Dr. S. Knight, ECU College of Health and Human Performance Department of Health Education and Promotion
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ECU Office for Faculty Excellence
February 11, 2013
Formulating Qualitative Interview Questions
In-Depth Qualitative Interviews: A Lopsided Conversation with a Purpose
Preliminary considerations
 Research question
 Theoretical orientation
 Interview timeframe (typically 1 to 1.5 hours)
 Interview type (structured, semi-structured (interview guide), unstructured)
 Number and language of interview participants
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Individual, couple, focus group: generally, the higher the number of participants, the fewer
the questions
o native language
Interview setting (ideally, free of noise, distractions, and disruptions)
Interview modality (face-to-face, telephone, Internet)
o In telephone and internet interviews it may be more difficult to establish rapport but these
modes may be helpful in addressing sensitive topics
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Research study consent (interviews in sequence?)
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Time for full consent process in initial interview
Time for re-consent process in subsequent interviews
Time to obtain follow-up contact information at end
Interviewer experience
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Use of probes, prompts: topical, motivational
Qualities of Good Questions
Sound conversational
Use words participants would probably say
Cultural considerations example: “being with a stomach” rather than pregnancy (Hennink et al.,
2011)
Easy for you to say
Clear and usually short
Communicate one idea
OPEN-ENDED (Open-ended questions, “beg for explanations, descriptions, or illustrations”
(Krueger & Casey, 2000, p. 41)
Qualities of a Good Questioning Route (source: Krueger & Casey, 2000)
Opening: Ease into it (warm up) (small talk then neutral question to help participant find
voice)
Natural flow with the evolving conversation
Ideally, general to more specific but doesn’t always flow that way
Enough time for all to participate
Key questions toward middle
Closure: Fade out of it (Hennink et al., 2011)
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What is the most important (or one important) thing you would like me to remember?
What have we not talked about that you think might be important for me to know?
What other insights would you like to share about (the topic)?
Dr. S. Knight, ECU College of Health and Human Performance Department of Health Education and Promotion
Page 2 of 2
Developing and Using an Interview Guide
o Purpose: facilitator’s memory trigger
o Handful of key questions
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Identify an “on-the-spot” question in case participant must leave interview
o All open-ended
o Jot topic probes—just key words--to address if participant does not address these subtopics
o Use: flexibly (wording and order can change)
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Avoid numbering the questions
o Format: one page, large size font, research question at top
Resources that may be of Interest:
Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2011). Qualitative research methods.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
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Monique Hennink: Associate Professor, Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School
of Public Health, Emory University.
Inge Hutter: Professor Demography, Population Research Centre, Faculty of Spatial
Sciences, University of Groningen, Netherlands
Ajay Bailey: Post-Doc fellow, Population Research Centre above.
Krueger, R.A., & Casey, M.A. (2000). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied
research (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
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Fourth edition available (2008)
Richard Krueger: Professor, Program Evaluation; Senior Fellow, Organizational leadership,
Policy, and Development, Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota
Mary Anne Casey: consultant in research design
Kvale, S., & Brinkman, S. (2008). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative
research interviewing (2nd Ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
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Steiner Kvale: Professor, Educational Psychology, Director of Centre of Qualitative Research,
University of Aahrus University, Denmark
Svend Brinkmann: Professor, Communication, Aalborg University, Denmark
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation (3rd Ed). Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE
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Excellent chapter on interviewing
Michael Quinn Patton: Independent consultant in evaluation. Former Professor, Evaluation,
Union Institute and University Graduate School; former Professor, U. Minnesota. (PhD in
Organizational Development & Sociology)
Roulston, K. (2010). Reflective interviewing: A guide to theory and practice.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
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Kathryn Roulston: Professor, Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy,
College of Education, University of Georgia
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2011). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data
(3rd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
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Irene Rubin: Professor Emeritus of Public Administration, Northern Illinois University
Herbert Rubin: Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Northern Illinois University