1.1 INTRODUCTION

In this session we will go through the introduction to qualitative research. Different methods of gathering information in qualitative research will be covered. We will put much attention to the in-depth interview data collection method.

SESSION OBJECTIVES

1.2 WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?

Qualitative research has been defined differently by different scholars, some of the commonly used definitions include:

• Type of scientific inquiry that consist of an investigation that; Seek answers to questions systematically using pre- defined set of procedures to answer the questions, Collecting evidence, producing findings that were not determined in advance and to produce findings that are applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the study.
• Type of Scientific inquiry that seeks information in its depth and hence the sample size is not pre-determined. It is the saturation of information that determines when to stop data collection.

1.3 DATA COLLECTION METHODS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

There are various methods used to collect qualitative data, these include:

• In-depth (Key-informant or unstructured) interviews
• Focused group (Interactive group) discussions
• Observations
• Written narratives
• Document reviews

1.3.1 In-Depth Interview

In-depth interviewing is a qualitative research technique that involves conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents to explore their perspectives on a particular idea, program, or situation. The in-depth interview normally proceeds as a confidential and secure conversation between an interviewer and a respondent. By means of a thorough composed (semi-structured) interview guide. The interviewer ensures that the conversation encompasses the topics that are crucial to ask for the sake of the purpose and the issue of the study. In-depth interview should be used when:

• Detailed information about a person's thoughts and behaviors is needed
• Exploring new issues in depth
• Providing context to other data (such as outcome data), offering a more complete picture of what happened in the program and why. For example, you may have measured an increase in youth visits to a clinic, and through in-depth interviews you find out that a youth noted that she went to the clinic because she saw a new sign outside of the clinic advertising youth hours. You might also interview a clinic staff member to find out their perspective on the clinic's "youth friendliness.”
• Focused group discussion cannot be used. For instance when the potential participants may not be included or may not talk comfortably and openly in a group, or when you want to distinguish individual (as opposed to group) opinions about the program.
• Refining of questions for future surveys of a particular group is needed
• Conducting pilot studies to generate ideas
• Evaluating the impacts of interventions on knowledge, attitudes or beliefs
• Exploration of controversial or tabooed issues is the main goal

(a) Limitations of in-depth interviews

In-depth interviews are very useful in getting detailed information however the method has the following limitations:

(i)Prone to biasness

Because the project Officers wants to prove that they are working, their responses may be biased. Responses from community members and program participants could also be biased due to their stake in the program or for a number of other reasons. Every effort should be made to design a data collection effort, create instruments, and conduct interviews to allow for minimal bias. In this case the use of other data collection methods is encouraged to supplement the information.

(ii)Time consuming

The use of unstructured interviews provides rooms to the respondent to go to details of the subject matter. This gives a lot of data; hence more time for transcribing, organizing and analyzing is also required. During planning; time for transcribing, organizing and analysis should be included.

(iii)Require well skilled personnel

To gather detailed information, it requires a well skilled person in interviewing techniques. This is necessary in probing, focusing the respondent and creating friendly environment with the respondent. It also requires appropriate skills for organizing and analyzing the rich information.

(iv)Not generalizable

The information obtained from in-depth interviews alone can not be generalized. This is because of; use of small sample size, non-probability sampling and context specific data. To be able to generalize the findings supplementation with other data collection methods is encouraged. However, in qualitative research transferability of findings is appropriate than generalizability

Assignment 1

FEEDBACK

(b) How to use the in-depth interview

The following seven steps are necessary in using an in-depth interview as technique for collecting qualitative data.

(i)Plan

This is a crucial step. In this step the followings need to be done;

• Identify all the stakeholders in your study/ project
• Identify the type of information required
• Identify the Key-informants where that information can be obtained. These should be the people that are resourceful for the nature of information you need. Selecting wrong people will lead to poor quality data. Select those who are well informed about the issue to provide relevant information (see sampling session).  Usually informants are selected for in-depth interviews in a purposive manner, that is, people with specific demographic/social characteristics are chosen to represent a defined subgroup.
• Ensure that your study will follow ethical conducts governing research

(ii)Prepare an Interview Guide for Each Category of  Respondents

The guide set the rules that guide the administration and implementation of the interviews. Put simply, these are the instructions that are followed for each interview, to ensure consistency between interviews, and thus increase the reliability of the findings.

The guide should consist of a list of questions or topics to be discussed by interviewers with respondents in the field.  The quality of data obtained depends to a large extent on the quality of questions in the guide. A good guide uses general, non-directive questions or phrases instead of direct questions that may end up in "Yes" or "No" answers.  The task of the investigator or team of investigators involves reviewing the study topics to develop questions that will yield relevant responses.

The following instructions for the interviewer should be included in the interview guide:

·What to say to interviewees when setting up the interview;

·What to say to interviewees when beginning the interview, including ensuring informed consent and confidentiality of the interviewee

·What to say to interviewees in concluding the interview

· What to do during the interview (Example: Take notes? Audiotape? Both?)

· What to do following the interview (Example: Fill in notes? Check audiotape for clarity? Summarize key information for each? Submit written findings?)

When developing the interview guides it is at this point where an informed consent should also be formulated. Where necessary translate all your tools into the local language/s. When you develop your interview guide the following key suggestions are important:

• Use open-ended questions

Avoid those questions that have Yes/no answers.

 For instance; do you have any experience in teaching research methods? Instead you may say; Please tell us your experience about teaching research methods.

• Ask factual questions before opinions

You should ask for instance; what is your experience about students in undertaking qualitative researches before you ask, what do you think are the challenges facing students in undertaking qualitative researches

• Use probes as necessary

Probes are devices used to prompt a respondent to speak further when an initial question fails to elicit the desired information. These help the researcher/ Interviewer to dig deep down by asking following questions like: (how, could you please explain! I am not sure whether I have got you correct may you explain more etc)

      Assignment 2

FEEDBACK

(iii) Recruiting interviewers and interviewees (participants) -Sampling and sample size

This is among the difficult things in qualitative research. This is because of small sample size, detailed information obtained and nature of the information.

Qualitative research subjects are systematically selected following the nature, quantity and quality of information required. This is called non-probability sampling. This is different from probability sampling that is commonly used in quantitative research where study population members have equal chance of being selected through randomization

Recruitment of the interviewer is probably the most difficult task. This requires people that will ensure confidentiality, who can create good rapport with the informants, trustful, honesty and with integrity. The interviewers may be; staff, youth program participants or professional interviewers.

The work plan for each site should outline strategies for recruiting interviewees (participants). It is common for realities in the field to necessitate creative revision of recruitment strategies.

When developing a recruitment strategy, it can be helpful to consult with local people who are active in or have connections to the study population. They may be able to offer ideas about how to gain access to the population, how best to approach people, and possible obstacles to recruitment.

(iv)Train the interviewers (data collectors)

Regardless of the knowledge or experience the data collectors have, they must be trained. Whenever possible and necessary, use data collectors that speak the local language. The training should include:

·An introduction and orientation to the study objectives

·A review of data collection techniques

·A thorough review of the data collection items and instruments

·Practice in the use of the instruments

·Skill-building exercises on interviewing and interpersonal communication, and

·Discussion of ethical issues

(v)Collect data (conduct the interview)

This step involves two groups (Interviewer and interviewee). Sometimes two interviewers can participate. Two interviewers are necessary when; the audio recorder is not present (not reliable), taking up notes for back-up, sensitivity of the information extracted, cultural issues (when interviewing a wife or a husband by a man or a woman respectively) and for security reasons. In this case, the note-taker should not interrupt or intervene in t he interview unless invited to do so by the interviewer or asked a question by the participant. The interviewer has the following important roles:

·Introduce the team (if they are two) or introducing himself

·Introduce the objective of the interview

·Introduce the objective/s of the study

·Request for informed consent from the participant

·Ask key questions and probes

·Ask closing questions

·Thank the participant

The note taker has the following roles during the interviewing process:

·Record important things said by both the interviewer and participant

·Record any event occurred during the interview (sigh, cough, door opened, car passed, tree fallen, electric power cut off etc)

·Stop the recorder if the interview stopped for any reason and document in the notebook

·Respond or ask additional question when asked by the interviewer or participant

·Documents the feelings read from the participant face or response

A good interviewer among other things should have the following qualities:

·Ask the right question at right time

·Build good rapport easily within short time

·Gain participant confidence immediately

·Can speak clearly

·Is a good listener

·Have good knowledge of the subject under study

·Has self-confidence

·Not carry un-assumed personality

·Articulate thought/s before responding

·Respect the responses from the informant

(vi)The interviewing process

The following key steps are necessary for conducting a good key-informant interview;

·Set up interviews with stakeholders (be sure to explain the purpose of the interview, why the stakeholder has been chosen, and the expected duration of the interview).

·Seek informed consent of the interviewee (written or documented oral). Re-explain the purpose of the interview, why the stakeholder has been chosen, expected duration of the interview, whether and how the information will be kept confidential, and the use of a note taker and/or tape recorder.

·If interviewee has consented, conduct the interview.

·Summarize key data immediately following the interview.

·Verify information given in interviews as necessary. For example, if an interviewee says that a clinic has a policy of not providing services to anyone under 16, you should verify that information on your own with the clinic.

On average, in-depth interviews last from one to two hours. As you begin the interview, consider how much time you will likely have with the participant. Set realistic goals for covering all of the questions in the interview guide accordingly.

 It is a good idea to record the start and end times of each interview in your notebook. Interviews should be audio-recorded (tape or digital voice recorder), if possible. Ideally, the interview will flow like a conversation and end naturally, but this is not always the case.

(vii)Data analysis

Analysis of the data that comes from the KI-interview involves:

• Transcribing the interviews (That is write everything from the recorder/s into paper)
• Review the written scripts and audio records for clearing discrepancies
• Read through the interview responses and look for patterns or themes among the participants. If you get a variety of themes, see if you can group them in any meaningful way, such as by type of participant. You may, for example, find that younger participants tend to think and feel differently from older ones or that men and women respond differently. You can also identify the responses that seem to have been given with enthusiasm, as opposed to those that the participants answered in only a few words

1.3.2 Dissemination of findings

Dissemination of findings obtained from KI-interviews can be done through;

• A report
• A publication or manuscript
• An executive summary
• A case presentation
• Others

SESSION SUMMARY

 EXERCISES

FURTHER READINGS