questions, each with a worked answer.Get the practice book · $9
Practise: 6 questions
Try each one on paper first, then check the worked answer.
EasyQ1. Name the three types of interview. Show worked answer
EasyQ2. What is a probe? Give an example. Show worked answer
MediumQ3. Rewrite these as open, non-leading questions: (a) “Do you like your job?” (b) “Isn’t it hard to study after a late shift?” Show worked answer
MediumQ4. Why might a focus group be a poor choice for discussing personal debt? Show worked answer
MediumQ5. What is the Hawthorne effect and how can an observer reduce it? Show worked answer
ExamQ6. Compare semi-structured interviews and focus groups for studying how students balance work and study. [6] Show worked answer
Check yourself
1. The interview type most used in dissertations is
2. A typical focus group size is
3. Reflexivity means
Your score: 0 out of 3
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The short version
- Semi-structured interviews with a short guide and good probes suit most dissertations.
- Focus groups show shared views; observation shows actual behaviour.
- Ask open, neutral questions; listen far more than you talk.
- Record with consent, transcribe verbatim, anonymise, and reflect on your influence.
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