IR Research Method: Interview and Survey

Types of Research Data Collection Techniques

Qualitative and quantitative methods are the two main approaches to conducting research. Qualitative research explores attitudes, behaviors, and experiences through methods like interviews and focus groups. It attempts to get an in-depth understanding of a problem. Quantitative research gathers numerical data and generalizes it across groups. It seeks to establish statistical relationships between variables.

Two common qualitative research methods are interviews and surveys. Interviews involve having conversations with research participants to explore their perspectives on a program or topic. Surveys gather self-reported data from research participants through a standardized set of questions.

Interview as Qualitative Research Method

What is Interview?

An interview is a qualitative research method that involves verbally asking questions and hearing the responses from the interviewee. There are several formats interviews can take:

• Structured Interview: The interviewer asks a predetermined set of questions in a set order. There is no deviation from the script.
• Semi-Structured Interview: The interviewer has preset questions to ask, but can change the order and wording of questions as needed. Questions can also be omitted or added spontaneously during the interview.
• Unstructured Interview: The interviewer has a general topic but allows the conversation to flow naturally, with questions emerging from the dialogue.

Interviews can take place in person, over the phone, one-on-one, or in a group setting. The interviewer records the responses from the interviewee(s) to gather qualitative data.

When it is Useful?

Interviews are a great qualitative research method when you want to deeply understand an individual’s perspective and experience. Here are some of the key reasons interviews are useful:

• Hear the respondent’s voice and perspective: Interviews allow you to hear the participant’s authentic voice and perspective in their own words. This provides rich qualitative data directly from the source.
• Delve into depth on a topic or experience: Interviews are ideal for digging deeper into a topic or experience. The back-and-forth nature allows the interviewer to probe with follow-up questions and gain more detailed insights.
• Personal interaction: Interviews involve personal interaction between the interviewer and respondent. This can help build rapport and make the respondent feel more comfortable sharing information.
• Reading/writing skills are limited: Interviews are helpful when working with populations who may have limited literacy or difficulty with reading/writing extensive information. The verbal nature makes participation more accessible.

Advantages of Interview

Interviews allow for deep, free responses from participants. Unlike surveys with limited answer choices, interviews let participants explain their thoughts, feelings, and experiences in detail, in their own words. The interviewer has the flexibility to adapt questions based on the responses and flow of the conversation.

Interviews also allow the interviewer to observe tone, gestures, and body language that elucidate the verbal response. Seeing facial expressions and posture provides contextual clues to better understand the meaning behind the words.

Additionally, the interviewer can probe for more information, clarify any confusion, and ask follow-up questions to get fuller, richer responses. By having a dialogue rather than just asking a set of questions, the interviewer can ensure thorough understanding and explore interesting tangents that arise.

Disadvantages of Interview

• Interviews are time-consuming and costly. Each interview requires scheduling time with the respondent, conducting the interview itself, and then analyzing the results. For large sample sizes, this process becomes impractical.
• Interviews are impractical for collecting data from large numbers of people. The one-on-one nature makes it difficult to reach a large sample.
• Interviews require skilled interviewers to build rapport, ask good questions, and probe for deeper insights. Not all researchers have these specialized skills.
• It can be challenging to summarize and make sense of many different interview responses. Unlike quantitative data, the qualitative data from interviews is harder to analyze.
• Possible biases can influence the interview process, including biases from the interviewer, the respondent, and the interview situation itself. The interaction is not as standardized and anonymous as a survey.

Survey as Research Method

A survey is a research method used to collect data from a sample of people by asking them structured questions and recording their responses. The researcher selects a sample of respondents that is representative of some larger population. The researcher then administers a standardized questionnaire to the sample to gather data.

Surveys are commonly used in the social sciences for descriptive, explanatory, and exploratory research. Descriptive surveys aim to accurately portray the characteristics of a population. Explanatory surveys look at relationships between variables and aim to explain or predict phenomena. Exploratory surveys are conducted to gain preliminary insight into a topic when there are few existing theories or models.

Surveys allow researchers to gather large amounts of data from many people in a short amount of time. They are versatile methods that can be conducted through various modes, like online, paper, interviews, etc. By standardizing survey questions and sampling procedures, researchers can make inferences and generalizations about the larger population based on the survey data. Surveys are an important tool for gathering quantitative data about people’s behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, and opinions on a topic.

Guidelines for Asking Questions

When creating survey questions, follow these guidelines:

• Choose Appropriate Question Forms - Use open-ended, close-ended, scale, or ranking questions as needed. Open-ended questions allow free responses while close-ended have set responses. Scales rate intensity and ranking orders preferences. Choose forms suited to the data needed.
• Make Items Clear - Questions should be simple, specific, and easily understood. Avoid vague terms and be as precise as possible.
• Avoid Double-Barreled Questions - Ask only one question at a time. Combining two questions distorts results.
• Respondents must be competent to answer the item - Make sure the respondent is qualified to provide meaningful answers. Don’t ask questions outside their expertise.
• Respondents Must Be Willing to Answer - Avoid sensitive or uncomfortable questions that deter responses. Keep it professional.
• Questions Should Be Relevant - Each question should clearly help address the overall research aims. No superfluous questions.
• Short Items Are Best - Keep questions concise. Long winding questions are harder to understand.

Questionnaire Construction

The format of a questionnaire can have an impact on the quality of the data that is collected. Using a clear and logical format is important to ensure respondents understand the questions and answer appropriately.

When a questionnaire contains contingency questions, where the respondent is directed to a different part of the survey based on a previous answer, the format needs to be very clear. Without a clear format, respondents may not follow the skip patterns correctly or answer questions that were not intended for them.

A matrix format can be an efficient way to present multiple questions that share the same response categories. Displaying questions in a table with common answers across the top allows respondents to easily see the options for multiple questions at once.

The order that questions are presented in a survey can influence the way respondents answer. Questions early on may frame how they interpret and respond to subsequent questions. Sensitivity of questions is also a factor in order design. Grouping similar topics together is a common approach to creating a logical flow for respondents.

Pretesting the questionnaire with a small group of respondents is important to identify any issues with format, order or clarity before administering to the full study sample. A clear, logical format and order is crucial for collecting high quality data from survey respondents.