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11.1 Interviews (like other forms of qualitative research) can tell you
what people think and why, and allow you to explore in detail their views,
attitudes, behaviour or motives. They might help you decide on what you
want to cover in quantitative research or provide views on a service you
are proposing. What they cannot give you is accurate statistics about
users' opinions.
11.2 In-depth one-to-one interviews can help you to explore particularly
sensitive topics. They allow a rapport to be built up, which enables the
interviewer to probe into feelings and thoughts that someone may not reveal
in a group discussion or on paper. But they are time-consuming and
difficult to analyse.
Points to think about:
 | Expertise: get expert advice from someone who has carried out
interviews in your own or another organisation, a local university or a
research consultancy. You need someone with experience in research to run
in-depth individual interviews and analyse the results.
| Content: consider carefully what you want the interview to cover,
and draw up a framework for your interviewer/s. One of the advantages of
interviews is that they allow the flexibility for new and interesting
issues or ideas to be probed in depth, but you need to ensure that the
specific areas you want information on are covered, and defining these
clearly in advance is important.
| Location: decide where you are going to carry out the interview
this could be in the interviewee's home, in the street or at the point of
service delivery. You will get differing response rates depending on where
you choose. If you decide to interview in the street, you will be
restricted in how long the interview can take and will not be able to go
into any great depth. People may not be keen to let you into their homes,
but you are likely to get much better quality information through home
interviews.
| Representativeness: don't expect the feedback from individual
interviews to be typical of the views of all users.
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Pros
| Can help in obtaining wide-ranging responses to proposals
for new services.
| Good for gaining views of certain sorts of individuals excluded
from mainstream consultations (such as people from disadvantaged groups).
| Flexible enough to allow new issues to be raised that your
organisation may not have thought of.
| Can provide more detailed feedback than a group discussion.
| Useful for obtaining the views of people who might not feel
comfortable speaking in a group.
| May help explore sensitive, personal or painful issues.
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Cons
| Interviewers need to be trained researchers.
| Because of small numbers, you cannot rely on results being typical
of the overall group you are concerned with.
| Costs are high per individual.
| Does not provide statistical information gives you the 'why', not
the 'how many'.
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Costs: high per individual, but you get a lot of information
in return.
Use to: explore issues where a large amount of open-ended information is
needed.
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Wycombe District Council Community Call Service
The service provides 24-hour emergency cover every day of the year to over
3,000 residents. A great amount and depth of information and personal
attention is given to every customer from their first contact with the
service. This includes an in-depth interview on first connection to the
system. The interviews are conducted by one of the Community Call Service
staff members and are carried out in the customer¹s own home at a time that
is convenient to them, including outside normal office hours. The interview
covers:
| a description of the service and what it can offer
| the customer¹s personal details, including any specific medical
problems,
and how to get the maximum benefit from the service
| the choice of equipment available and what will be most suitable
for them, including discussion of its location within the home and the
requirement
(if any) for active and passive remote triggers
| all financial aspects, including rental/purchase options and VAT
exemption
| the role of key holders
| whether they have any other unmet needs that could usefully be
referred to other agencies
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The customer is left with a full information pack, which includes contact
names and numbers for office staff.
Contact: Bill Stevenson tel: 01494 421613 fax: 01494 421691
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Useful for obtaining the views of people who might not feel comfortable speaking in a group.
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