Topic outline

  • Course Overview

    This course guides you through the planning and development of research interviews, from choosing the most suitable interview approach, to writing strong questions and preparing for the interview with participants.

    Learning Outcomes

    This course will help you to:

    1. Recognize when to use research interviews, which type is best for your purpose, and when they are not suitable
    2. Learn about the ethical issues that are raised by research interviewing and how to address them in practice
    3. Understand how and why you need to make questions easy for interviewees, and how to apply strategies to care for them
    4. Formulate a plan to carry out your interviews, checking the quality of the questions
    5. Choose the best method to capture data and know what to do when things go wrong
    6. Conduct yourself correctly during an interview and care for your data

    • Course Author: Dr. Helen Kara

      • Dr. Helen Kara

        Dr. Helen Kara (FAcSS) has been an independent researcher since 1999 and an independent scholar since 2011. She writes about research methods and research ethics, and teaches doctoral students and staff at higher education institutions worldwide. Her books include Qualitative Research for Quantitative Researchers and four books in the SAGE Little Quick Fix series. Helen also writes comics and fiction. In 2021, at the age of 56, she was diagnosed autistic. Her neurodiversity explains her lifelong special interest in, and ability to focus on, words, language, and writing.

        View Bio

      • Module One: The Pros and Cons of Using Interviews in Research

        This module will help you to:

        1. Recognize when to use research interviews
        2. Evaluate when research interviews are not suitable
        3. Work out which type of interview is best for your purposes

      • Module Two: Doing Ethical Interviews

        This module will help you to:

        1. Identify the ethical issues that are raised by research interviewing
        2. Address and adhere to these issues in practice

      • Module Three: Writing Good Interview Questions

        This module will help you to:

        1. Identify how and why you need to make questions easy for interviewees
        2. Check the quality of your own interview questions

      • Module Four: The Logistics of Doing Interviews

        This module will help you to:

        1. Formulate a plan to carry out your interviews
        2. Choose the best method to capture your data

      • Module Five: Doing Great Interviews

        This module will help you to:

        1. Conduct yourself correctly during an interview
        2. Apply strategies to care for your interviewees

      • Module Six: What Happens Next?

        This module will help you to:

        1. Take care of yourself and your data
        2. Create a plan of action for when things go wrong