Using previous interview feedback

Ahead of the forthcoming interviews with tutors from the MSc in E-Learning, I've been looking back at my Research Methods blog from this time last year. Somewhere, I know I put together some notes on how to conduct a narrative interview, probably drawn from the excellent Real World Research book by Robson. I haven't found my summary yet, however I did come rediscover the feedback I collected (from members of the course team - the same people I'll be interviewing in the coming weeks) at the end of the interviews that Michael and I conducted for the New Geographies project. Here's what I recorded:

Useful interview feedback03/02/2012

Earlier today I met up with my colleagues/leaders from the New Geographies of Learning project. Having completed the first phase of the project, I was keen to collect some feedback on how my co-rearcher Michael and I had approached the collection of data through text interviews. With a view to feeding the suggestions forward into the research I undertake on the RM course and in my dissertation, this blog seemed like a good place to collect the different points.

Positives

• The tone of the interviews was conversational
  
• Our knowledge of the community was used well to stimulate discussion and seek clarification
  
• We avoided the use of leading questions 
  
• The interviews didn't feel awkward
  
• Other than on one occasion, the interviewees seemingly felt comfortable with the approach
  
• The text format seemed to work in this setting
  
• The interviews collected lots of relevant data

Possible weaknesses or room for improvement

• One some occasions, perhaps we could have been more questioning of points made rather than simply attempting to keep the conversation moving along e.g. being a bit more critical rather than the standard 'that's interesting...'
  
• On one occasion, where the participant and interviewer had studied together, there was perhaps too much focus on the nature of that common study experience

Also of interest

• On more than one occasion, there seemed to be a bit of envy from the participant on why two of their peers had been afforded this opportunity
  

In the discussion that followed, two other points arose. First, that opinion varied between different team members on how the interviews should have been undertaken, perhaps based upon their own background or conceptual stance (although I couldn't attribute it to that with certainty). For instance, would more depth have been achieved had voice been used to collect data? On the other hand, wasn't text the most appropriate approach bearing in mind the nature of the participant group? Furthermore, although voice interviews might collect more information more quickly, the transcription process would be a time consuming exercise. A middle ground was also suggested where the text interviews would have been accompanied by some voice interviews. 

I didn't feel in a position to contribute to this particular discussion, however I found it a really useful demonstration that within research design perhaps there isn't a single right way. The approach calls for pragmatism.

That's really useful. Another good reason for getting involved in 'over-and-above' activities, as well as another good reason for collecting thoughts in a blog. Now to find those Robson notes...