Section 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. Identify 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 Instructor: 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 for Dr. Helen Kara

      • Course Resources

        You will need to access certain files and resources throughout the course to get the most out of the activities. You can find them all here. 

      • Video Transcripts

        You can access all video transcripts here.

      • Pre-Course Self Assessment

        Before you dive into this course, spend a few moments reflecting on your familiarity with the topic and your current level of skills confidence. 

        You will then re-visit the same questions in our Post-Course Self Assessment and reflect on how the course has helped you develop in confidence and grow your skills. 

        • 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

        • References and Glossary of Key Terms

          In addition to the glossary you’ll find woven throughout the course, you can find the full glossary collated in one place here.

        • Post-Course Self Assessment

          Now you’ve completed the course, spend a few moments reflecting on where your familiarity with the topics and your confidence skills le vels are at now. 

          Has the course helped you develop new skills and grow your confidence?

          You'll need to complete the Post-Course Self Assessment in order to download your certificate. If you didn't do the Pre-Course Self Assessment before starting the course, please go to the top of the page and reflect on your familiarity with the topic and your level of skills confidence before you started the course.

          • Completion: Certificate

            Completing all modules (plus the pre and post-course assessments) will unlock the course certificate, which you can then download here. Your course certificate will only be made available once you have completed all these sections.

            If you have difficulty accessing your certificate, please contact the Sage support team at: onlinesupport@sagepub.co.uk. You can also check out this FAQ page which may be helpful.

            • Give Feedback About This Course

              Did you enjoy the course? Please take two minutes to share your feedback. We use learner feedback in future course updates and developments to provide an excellent learning experience.

            • Accessibility

              We have high standards of accessibility on Sage Campus and as of May/June 2024 all activities within this course are keyboard and screen reader compatible. For more details on accessibility standards, please see the Sage Campus Accessibility Guide.

              For those using assistive technology, please note that within this course:

              • Tab components: JAWS and NVDA behave slightly differently. For NVDA to keep reading, it is best to exit focus mode and go back to browse mode. 
              • Matching: JAWS does not read out question label on dropdown focus.