Qualitative Interviews

Opis usługi

Qualitative interviewing is a widely used, but severely under-theorised and under-discussed data collection method. In contrast to other professionals like therapists, judges, journalists, or detectives—who receive significant training on interviewing techniques and best practices—political scientists generally rely on do-it-yourself approaches, mistakenly thinking interviewing is simply "just talking to people" (cf. Mosley 2013). However, anyone who has conducted detailed interviews understands that asking questions alone rarely leads to useful responses—if any response at all—and that the gap between just an interview and a truly great interview (Hermanowicz 2002) is often a big one. This workshop aims to provide participants with a basic understanding of interviewing as a key data collection method of qualitative research. Through the example of (mainly) the semi-structured interview, we will discuss key features, steps and challenges of interviewing research. By the end of the workshop, participants should have an idea of what to expect if they intend to use this method in their research (and what to pay attention to if they read other researchers' interview-based work). The workshop is mainly intended for participants with little experience in interviewing; however, participants who already have some experience and would like to reflect on their practices are very welcome to join as well. Access more details about this workshop here: https://www.kindinstitute.net/workshop-outlines/sgier-i-january-2026