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Chapter Summary

Key Takeaways

    • In-depth interviews are semi-structured interviews where the researcher has topics and questions in mind to ask, but questions are open-ended and flow according to how the participant responds to each.
    • Interview guides can vary in format but should contain some outline of the topics you hope to cover during the course of an interview.
    • Qualitative interviews allow respondents to share information in their own words and are useful for gathering detailed information and understanding social processes.
    • Field notes and journal entries document the researcher’s decisions and thoughts that influence the research process.
    • Drawbacks of qualitative interviews include reliance on respondents’ accuracy and their intensity in terms of time, expense, and possible emotional strain.
    • In terms of focus group composition, homogeneity of background among participants is recommended while diverse attitudes within the group are ideal.
    • The goal of a focus group is encourage participants to talk with one another and engage in a conversation moderated by the researcher.
    • Like one-on-one qualitative interviews, focus groups can yield very detailed information, are excellent for studying social processes, and provide researchers with an opportunity to observe participants’ body language. They also allow researchers to observe social interaction.
    • Focus groups can be expensive and time-consuming, as are one-on-one interviews. There is also the possibility that a few participants will dominate the conversation and silence others in the group.

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