In-depth Interviews: Advantages, Disadvantages, and Analysis
In-depth Interviews
Advantages and Disadvantages
As noted, sample design can change during fieldwork. The analysis of in-depth interviews starts with an initial review. Here’s some general information about the process:
Advantages:
- Immediacy: Applying the questionnaire (45+ minutes) to probability sampling makes it more time-consuming and costly than other methods.
- Access to Information: Compared to systematic observation, in-depth interviews allow access to information not easily accessible without an interviewer or group interaction (Vallés).
- Relation to Participant Observation: This technique is closely related to participant observation, allowing researchers to understand the “other’s” point of view.
- Controlled Privacy: In-depth interviews offer greater “controlled privacy” than group techniques, avoiding bias from others’ opinions.
Disadvantages:
- Limited Context: Exclusive use limits the observation of the socio-cultural contexts where the interviewee’s actions unfold.
- Lack of Group Dynamics: In-depth interviews lack the energizing effect of group dynamics.
Analyzing In-depth Interviews
Here’s a step-by-step guide to analyzing in-depth interviews:
Step 1: Transcription
The first step is transcribing the recorded information and the researcher’s notes, providing the basic material for analysis.
Step 2: Initial Reading and Coding
Read the transcripts. Multiple interviewers should each read their own for quality checks. Start writing tentative codes to group expressions that may emerge in other interviews (Strauss and Corbin’s open coding). Include comments and note properties and dimensions. These notes become analytically valuable later.
Step 3: Evaluating Influence
Evaluate identified text fragments for their potential influence on the interview situation. The greater the recognized mediation’s weight, the less the fragment’s weight, and vice versa.
Step 4: Categorization
Group discursive fragments under headings based on their source or subject of interest. This can be done manually or electronically. Maintain the identity of the fragment producers.
Step 5: Intracódice Analysis
Analyze the different fragments within each code.
Step 6: Integrating Interpretations
Connect interpretations of various dimensions and themes. Support the social profiles under study by integrating the parts and the whole investigation. Use axial coding to relate different code families and seek explanations.
Step 7: Final Review
Review the interviews to ensure the interviewees’ line of thought is considered when strengthening the report’s positions. Organize sections consistently according to a storyline.
Addressing Contradictions
Don’t be afraid of contradictions between the subjects’ speech and initial approaches. Explain them, and if the explanations don’t hold, reconsider the original speech. Avoid excluding contradictory elements from the report.
These are basic guidelines for qualitative research. Experienced researchers can use them as a reminder to revalidate their “researcher card.”