13 Research methods, statistics, critical review and evidence-based practice13.7 Qualitative research
13.7.3 Focus groups and interviews
2 min read
Written by Resident Doctor Committee · Published
Individual interviews
Individual interviews suit sensitive experiences, complicated personal histories and detailed exploration, because they give privacy and time.
Structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews
Form | Fixed in advance | Interviewer may | Gained and lost |
|---|---|---|---|
Structured | Questions, wording and order | Follow the agreed script | Standardisation, with little flexibility |
Semi-structured | Topics and example questions | Reorder and probe relevant material | Shared coverage with room for unexpected accounts |
Unstructured (in-depth) | No topic guide or fixed order | Build each question on the previous answer | Depth and participants' priorities, but harder to compare |
Semi-structured interviews give enough depth to explore complex behaviour and motives, at a cost in time that fieldwork can bear.
The semi-structured guide supports a conversation and is not read out word for word.
Focus groups
Focus groups generate interaction: participants build on, challenge and qualify each other's accounts, so shared and conflicting views emerge.
They suit exploring how several stakeholder groups understand a shared issue, such as nurses discussing restraint.
Design
Good design uses several small groups of roughly 6 to 10 members who share the experience, with active interaction, and relying on a single group is a weakness.
Split groups by a relevant shared characteristic, such as role, so each is homogeneous and members speak openly.
Mixing patients with treating staff, or juniors with supervisors, inhibits disclosure.
Dominant speakers, conformity and the moderator's expectations shape what is said, and silence is not agreement.
Researchers can anonymise reports but cannot guarantee that other members will keep the discussion private.
Asking questions
Begin broadly, then move to specifics, and ask one thing at a time.
Prompts introduce a topic, whereas probes work with the participant's own words ("What felt pointless?").
Avoid leading questions: "How difficult was it?" assumes a difficulty.
Recording and transcription
Semi-structured interviews are audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim as the basis for detailed analysis, because notes or summaries lose participants' exact words.
Field notes capture context, non-verbal interaction and speaker identity that audio misses.