Use of Interviews for Qualitative Data Collection

Use of Interviews for Qualitative Data Collection

Introduction

Interviews are inevitable; they help in extracting information in both qualitative and quantitative research. In an interview, there is both the interviewer and the interviewee. The interviewer poses questions for the interviewee to answer. This research interview focuses on the field of criminology. The specific area which the interview offers keen concern is the effects that criminology has on public safety. In this case, the information extracted from the interview will help in providing a comprehensive understanding of the public safety problem. Apart from understanding the problem, the data will also help set an excellent approach to deal with the issues. This paper contains a plan to use in the research, including the type of interview to perform. Further, the paper includes the location from which the interview will take place and the expected time which the interview takes. The plans for recording and transcription of the acquired information, as well as a rounded-up summary is also part of the entire interview.

Types of Interview with Rationale

Semi-structured interview

The semi-structured kind of interview focuses on capturing the information generated due to the conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee. The interview process, in this case, is usually formal, and both the interviewer and the interviewee engage formally. The interviewer presents an open-ended set of questions to act as a guide into the interview. Here, the interviewee is not restricted to answering the questions shallowly and in brief, but they may go more in-depth and expound the entire issues within their level of understanding. Questions in the semi-structured interview type occur in a specific order. This order is essential in that the answer to one question leads to another question. The sequence provides a smooth flow of conversation that prevents confusion in the interviewee (Adams, 2015).

This type of interview is appropriate for a qualitative study where the interviewer is interested in acquiring the independent thoughts of the interviewee. The interview is also essential for an interviewer who intends to carry out a deep reconnaissance for a large scale study. This kind of interview is useful in carrying out qualitative research effects of criminology on public safety. The ability of the interviewees to provide unrestricted information about what they know concerning the relationship between criminology and public safety is vital (O’Keeffe, Buytaert, Mijic, Brozovic, & Sinha, 2016). However, the selection of interviewees plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of the interview.

Responsive interview

The responsive interview is a qualitative research data collection technique which effectiveness borrows from the partnership between the researcher and the participant. In this kind of research, the interviewer observes the experiences of the interviewees keenly and extracts the information that conforms to their research question (Au, 2019). When using this kind of interview, the interviewer is much focused on getting in-depth and detailed information informed much by the interviewees. Here, the thought of the interviewee becomes of profound importance. Also, the interviewer looks keenly on how the interviewee offers answers to the question, including their attitude and other none verbal cues (Owen, 2014).

Narrative interview

In the narrative interview, the interviewer does not present a definite set of questions to the interviewee to extract information from them. However, the interviewer generates a story for the interviewee to interject and offer their experiences regarding the story. In this kind of an interview, the roles of involved parties shift from being an interviewer to a listener while the interviewee becomes the narrator (Muylaert, Sarubbi, Gallo, Neto, Reis, 2014). Due to the absence of the guiding questions in this kind of interview, the interviewee may, in most cases, take control of the session’s direction, time frame, and content. In a nutshell, the provision of a platform for narration in this interview offers qualitative research an opportunity to gain excellent firsthand information. This information helps in achieving the researcher’s objectives (Muylaert, Sarubbi Jr, Gallo, Neto, & Reis, 2014).

Planned interview location

This interview will be held within an area that has been hit by criminal acts that pose a challenge to public safety. Such an area is appropriate for extracting information regarding the effect that criminology has on public safety. In research, there is the need to focus on interviewees who have firsthand information about criminology and is an effect on public safety. Therefore it becomes of profound importance to interview in a region that has experienced an adverse impact of crime. The interview procedure may involve the selection of two to three members of society who have at one time been in the hands of criminals, and their sense of safety seemed at stake.

Further, the presence of a surrounding that the interviewee experienced the crime encounters may ignite some form of remembrance for the awful happening. According to Wahlberg (2017), tangible objects and surrounding ignite memories. It is, therefore, advisable for one to interview in a place with physical objects, an environment that ignites some memories. This remembrance goes a long way in providing emotionally-catalyzed and firsthand information that deems resourceful for the research.

Additionally, the interview may also be conducted within an institution that has a security officer who helps in curbing criminal activities. While in such a place, the interviewee will have a higher possibility of giving a firsthand information regarding experiences they have gone through dealing with crime. Since the institution is their place of work where they deal with the criminal suspects as well as crime victims, it may make ignite some form of remembrance. This kind of memory helps them communicate in both verbal and non-verbal modes to demonstrate the experiences vividly (Wahlberg, 2017).

I find it better to provide no limit in the timeframe for the interview. This decision is since the interviewee may have a lot to say following the research topic at hand. If the study makes use of the narrative interview technique, the chances are high that the session may exceed the predetermined timeframe (Bolderston, 2012). Even with the absence of limitations in time, the research session must be within the time of the day, which is comfortable for the interviewee. However, If the research makes use of the semi-structured or responsive interview, each question may be allocated about five to ten minutes. The recommended cumulative timeframe for the two interview types needs to be not more than two hours (Bolderston, 2012).

Recording and transcription of field notes

This research interview entails listening and recording of the interviewee’s responses for further analysis. The recording session deems essential as it provides a platform for extracting the helpful information from the entire content recorded. In this case, I intend to record the oral contents using digitally, or through making rough drafts for the main points, I capture during the entire session. Digital recording using a mobile phone device may be useful as it gives full information even that which could not be obtained through making notes. However, this method may not capture the non-verbal communicative actions, which are equally important in this exercise (Matlala & Matlala, 2018). I recommend the use of digital records and using a pen to make notes while also making good use of observations.

To ensure that the records are confidential to avoid any case of external tampering, which may lead to data inaccuracy, data protection during storage holds a great deal of vitality. One of the data protection strategies for the data is through introducing a password. This strategy applies mostly for the digital data and only allows access to those whom I authorize. To ensure that no one tampers with the data, I intend to present the data in a form that is one cannot edit to change its contents (Surmiak, 2018). For the tangible notes scrubbed on a notebook, there is the need for a proper and secured storage facility. Such a facility needs to be designed to allow access only to the stakeholders in the study.

Summary

In a nutshell, there are three types of interview types that a researcher uses to collect information. The three types of interviews are, however, valid for specific research situations. This research seeks to get information on the effect of criminology on public safety. It will be carried out in a police station as well as in society prone to crime in the recent past. The use of digital recording, as well as putting written records on paper, deems essential in this kind of research. To ensure data security, password, and tangible security devices will be used.

References

Muylaert, C. J., Sarubbi Jr, V., Gallo, P. R., Neto, M. L. R., & Reis, A. O. A. (2014). Narrative interviews: an important resource in qualitative research. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 48(SPE2), 184-189. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/reeusp/v48nspe2/0080-6234-reeusp-48-nspe2-00184.pdf

Wahlberg, M. (2017). Archives of the present− memory work in the making:’Transmission from the Liberated Zones’ (Filipa César, 2015). NECSUS. European Journal of Media Studies, 6(1), 237-244. https://mediarep.org/bitstream/handle/doc/4157/NECSUS_2017_6_1_237-244_Wahlberg_Archives_of_the_Present.pdf?sequence=1

Owen, G. T. (2014). Qualitative methods in higher education policy analysis: Using interviews and document analysis. The qualitative report, 19(26), 1. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/51087221.pdf

Au, A. (2019). Thinking about cross-cultural differences in qualitative interviewing: practices for more responsive and trusting encounters. The Qualitative Report, 24(1), 58-77. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3403&context=tqr

O’Keeffe, J., Buytaert, W., Mijic, A., Brozovic, N., & Sinha, R. (2016). The use of semi-structured interviews for the characterization of farmer irrigation practices. https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/20/1911/2016/hess-20-1911-2016.pdf

Balderston, A. (2012). Perceptions and attitudes toward conducting research: A nuclear medicine student perspective. Journal of medical imaging and radiation sciences, 40(4), 183-189. https://www.jmirs.org/article/S1939-8654(11)00132-9/pdf

Matlala, S. F., & Matlala, M. N. (2018). The Use of a Smartphone to Facilitate Qualitative Research in South Africa. Qualitative Report, 23(10). https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3409&context=tqr

Surmiak, A. D. (2018, September). Confidentiality in qualitative research involving vulnerable participants: Researchers’ perspectives. In Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Vol. 19, No. 3). http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/3099

Adams, W. (2015). Conducting Semi-Structured Interviews. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301738442_Conducting_Semi-Structured_Interviews