Preparing for interviews

A checklist to make sure you’re entirely prepared for carrying out your interviews with participants. Covers the questions as well as the practical dimensions.

Perfecting your interview
questions

10 points on how to best set out your interview questions so they address your research objectives without being too leading or overworking the participant.

Template opening script

Using a script like this helps with consistency and rigour in your research, as well as ensuring everyone receives the same information.

Conducting Interviews

A good bedside manner is important in any participant research. This guide advises on how best to conduct yourself during the interview process.

Focus groups / workshops

With some comparison to interviews, this explores the pros and cons of focus group or group workshop methods.

Project observation methods

This method of fieldwork allows you to observe live, current projects to get a sense of the participants and their experiences. Here we advise how to go about it.

Short, end-user beneficiary interviews

In some situations it will be possible to attend events and gather short interviews and testimonials, so we explore how this can be achieved here.

Online ethnography

We have explored how to gather social media data. This qualitative approach explores how to identify unfolding discourses and narratives that emerge online.

Analysis during and throughout your projects

Don’t assume analysis is simply ‘the final stage’. Here we explore how to analyse iteratively during your research fieldwork.

Analysing final materials

Having collected materials, this outlines the principles of thematic coding, identifying patterns that can be written up in your report.