Planning Interviews

The interview process is one of the most important parts of the case study process. But before this can begin, it is imperative the researcher gets informed consent from the subjects.

The process of informed consent means the subject understands their role in the study, and that their story will be used in the case study. You will want to have each subject complete a consent form.

The researcher must explain what the study is trying to achieve, and how their contribution will help the study. If necessary, assure the subject that their information will remain private, if requested, and they do not need to use their real name, if they are not comfortable with that. Pseudonyms are commonly used in case studies.

Key Terms!

Informed Consent - The process by which permission is granted before beginning medical or psychological research.

Pseudonym - A fictitious name used to hide one's identity


It is important the researcher is clear regarding the expectations of the study participation. For example, are they comfortable on camera? Do they mind if their photo is used in the final written study.



Interviews

Interviews are one of the most important sources of information for case studies. There are several types of interviews. They are:

Open-ended - This type of interview has the interviewer and subject talking to each other about the subject. The interviewer asks questions, and the subject answers them. But the subject can elaborate and add information, whenever they see fit.

A researcher might meet with a subject multiple times, and use the open-ended method. This can be a great way to gain insight into events. However, the researcher mustn't rely solely on the information from the one subject, and be sure to have multiple sources.

Focused - This type of interview is used when the subject is interviewed for a short period of time, and answers a set of questions. This type of interview could be used to verify information learned in an open-ended interview with another subject. Focused interviews are normally done to confirm information, not to gain new information.

Structured - Structured interviews are similar to surveys. These are usually used when collecting data for large groups, like neighborhoods. The questions are decided beforehand, and the expected answers are usually simple.

When conducting interviews, the answers are obviously important. But just as important are the observations that can be made. This is one of the reasons in-person interviews are preferable to phone interviews, or Internet or mail surveys.

Ideally, when conducting in-person interviews, more than one researcher should be present. This allows one researcher to focus on observing, while the other is interviewing. This is particularly important when interviewing large groups of people.

The researcher must understand going into the case study that the information gained from the interviews might not be valuable. It is possible that once the interviews are completed, the information gained is not relevant.