Qualitative data

collection
Business Research Methods Dr Natasha Lawlor-Morrison
RESE-1170 Teaching Fellow
Business, Operations & Strategy
Lecture 4 Business School
Fe b r u a r y 2 0 2 4
[email protected]
Module map

Qualitative Quantitative Evidence-

Research Research Research Research based
Philosophy Methodology Methods Methods conclusions
 • Design a robust interview schedule for
Lecture use on one-on-one interviews or focus
groups.
learning
outcomes • Recognise the skill involved in
interviewing.

• Outline the strengths and weaknesses

of in-person and telephone interviews.
Qualitative Research
This image by unknown author is licenced under Attribution NonCommercial Vincent van Gogh ‘Sunflowers’ is in the public domain.
 To look through the eyes of another

But how would you do that?

Let me think… By asking…

Why
do you think that?
Methods of qualitative data
collection
 Ethnography (participant observation)

 Visual sociology

 Documentary analysis
In order of ascending
 Focus groups popularity within
business and
 Interviews management research.
Qualitative data collection:
The research
interview
The research interview.
• It is a purposive conversation • Such interviews can be:
between two people (or more, if a
focus group).
1. Structured
2. Semi-structured
• The researcher asks clear,
unbiased questions, and listens 3. Unstructured (conversational)
very carefully to the answer.

• By listening carefully, the

researcher can explore points of
interest, clarify statements, or
confirm viewpoints.
 Type Features Example question

Structured • Fixed set of questions  “What gets you out of bed in the morning?”
• Each participants taken  “What do you do when you are running late?”
through the same  “Describe 3 strategies for being punctual.”
sequence of questions

Semi-structured • Checklist of questions to be  “Tell me about your daily routine.”

covered.  “I was interested that you said sometimes you
• Order and precise working were late. What happens then?”
decided during the
interview.
• Allows follow-up questions

Unstructured • General guide rather than • “Tell me about a typical day for you?”
fixed questions.
• More conversational.
 The skills of an
interviewer
• Be empathetic with your interviewees,
even if you disagree strongly.

• You must be an engaged and active

listener.

• Do not interrupt, or speak at length, we

are trying to record their data.

This image by Christina is licensed under

CC
ThisBY
image by Charles Deluvio is licenced
Mode of interview Phone/web-mediated
• Face-to-face Strengths:
• Can interview anywhere in the
world.
• Strengths: • Quicker and cheaper.
• Built rapport easier. • Safer for the researcher
• See body language and facial expressions.
• Clearer tone, and the emotion it conveys. Limitations:
• Auto recordings are better • Difficult to build rapport.
• Lose a lot of non-verbal
communication.
• Limitations: • Less clear recordings.
• Shorter answers, more
• Can be expensive to travel. clarification.
• Possible risk to the researcher is meeting in • Risk of being cut-off which
disrupts the flow.
private space.
• (Covid-19 risk)?
Mode effect • There is a debate regarding how the
For this debate: mode (face-to-face, telephone, or
internet-mediated) interviews shapes the
data collected.
Raises limits to telephone
• This is called the mode effect.
interviews:
Irvine et al (2013) ‘Am I not answering
your questions properly?’ Clarification,
adequacy, and responsonsivness in
semi-structured telephone interviews
and face-to-face interviews. Qualitative
Research 13(1): 87-106.

Defence of telephone interviews:

Sturges and Hanrahan (2004)
Comparing telephone and face-to-face
interviewing: a research note.
Qualitative Research 4 (1): 107-118.

This image by unknown author is licensed

Qualitative data collection:
The interview
schedule
What is an ‘interview schedule’?
• An interview schedule is the name of the document
which outlines the questions you will ask the participants.

• Within the social sciences, interview schedules, or

questionnaires, etc., are called ‘research instruments’.

• This is because it is the instrument through which you will

create the data.

• As such, the instrument must be good quality to create

good data.

This image by Marco Verch is licensed under

Developing the schedule
• Read your literature review notes – • Once you have compiled a list of
what questions do the texts raise? questions, arrange them by ‘theme’
(or ‘topic’ or ‘issue’).
• What questions do academics /
business practitioners raise in their • You will have 2-4 themes.
methods sections? Appendices?

• Cut or merge questions that are

• What questions are raised by the media similar within the theme so that you
(if a contemporary issue)? have no more than 10 questions
within.

• • You may have sub-questions

What questions are raised in your own
mind? that are linked to the key
questions.
• You may have ‘probes’ that help
• Ultimately all questions must be useful the respondent to think or
to answering your Research Questions! understand your question.
 • Judgmental questions:

Avoid these traps!

• “Stealing is wrong - have you stolen anything
from an innocent person?”

• Leading questions:
• “How much will prices rise next year for
customers?”
• “Would national service reduce youth
violence?”

• Double-barrel questions:
• “Do you regularly have errors in how much
you’re paid, or struggled to get reclaim back
pay?”

• Closed questions:
• “Do you like your job?”
 Interview
questions “Probing is a specific research technique used
by interviewers in individual and group
interviews and focus groups to generate further
explanation from research participants. Probing
• Should be ‘open’
may be achieved nonverbally with pauses or
• Should make use of ‘probing’. gestures, or verbally with follow-up questions”
(Roulston 2012: 682).

Probe when an answer is inadequate—too

short, not specific.
• Follow up questions;
• Silence —people can’t stand it.
• Surmise their answer then ask if they
can say more about it.
The interview
Advice from Pat
Thomson
 Dress professionally

 The first 10 minutes are important.

 Be polite.

 Take your time and listen.

 Ask follow-up questions to probe

https://patthomson.net/2016/12/01/ask-not-how-
but-why-musings-on-the-interview/
 Use non-verbal cues, eg ‘mhum’
Example of a bad interview
Example of a good interview
 • This lecture outlined the relationship between
research methodology and the method of data
collection.

• We examined different approaches to research

Summary interview questions, and their key features. We
also looked at the mode of interviews, and their key
strengths and weaknesses.

• We looked at the process to develop a robust

interview schedule that will generate quality, useful
data. We also started to look at the skills research
interviewers need to generate quality data.
 Qualitative research analysis

Next week’s lecture looks at how to

analyse qualitative data.

Next week:
We will look at a number of different
approaches to analysing textual data, but
we will focus on one of the most common
approaches in business and management
research – the thematic analysis .
References
Bryman, A., Bell, A. and Harley B. (2018) Business Research Methods. 5th Edition. Oxford University
Press: Oxford, UK. Chapter 14.

Irvine, A., Drew, P. and Sainsbury, P. (2012) ‘Am I not answering your questions properly?’ Clarification,
adequacy and responsiveness in semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews. Qualitative
Research 13 (1): 86-106.

Novik, G. (2008) Is there bias against telephone interviews in qualitative research? Research in Nursing
& Health 31: 391-398.

Roulston, K. (2012) Probes and probing. In Givin, L (ed) The SAGE encyclopaedia of qualitative research
methods. SAGE: London.

Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P. and Thornhill. A (2019) Research Methods for Business Students. 8th Edition.
Pearson Education. Harlow, UK. Chapter 10.

Thomson, P. (2016) Ask not why, but how – musings on ‘the interview’: Accessible:
https://patthomson.net/2016/12/01/ask-not-how-but-why-musings-on-the-interview/
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