Qualitative Data Collection
At the heart of your research is the data or information that you need to answer your research questions and achieve your research goals. You may require direct interaction with people, tangible experiences, or indirect information found in a museum. Each type of data collected has unique procedures in which we can provide expert advice.
Interviews and Focus Groups
What is it? The purpose of interviews and focus groups in data collection is to have a conversation with participants using open-ended questions that relate to your research questions, aim, or goals. The answers to the questions can be used as raw data in a research project, and they are one of the most popular methods of data collection in qualitative research.
Interviews include one or two participants and may have an unstructured, semi-structured or structured format. A structured interview consists of a set of prepared questions that are asked to collect specific responses. A semi-structured interview consists of a set of prepared questions with follow-up questions based on participants’ answers. An unstructured interview has very few prepared questions. It may be developed while the interview is occurring based on participant’s prior responses.
An interview may be facilitated in a variety of settings depending on access to participants, purpose, or feasibility of the research project. Possible settings for interviews include in-person, telephone, video/web conferencing, etc.
Focus groups are group interviews with more than two participants (our recommended size for a focus group is 5 to 10 persons). They are used to get an overall objective view on a topic, and when resources are limited. Due to the nature of focus groups, participants should have similar backgrounds and/or experiences to get an overall understanding of group ideas on a topic. Focus groups are preferred when information about group dynamics on a topic and collective discussion are needed to understand behaviors, feelings and/or opinions.
Focus groups should be conducted in a relaxed atmosphere to help participants feel like it is an informal discussion. You also need a way to record the data, such as an audio recorder with an external microphone to capture variations among participants’ voices, or a video camera. Similar to interviews, you can have different formats for your focus groups where questions are prepared ahead of time, as well as different settings.
If you are new to facilitating interviews and focus groups, it is important to develop and practice interviewing and moderating techniques before you begin this type of data collection. It is also helpful to pilot your interview or focus group guide before launching data collection. In some cases, you may be unsure about the appropriate questions and techniques for facilitating interviews and focus groups with participants of a particular background. Our consultants can help you prepare for interviews and focus groups for your project by identifying a suitable venue, culturally appropriate questions, coaching on how to pilot your interview/focus group guide, and how to moderate interviews and focus groups.
How can we help you?
- Align questions for your interviews and focus groups with your research questions, aims, and goals
- Identify the format and setting for your interview and/or focus group
Related Services
Publications: Articles, Books, Op-ed
For academic journals, qualitative data insights may need more information than if you are writing a newspaper or practice-based journal article.
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Cultural context is the broad range of beliefs and practices that guide the behavior of research participants and researchers.
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In qualitative research, a survey is a set of open-ended questions used to explore diverse views primarily among a large number of people.
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Cultural context is the broad range of beliefs and practices that guide the behavior of research participants and researchers.
Learn MoreArticles and White Papers About Interviews & Focus Groups
From Interviews to Infographics: Reporting Qual Data for Community Use
Introduction Qualitative research plays a critical role in community-engaged studies by capturing lived experiences, narratives, and social complexities that quantitative data often cannot. However, a persistent challenge lies in translating these nuanced insights into accessible, actionable formats for non-academic stakeholders—especially community members who are usually the subjects and beneficiaries of...
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How to Write Qualitative Research Reports for Funders and Stakeholders
Introduction Qualitative research is a powerful tool for understanding complex social, behavioral, and organizational phenomena. Its strength lies in capturing rich, contextual, and nuanced data that reflect the lived experiences of individuals and communities. To translate insights into tangible impact, findings must be communicated effectively to decision-makers (funders, policymakers, practitioners,...
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Turning Words into Action: How to Spot Actionable Insights in Interviews
Introduction In the business world, qualitative interviews offer a powerful window into users’ needs, frustrations, and motivations—insights which are often invisible in quantitative data. Yet those rich stories can remain dormant if not translated into action. In applied settings like product teams, marketing departments, and customer experience efforts, turning words...
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Publishing Qualitative Research from Community Projects: What Funders and Journals Want
Introduction Qualitative research rooted in community projects often holds the potential to generate deep, contextually rich insights that inform social programs, policy, and participatory action. However, the journey from community engagement to published work requires alignment with the expectations of both funders and peer-reviewed journals. Understanding these expectations is critical...
Read MoreFAQ About Interviews & Focus Groups
Each arts-based or arts-informed research is unique due to the nature of qualitative research as a method of inquiry on topics that have little to no research. A researcher may choose to focus on oneself or one participant or have over 25 participants. Some research in Qual Research Design: Arts-Based/Arts-Informed have no participants.
Narrative research consists of several in-depth interviews and other types of data to chronologically arrange participants’ story or life events. The availability of data and participants will inform the length of the study. Some narrative projects take 3 or more months.
There are roughly three types of phenomenological research designs. The choice of a type of design is informed by your research questions. Transcendental seeks to understand the direct lived experiences of individuals and groups. Hermeneutic phenomenological design interprets the meaning and context of participants’ experience. While existential describes the lived experiences of a person or group through those participants’ views.
Your research questions aids in first identifying your research design, types of data collection, how data is collected, and your analysis. It helps you to understand if your resarch can be collected and the settings needed to do it.
Ethics integrated in each project are to protect participants. Some ethical considerations include: confidentiality, informed consent, participants and researchers� risk in the project.
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Peggy Ostrander, DNPc, APRN, FNP-C Plano, Texas