Designing a semi-structured interview guide

See also How to write good research questions for a qualitative study.

When designing a semi-structured interview guide for qualitative research, the key is to focus on depth rather than quantity. Doing a semi-structured interview is a good way to help determine which participants to include when doing a qualitative research project and may also be used once participants have been chosen. Remember that a semi-structured interview – like any data source you collect – should focus on your research questions. Here’s a streamlined approach:

1. Clarify Your Research Goals: Understand what you want to learn from the interviews. This will shape your guide.
2. Identify Core Themes: Determine a few broad areas that align with your goals.
3. Craft Open-Ended Questions: Develop a small set of open-ended questions that invite detailed responses and additional follow-up questions that cover the core themes.
4. Include Probes: Prepare some probing questions to encourage elaboration on certain points if needed.
5. Test and Refine: Pilot your guide with a few test interviews to ensure it flows well and prompts the depth of conversation you’re seeking.
6. Stay Flexible: Allow the conversation to flow naturally, using your guide as a roadmap rather than a script.

Remember, the quality of insights often outweighs the quantity of questions. Keep it focused and adaptable.

Structure

• Introduction: Explain the purpose, confidentiality, approximate interview length.
• Warm-up Questions:
  • Begin general and casual.
  • Build rapport.
• Key Questions:
  • General questions that relate to research questions.
• Probing Questions:
  • Ask follow-up questions based on responses to get more detailed answers that relate to research questions.
• Wrap-up:
  • Paraphrase key takeaways from the interview and verify that you have understood them correctly.

Examples

Example 1: Understanding Student Motivation

• Introduction: Explain the purpose, confidentiality, approximate interview length.
• Warm-up Questions:
  • What do you find most enjoyable about learning English?
  • Describe a time you felt excited to participate in an English lesson.
• Key Questions:
  • What are the biggest challenges you face when learning English?
  • What types of activities do you find most helpful in your learning? Least helpful?
  • What makes you feel motivated to continue improving your English?
• Probing Questions:
  • “Can you give me an example of that?”
  • “What would make that activity even better?”
• Wrap-up:
  • Is there anything else you want to share about your experiences learning English?

Example 2: Exploring Teacher Beliefs About Grammar Instruction

• Introduction: Explain the purpose, confidentiality, that there are no right or wrong answers.
• Teacher Background:
  • How long have you been teaching English?
  • Can you briefly describe your approach to teaching grammar?
• Beliefs About Grammar:
  • How important do you think it is for students to have a strong foundation of grammar?
  • What do you see as the benefits of explicit grammar instruction? Any challenges?
• Teaching Practices:
  • Can you describe a typical grammar-focused activity you use in the classroom?
  • How do you decide when and where to integrate grammar into your lessons?
• Wrap-up:
  • Do you feel your beliefs about grammar have changed throughout your teaching career?

Example 3: Technology Integration in the Language Classroom

• Introduction: Explain the purpose, confidentiality, and define “technology” broadly.
• Current Usage:
  • Can you describe the types of technology you currently use in your English lessons?
  • How frequently do you integrate technology into your teaching?
• Benefits and Challenges:
  • What do you see as the biggest benefits of using technology in language learning?
  • What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered?
• Probing Questions:
  • “How has that impacted your students’ learning?”
  • “What tools or support would make you feel more comfortable using technology?”
• Wrap-up
  • Do you envision yourself increasing your use of technology in your classroom? Why or why not?

Important Notes:

• Tailor to Context: Adjust these based on whether you’re interviewing students, teachers, novice vs. expert teachers, etc.
• Open Questions: Focus on “how” and “why” questions to uncover deeper insights.
• Be Flexible: Allow the conversation to flow naturally based on the participant’s unique responses.

Let me know if you’d like examples on other specific English teaching topics!