ABSTRACT
Interviews collect information about the ways that people understand ‘the events and experiences of their lives’. This chapter begins with a short discussion about the history of interviewing as a data collection method. It focuses exclusively on person-to-person interviews conducted with no more than three people because this is the type of interviewing most routinely used in health-related qualitative research. The chapter describes in some detail three types of interview – in-depth, semi-structured and structured interviews. It provides practical guidance related to conducting interviews and collecting interview data. It closes with a case study from an experienced qualitative interviewer, Jon Adams, Director, Qualitative Research Laboratory at a regional university. Interviews are used in fields as diverse as journalism, education and medicine and in situations such as television shows, radio, recruitment, the courts and in law enforcement. Qualitative interviewing as a distinct data collection method re-emerged in the 1970s and ’80s alongside the increasing popularity of naturalistic qualitative research.
