Asking Questions: Techniques for Semi-Structured Interviews - Assignment Example

RESEARCH DESIGN AND DISSERTATION By (Insert To (Insert your supervisor’s July Contents Data production and Method 3 Transcription 6 The most important parts of this interview 8 Reflection and research findings process 10 References 14 Appendix 16 Interview Questions 16 Data production and Method Qualitative interviewing is guided by the understanding of some specific aspects of social life by generating words instead of numbers (Patton & Cochran, 2002, p. 2). The method measures experience and perspectives of individuals on an issue through interviews or focus group qualitative methods (Patton & Cochran, 2002, p. 4). This study used semi-structured interview to discover the experience and perspective of the interviewee on studying abroad. The structure was found appropriate since with semi-structured interviews, the method allows the interviewer to have a set of predetermined open ended questions as well as it allows the interviewer to asks other questions as they emerge from the dialogue between the interviewer and the interviewee (Dicicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006, p. 315: Knox & Burkard, 2009, p. 2). The method thus allows an in-depth engagement that is necessary for a comprehensive coverage of both social and personal matters. Choosing a research participant is guided by the focus of the research (Saunders, 2012, p. 38). The sampling technique for semi-structured interview is purposeful sampling whose aim is to maximize the depth and richness of the data collected through interview question (Dicicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006, p. 317; Patton & Cochran, 2002, p. 9). The strategy of maximum variation sample was adopted since it advocates for use of demographic variables that are capable of having an impact on the participant’s view of the topic under research (Coyne, 1997, p. 624; Patton, 1990, p. 173). The first consideration involves gaining access to the interviewee either in an organization or in a home setting. Any non-response reduces the probability of accessing the intended persons with the relevant information aimed at accessing in the research. Therefore, careful selection of the relevant participants is necessary to avoid cases of non-response. Through my friend, the relevant participant was identified. The participant fitted all the descriptions given of the interview participant on the assignment. To avoid conflict of interests between the interviewer and interviewee, ethical considerations are a must in every interview. Ethical consideration ensures that the interviewer takes responsibility on their research participants as well as on the people who will be affected by the research findings (Patton & Cochran, 2002, p. 5; Corti, Day, & Backhouse, 2000, p. 1). Considering that the participant was from Qatar, the most comfortable place to have conducted the interview was his home. In his house, fears of anything happening to them because they released sensitive information on their experience as students studying abroad were eliminated. Therefore, participant’s safety and confidentiality was observed which are parts of ethical considerations. The ethical considerations for the interview included ensuring that I did not use coercion to ensure that the participant took part. The interviewee needs the opportunity to decide on whether to participate in the exercise or not having known exactly what he is asked to do (Hancock, Ockleford, & Windridge, 2009, p. 6). To manage that, the interviewee was served with a consent form that paves way for trust that is crucial for data collection. The consent form included information on who I am (remember, the interviewee was a friend to a friend), where I had come from and what I was doing. The form also explained to the interviewer why he was selected for the interview as well as expressed to him that he was allowed to terminate the interview in case they felt uncomfortable in the course of the interview. The form also outlaid what the interviewee was expected to do as well as guaranteed them of confidentiality. Up on reading the consent form the participant signed the form and the interview started. For this study, I interviewed a Qatar citizen studying in London. I personally organised for a meeting in Qatar by phone. The interviewee invited me to his house in Qatar where he was more comfortable. The interview venue, which is his house and the hospitality in his home, makes me confirm that it was indeed the most comfortable place for both of us. Semi-structured type of interview advocates for development of rapport over time (Leech, 2002, p. 665). The relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee determines the depth of information the interviewer is likely to collect. Developing the rapport also involves conducting the interview in a safe and comfortable environment where one can share information freely as they occurred. The writing of the questionnaire was guided by the stages of rapport creation which are apprehension, exploration, co-operation and participation. The two of us, the interviewee and the interviewer, were new to each other despite the fact that my friend had introduced me to the interviewee. The first questions involved making the interviewee talk by asking general questions on him. The exploration phase was emphasized through asking questions on his course and how he gained admission into the university. The careful choice of questions and how they flowed ensured co-operation phase was achieved. The participation stage was characterised by the in-depth interview where the interviewee responded to questions on his experience while studying abroad. The participant did that freely and willingly, meaning, the rapport required for the success of a qualitative interview was achieved through the roles assigned to each question in the interview questionnaire. To analyse the collected data, themes were used to identify repeated concepts in the responses given. Themes are important concepts that help in characterising experience and perspectives of a respondent in a research (Bradley, Curry, & Deves, 2007, p. 1). For this research, the questionnaire was designed to capture themes on culture shock, university structure, learning organization, technology application, quality of education, and social economic status of the student. The theme on culture shock was highlighted in terms of communication style, courtesy, food, dressing, and language. University structure involved describing sizes and design of university structures, and compound plan. Learning organization was meant to capture flexibility in terms of how lessons are spread, learning mode, and whether participatory or collaborative or instructional. Technology application measured how technology is applied by teachers during lessons and communication between students and lecturers. Quality of education measured the difference between home country quality of education and the foreign land quality of education. Finally social economic status of the student was measured through how well the student is able to fund their fees as well as accommodation in the foreign country. The analysis for this research used review techniques instead of coding since coding loses the connection between concepts and their context. Based on the response given on each question, the analysis involved making a conclusion. Part of the conclusions were; Many students are motivated by their career passion and exposure to study abroad. The students apply for the programs and travel with a lot of expectations. However, many of the expectations are disappointed while a few are met. The few that are met plus new discoveries that the student discover while there nevertheless outshines the failed expectations. The student end up enjoying the whole program since it exposes them to different things they could not get in their home country. Transcription Interviewer: Ok and how did you gain admission to the university Interviewee: It was a two way story because I was a panellist in a conference and this conference was about youth empowerment and global citizenship. I met one of the, a member of the British delegation and he told me about this university. And Approximately 4 months after meeting him, i met him again in London in another conference about education, and then I visited the approximately 13 universities then I applied to my university because I liked the, the diverse atmospheres there and then I was accepted. Interviewer: And you know, talking about UK and London specifically, too many students are afraid of staying of London because of so many things like it’s really expensive comparing with other university and cities and also because so many things happen in London not like other cities that you can focus in your study Interviewee: Basically it depends in your style as a student. Whether you want to live in a very cosmopolitan and diverse society a diverse atmosphere or you would want to be isolated. And To be honest one of the first universities that I applied to was darm university and the major was amazing, it was youth empowerment and community development. But because of the nature of the city and the atmosphere there I, I preferred studying in London for many reasons. Because, I don’t know why someone might neglect or avoid studying in London exphone first of all, and you meet a lot of people from different backgrounds and the same time is very diverse. There are many people doing many things there, many conferences, many activities, many workshops. And although it might be a little bit expensive compared to other cities, but you can live there you can survive I think. Interviewer: Ok so if I can ask you a question, if we go back one year and a half, would you choose the same university, the same city? Interviewee: Same city indeed yes indeed but I am not sure it will be the same university, to be honest. First of all my university is amazing and am really proud of it, and am really proud of myself graduating from such internationally recognized institution. It’s, we have an amazing library and an amazing achieve specially for those who are interested and oriented and African studies. It is very big and it’s very very very diverse but many things happened this year related to the relationship between the staff and administration in my university, which really affected the students. Such as the demonstrations, and the boycotts by the employees of the university and the administration of the university. And that really affected us as the students because many classes have been cancelled. Approximately 20 % of my classes have been cancelled. And the same time, I did not get my grades in the same time and to be honest, I can say that I dint get what I have paid for in studying in this university, And there are many reasons not only because of but even in terms of the facilities in terms of the classes that they promised to give for all the foreign students hut they didn’t and yah! The most important parts of this interview Interviewer: Now we will talk about the experience of studying abroad actually because you studied your BA degree in Qatar, so this is your first experience of studying abroad outside of Qatar. Interviewee: Yes, it is my first experience but I really wanted to do it because I have a strong faith in global citizenship. I always considered myself as a global citizen, and I said to not only be a chance to study in very distinguished university and very cosmopolitan city and very diverse city but at the same time it will be an opportunity to examine my faith in global citizenship. So I have this believe in you know as a global citizen and as a person, an ambitious youth who really have believe in community development and global culture and all this buzz words and sugar coating statements I considered this opportunity to, it was something for me precious to just have this experience and to check whether I have faith in something positive. Interviewer: and talking about this actually, when you first arrived in the UK what shocked you most in terms of culture because there is really a big difference in culture between Qatar and UK in general Interviewee: Qatar society is every diverse society and we live in a very diverse community in Qatar. But at the same time I dint find something balance in the middle like how can I maintain my own identity while living there without, or by, while being comfortable……transfer from a collective society. Collectivism in our society is in our DNA as Qatarist. We do everything together, it’s in our history and it’s in our reality today and it’s in our national region that everything should be collective, we have one goal we initiate everything together……..but i went there to a very individualistic society. Interviewer: And talking about the university itself and the building what is the difference that did you first know and what is the physical structure of the university as compared to the university in Qatar…… Interviewee: Usually, in Qatar university are really big…..many activities….and there is a competition between universities to somehow modernize their structure, not only the physical structure but also the education structure….it was very small building it was old……..not getting what I had paid for... was shocked when I went to the accommodation of the university, there were really used and in a very very bad status. Interviewer: Ok, now we talk of about classes and lessons, how well were classes and lessons organised and does the organization create flexibility in terms of time…… Interviewee: …… unfortunately in terms of socializing with other students this was an obstacle for me as a typical Qatary. Because while am studying there the one and the only place to socialize was the bar and for me it was culturally prohibited and religiously prohibit to drink or to stay in such places. …. That’s why the class itself was the place of socializing… Interviewer: Talking about the technology because we are a revolving technology all our lives. So during our learning in the UK, to what extent was technology applied in the learning process Interviewee: ….Compared to Qatar it was almost the same because we both of us were using the module, the blackboard, ….it was approximately similar. …..But the thing that I really liked about my university the professors are really good in their field, they’re really specialised in that field, ….they can tell you about what exactly to do to know about this ….. every day you will have dozens of emails. I have to read them….but in Qatar, may be because we have the social gatherings and all this things it was a little bit different. Reflection and research findings process The key themes emerging form the interviews were passion for a specific career, culture shock, university structure, learning organization, technology application, quality of education, and social economic status of the student. Passion and search for exposure to a different environment drives many students to study in a foreign land. Their choice of the institution is guided by what they read in the websites and advertisements placed on the institutions in other medias. When stepping out of their home countries, the students often have higher expectations on what the institution will offer them on arrival and during the programs. However, even in cases of disappointment, the students still pursue their passion since it still remains the sole reason why they left their home country. Upon reaching the institution of choice, the students often suffer from culture shock. The environment, the people and the different ways of life are always a big shock. For example, the interviewee came from a community where everything was shared, the system of education was communal and people interacted freely. UK turned up to be the exact opposite in terms of interactions. People in UK were purely individualistic which made his stay hard at the initial stages of his stay. The university structure happened to be different or rather of lower standard compared to what he expected. This implies that, institutions rarely disclose the details of their dark sides when looking for new people to enrol in their programs. The advice would be the person planning to travel abroad for studies should do a thorough research on the institution. The research should be both in publications and through people who have been there before since the two cannot lie about the institution. Learning organization differ with the system of education adopted in a given country. To have an easy time in the new system, it is important for the person planning to travel to research on the education system so that they can be familiar with what to expect. For example, the interviewee came from an environment where US education system was the main system. In UK, the interviewee was presented with a different system that was more instructional and intense. The interviewee actually expresses his desire to have read more in his area, which he never did because he was presented with a system more intense than he was used to. Technology application has become the universal tool used in learning. The interviewer stated that technology application in UK was not far much different from what he experienced in his home country. The only additional thing in UK was he needed to read his emails more often since every communication happened through emails unlike in Qatar where social gatherings served as information access centres. Quality of education is always expected to be higher abroad hence the reason why majority of the students will opt to study abroad than in their home country. Nevertheless, the student would prefer to stay in their country if they are not assured of a higher quality than what they can access locally. However, the interviewee stated that the measure on quality of education is depended on how the student pursue, perceive, analyse and attend conferences and forums capable of emphasizing the key learning themes. The way one exploits knowledge dictates if the education will be of higher or lower quality to the foreign students. According to the response given on how the interviewee funded his studies, it is clear that any student planning to study abroad should raise enough finances for their stay and tuition fee. The interviewee explained that UK was more expensive. The cost of living that year was higher than what it was in the previous year which makes it necessary for proper financial planning when planning to study abroad. Nevertheless the interviewee was very particular about his experience as well as emphasized that the information given was purely his opinion. That means there could be some people who would have different opinions on the same issues discussed in the interview. His advice, which is worth considering, was, any student planning to study abroad should first be proud of who they are, have faith in their ability, and ambition and readiness to face challenges should be part of them. This is because; the student need not lose their identity especially because they are in the foreign country for some time. However, the student must be willing to accept different ideas as well as give positive criticism to issues he thinks is not working as per the plan. Open mindedness and critical thinking are key ingredients to successful stay in a foreign land as a student. The foreign land may present the student with a different kind of environment compared to what he is used to. Maintaining the initial believes plus being open to changes will help the student adapt faster. For example, the interviewee had a problem adjusting into the individualistic culture. He found it hard to be in an environment where people rarely met for discussion and when they did, the meeting was in a bar, which was against his faith and values. The interviewee had to adapt by using the readily available discussion platforms since learning had to continue. The research method used for this study was Qualitative research. The method has proved appropriate for collecting information in words and not in numbers since the method allows the interviewer and the interviewee to have an in-depth engagement on a given topic under discussion. For this research, semi-structured research adopted was used to collect information on experience of students studying abroad. With pre-set questions covering different themes, the method proved appropriate since the data collected was able to capture the objective of the study. However, it is worth noting that the structure of the questionnaire was not followed since questions asked in the real interview were rearranged to fit each concept as it arose. Additional themes on passion for specific career also arose which was not part of the interview initially. Such differences between the real interview and the planned interview explain why qualitative research methodology and specifically semi-structured interview remains the best method for collecting in-depth information on a given topic. References Bradley, E. H., Curry, L. A., & Devers, K. J. (2007). Qualitative data analysis for health services research: Developing Taxonomy, Themes, and theory. Health Services Research, 42(2), 1758-1772. Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1955280/. [Accessed 28 July 2014]. Corti, L., Day, A., & Backhouse, G. (2000). Confidentiality and informed consent: Issues for consideration in the preservation of and provision of access to qualitative data archives. Forum: Qualitative social research, 1(3). Coyne, I. T. (1997). Sampling in Qualitative research. Purposeful and theoretical sampling merging or clear boundaries? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 26, 623-630. Dicicco-Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. (2006). The qualitative research interview. Medical Education, 40, 314-321. Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Hancock, B., Ockleford, E., Windridge, K. (2009). An Introduction to qualitative research. National institute for Health Research. Available at http://www.rds-yh.nihr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/5_Introduction-to-qualitative-research-2009.pdf. [Accessed 29 July 2014]. Knox, S., & Burkard, A. (2009). Qualitative research interviews. Psychological Research, 19 (4-5), 566-575. Leech, B. L. (2002). Asking Questions: Techniques for semi-structured interviews. Political science and politics, 35 (4), 665-668. Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Beverly Hills; Sage. Patton, M. Q., Cochran, M. (2002). A guide to using qualitative research methodology. Medecins Sans Fronteires. Available in http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/bitstream/10144/84230/1/Qualitative%20research%20methodology.pdf. [Accessed 28 July 2014]. Saunders, M. N. K. (2012). Choosing research participants, in Symon G and Cassell C (eds). The Practice of Qualitative Organizational Research: core Methods and Current Challenges, 2012, 37-55. London, Sage. Appendix Interview Questions Participant’s personal details 1. What is your name? 2. What is your major at the University? 3. How did you gain admission to the University? 4. For how long have you been in the United Kingdom? Experiences of studying abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom 1. When you first arrived in the UK, what shocked you the most in terms of culture? (Guide the interviewee to talk about culture in regard to communication style, politeness, food, clothing, and language) 2. What differences did you first note in the physical structure of this University as compared to universities in your home country? (Guide the interviewee to say whether the University is much bigger or smaller, whether the buildings have a modern design or older design, whether the compound is well maintained or not etc) 3. How are the classes/lessons organised? Does the organisation create flexibility in terms of time, which can enable you to engage in other activities? 4. How do you perceive the learning mode; is it participatory/collaborative, or is it instructional in the sense that the teacher has the sole control over how the lessons are conducted and the students’ only task is to be keen and attentive? 5. To what extent is technology applied in the learning process? (Guide the interviewee to state whether and how technology is applied by teachers during lessons in providing assessments and the communication between teachers and students) 6. Based on your assessment of the learning process, do you believe you are posed to get better and high quality education in the UK as compared to what you could get back at your home country? 7. How are you able to pay your school fees and even sustain your livelihood whilst studying in the UK? Read More