Reflection on the Interview Process
Approach to the Interview
The approach I took for the interview considered the fact that the topic is an open one, and would require creating an environment that allows the participant to express himself fully. Interviews and focus group discussions are often the most utilized data collection methods in qualitative research. For that reason, settling for a semi-structured interview would come in handy in gathering relevant data for the study. Semi-structured interviews often consist of a set of questions that help define what areas should be explored, including allowing the interviewer and the respondent to be open to new ideas or responses to ensure a smooth flow of the discussion. An interview format guides participants on what talk about, which might be a solution to answering unclear or complicated questions. Such flexibility allows for the elaboration of vital information that may not have been thought about by either the participant or the interviewer.
Telephone interviews are a standard method of data collection as they help bridge related barriers, including environmental and interpersonal factors. However, the approach can only apply to a small proportion of the study population. Moreover, it depends on connectivity, which means that it can only be highly efficient in areas with strong signals. Considering these facts, the method had a high potential of proving a success since the participant was located in a developed nation, with reliable connectivity besides available resources to engage in the interview process. Telephone interviews often involve the right amount of flexibility (Drabble et al., 2015). Thus, it would be possible for me to ask related questions over the telephones – both complex and straightforward. It would allow probing and skipping questions that are irrelevant to the study topic or the respondent’s case. Changing the sequence of questions in response to how the conversation flows, as well as earlier replies, would be much possible by conducting a telephone interview.
To reach these deductions, I considered that my interaction with the respondent would be much better over a telephone than through a mailed questionnaire. Additionally, in comparison to telephone interviews, personal interviews are significantly limited by cost and speed. I considered speed to be a potential advantage over personal interviews. I believe that we are living in the era of a computerized world where everything is going online. Thus, selecting a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) would be more convenient in our case. It would be much easier to interview while seated in front of my computer and entering the responses directly into the computer. The screen would serve me well in displaying the questions, allowing me to skip irrelevant questions due to earlier responses. Since I would enter the answers directly in toe the computer, data would be simultaneously processed. I would also program the computer to produced standardized reports regarding the data entered.
Designing the Topic Guide
Designing the topic guide was an essential process of the interviews. In that regard, to come up with an adequate guide, I had to take my time to think of the related ways of finding answer to the research question (s). I had to assess whether an interview was an appropriate match for the research design compared to other approaches. Some of the methods that I initially considered before selecting a telephone interview were observation and document review. However, I eliminated observation due to the geographical barrier. Consequently, document review would not offer first-hand information required to answer the research question (s). Considering the above, only a telephone interview method would allow me to overcome geographical boundaries and avoid the respondent’s need to be present at a specific location for the interview (Drabble et al., 2015). The method was best suited to exploring the ‘real-life context’ in gathering information on respodent’s dietary behaviors. Therefore, settling for qualitative interviews was the most suitable way of letting the respondent share his behaviors regarding diet and own his terms.
Having selected the method, I was prompted to analyze my day-to-day lifestyle in relation to eating behaviors and use the facts to guide what I would include in the questionnaire. Some of the factors identified from my daily observations included my family set-up, social life, and environmental factors, including personal decisions (Banna et al., 2015). Using these factors, I was able to come up with related questions regarding maintaining a healthy diet, which I later grouped into four different categories. These would remind me of the essential topics to cover, questions to probe, and areas to focus on. I committed to allocating each section a specific amount of time and adjust the guide accordingly with time as I memorized the same. To achieve the above, I had to write down the research questions, then developing questions within significant areas of knowledge, and shaping them to fit the respondents’ personalities. It took me several revisions to judge the correct length of time to allocate each question by trying the guide on friends and working on the feedback.
Through the feedback, I was able to adjust the language of the interview accordingly while including humour to motivate the respondent to answer honestly and thoroughly. One of the vital feedback pertains to the “how” and “why questions. I discovered the need to use “how” questions more often to generate a deeper picture of the respondent’s dietary habits. Questions such as “how did you come to learn the importance of maintaining healthy diets?” or “how do you cope with people of conflicting opinion regarding your food choices?” would be more comfortable to go about and appear non-intrusive to the respondent. Through such questions, I would then develop probes that were essential in eliciting detailed and elaborate responses (Kallio et al., 2016). Finally, from the feedback, I was able to arrive at the logical flow of the entire interview process. The final draft of the topic guide constituted difficult/personal questions at the end. The above strategy took into account some questions that might lead to the respondent withdrawing from the interview or providing an inaccurate account to get over them.
What I Think About Carrying out the Interview
Regarding the entire research process, real work manifested in carrying out the interview. Nonetheless, an interview may be rendered useless if it is inadequately recorded. So it was essential to ensure that I make plans beforehand of how I would record the data. However, moving forward, it realized that it was challenging to document everything during the interview. Considering the above, I had to use a suitable program to ensure I recorded everything discussed. How long it took to transition from one section to the other depended on my speed while putting into account the possibility of forgetting some bits of the conversation.
It is not surprising how ideas, facts, and essential points that one thing they can remember quickly slips away with time. I realized that almost half of the interview details could be forgotten within minutes, while three-quarters can be lost in hours, and only a handful of information can be remembered. Therefore, recorded notes come in handy in prompting the memory later. It is recommended to take each point at the time it is being conveyed or immediately at the end of the interview to keep complete records. Therefore, using a tape recorder was useful during the interview process as it enabled me to pay full attention to the respondent, including avoiding the need to drift away in a bid to scribble every detail down. Additionally, a tape recorder would come in handy to store full records of data collected until analysis times. However, while data recording was at the top of my list in conducting the interviews, I minded the fact that not everyone welcomes the idea of being tape-recorded, which necessitates full permission from the respondents.
Recording and transcribing the interview should not only be assessed by their benefits but also limitations. Through the interview, I realized that recording tends to introduce a dynamic encounter for both the interviewer and the interviewee. While the idea of recording the interview may be off-putting for the interviewee, it creates a personal social contact for the interviewer. Consequently, while transcribing tends to be time-consuming, and may take much longer than expected statements, it would help to capture the participant’s main comments (Biggerstaff and Thompson, 2008). Also, transcription requires quality equipment, a tape recorder, a microphone, or even a transcription machine. Besides, the transcription process often results in daunting paperwork that requires excellent organization skills to produce a smooth report. Considering these facts, I was obligated to devise appropriate strategies for managing every piece of information from the beginning to the end of the interview to prevent related inconveniences during the analysis.
Challenges
There were related limitations during the interview process such as the potential bias in selecting the study sample that cannot be overlooked. Notably, interviews are susceptible to various errors that can be made by the interviewer or the respondent. These errors often lead to result biases, which means that I was obligated to minimize the likelihood or effect of identified preferences. These included respondents induced and interviewer induced biases.
Respondent Induced Biases
There were severe potential biases that were likely to arise from the interviewee’s side. First, there was the possibility of the respondent answering some questions incorrectly due to poor memory. In such a case, I strived to avoid questions that require substantial memory. Second, dishonesty and exaggeration was also possible. For instance, it could have been more comfortable for the respondent to exaggerate his diet behavior. Therefore, it was essential to note any inconsistencies from the respondent’s side, which I achieved by checking small pieces of information throughout the interview. Third, answering questions incorrectly was also a cause for alarm. The respondent could fail to pay enough attention to the questions asked, thereby giving inappropriate answers. That would necessitate clarifying with him if he has fully understood the questions. Fourth, it was impossible to control how the respondent perceives the interview since opinions are subjective (Evans, 2011). In other words, he could perceive the research negatively. As a result, it was my responsibility to ensure that he fully understands the research objectives, including what is required of him before the interview. Fifth, I can also not rule out the respondent’s environment as it greatly influenced how he answered the questions. In short, the presence of people around him who would wish to join him in the discussion would influence the type of data collected. The respondent would have been tempted to provide answers that give him credit instead of providing accurate responses. As such, I was obligated closely to monitor the respondent’s reactions each step along the way. Finally, the challenge of courtesy bias was also inevitable. The courtesy bias would have most likely occurred due to the respondent’s fear of offending me, thereby giving polite, somewhat correct answers. Regardless of these biases, creating the right interview environment would not be complete without forming a quality relationship with the respondent, as it was the only way to make the respondent feel comfortable.
Interviewer Induced Biases
I cannot rule out that I was also vulnerable to introduce bias in the interview process. One such bias was the desire to help the respondent find his way through some questions, or instead feeding him with words. Another bias relates to the failure to follow the topic guide when administering the questions. On several occasions, I was tempted to change the wording of some questions or add some words in ways that suit me. I realized that doing so could affect how the respondent understands such questions, thereby providing biased answers. Additionally, it was challenging to control how I reacted to the respondent whenever he provided answers. At some point, I would react in disbelief, which could affect subsequent responses from the respondent. Considering these biases, I was critical to monitor how I interact with the participant every moment.
Adaptations
An ideal approach to an interview is still a new experience for me since many people are always suspicious of interviews. While some think that an interview is a formal process, others tend to shy away from the same. Indeed, most respondents tend to mind the information they give, which they believe may be used for other purposes. Thus, ensuring full cooperation during an interview requires adopting various strategies. And some of the plans I incorporated in the interview process included keeping a relaxed atmosphere and as informal as possible. Playing down my wish to conduct a formal interview encouraged the respondent to perceive the interview as an ordinary conversation rather than an interrogation. Besides, I gave the respondent a brief background regarding the purpose, benefits, and nature of the research, which helped boost his confidence (Bengtsson, 2016)—. Informing him of how important he was for the study, allowing for his full cooperation, were all part of the plan. His value, combined with what he would learn through the research, made him feel that I was interested in improving his well-being rather than merely collecting data. His answers would not only provide insight into the barrier to maintaining healthy Diet behaviors but also help him see how to rectify his current lifestyle choices.
Analysis of the Data
Data analysis formed a significant part of the qualitative research process. I would undertake the interpretative phenomenological analysis by following five different steps (Biggerstaff and Thompson, 2008). The first step would include preparing and organizing the collected data by printing out the transcript, gathering my notes, and other materials related to the topic. I would then mark the source of data, including demographics and information that would be essential in analyzing the data. The second stage would involve reviewing and exploring the data – a process that would require reading and re-reading the data to understand the content. It would be ideal to pay attention to my thoughts, ideas, or notes in the process. Third, creating initial codes such as concept maps or keeping sticky pads would help me connect with the data. Highlighting key-words and phrases as well as making some notes would be followed by reviewing the same, which brings us to step four. The review would allow for identifying recurring themes, opinions, languages, and beliefs, and these would help in telling the story of the data. Finally, the last step would involve presenting the identified themes cohesively by paying attention to the audience, study purpose, and content that answers the research question. The five steps would follow a qualitative data analysis process.
Improvements in the Future
Conducting quality research in the future will, however, require paying attention to some elements. Among them include being knowledgeable with survey interviewing as this would help me structure the interview accordingly. One thing I want to improve pertains to letting the respondents finish what they are saying by giving them ample time to think, make pauses, or introduce humor as long as it adds to the topic. Also, I have learned that it is vital to respond to what is only essential to the subject, as this saves a lot of time for other meaningful conversations. Besides, balancing the conversation is suitable for ensuring that neither party talks too much, which often results in the passive party feeling not contributing enough. Above all, observing ethical dimensions will ensure that I do only what is ideal for conducting successful qualitative research.
References
Banna, J., Buchthal, O., Delormier, T., Creed-Kanashiro, H., and Penny, M. (2015). Influences on eating: a qualitative study of adolescents in a periurban area in Lima, Peru. BMC Public Health, 16(1).
Bengtsson, M. (2016). How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis. NursingPlus Open, 2, pp.8-14.
Biggerstaff, D., and Thompson, A. (2008). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA): A Qualitative Methodology of Choice in Healthcare Research. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 5(3), p.214.
Drabble, L., Trocki, K., Salcedo, B., Walker, P., and Korcha, R. (2015). Conducting qualitative interviews by telephone: Lessons learned from a study of alcohol use among sexual minority and heterosexual women. Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice, 15(1), pp.118-133.
Evans, J. (2011). Double-Consciousness: The Du Boisian Hermeneutic. Homiletic, 36(2).
Kallio, H., Pietilä, A., Johnson, M., and Kangasniemi, M. (2016). Systematic methodological review: developing a framework for a qualitative semi-structured interview guide. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 72(12), p.2954.