Conducting the interviews

Interviewing is referred to as a conversation or a conversation with a purpose to capture the attitude of participants. An interview is the central technique of qualitative research that enables the researcher to interpret and generate data, gain intensive, deeper understanding of perceptions of participants and explore the area of interest (Alvesson & Ashcraft 2012:239; Charmaz 2014:85; Lichtman 2014:247). Quality processes as described later in this chapter (Section 2.8.3) were continuously implemented. Before the commencement of the interviews the researcher organised the venue and obtained required consent from all participants.

2.8.2.1 Organising the interview venue and obtaining consent

Morrison, Haley, Sheehan and Taylor (2012:66-68) advise that the interview should be conducted in a natural context of the participant and have a duration of between thirty minutes and two hours. The goal should be to understand the participants’ view of the phenomenon. This means that the researcher has to explore the participants’ views and refrain from imposing on participants’ concepts or judgements. The researcher approached the interviews according to these recommendations, and also focused on three aspects that Sheppard (2004:138-141) emphasises. First, the interviews were information-gathering exercises to reveal how the participants considered trust and trusting relationships in nursing education. Second, meanings were attached to narrative data to make sense of the participants’ perspectives in order to be able to describe how the participants experienced trust in the nursing education environment. Third, as with both the previously mentioned purposes, the interviews represented a social situation with the expectation and goal to gather information, be interpretative and discover meanings.

The researcher obtained permission from the relevant stakeholders before the data were collected. The recruited participants who agreed to participate voluntarily were contacted and appointments were scheduled with them. Face-to-face interviews were scheduled to take place in the offices of the educators or a quiet venue which suited the participant. The researcher booked venues in advance to conduct the focus group interviews with students. The researcher ensured that she was on time for appointments, neatly dressed and she created a comfortable atmosphere where there were no noises, good ventilation and comfortable chairs for the participants. The participants were reassured about the approved permission and ethical clearance from the relevant governing structures and stakeholders (Annexures A, B and C). All participants were issued with informed consent forms to participate and agreements that the interviews might be recorded (Annexure I). A signed copy of the agreement was kept for filing. The researcher stated the purpose of the study and the importance and process of the interviews. The importance of confidentiality and respect was emphasised as participants in the focus group interviews were requested to keep information confidential within the groups. Confidentiality was ensured in the face-to- face interviews.

2.8.2.2 Conducting face-to-face interviews

Face-to-face interviews are in-depth interviews, which are unstructured, to collect data from the participants by using probes because they generate rich and detailed views (Botma et al 2010:206; Grove et al 2013:271-272; Lichtman 2014:261; Sheppard 2004:145). Unstructured interviews are very informal and may appear more like a conversation than an interview (Tod 2006:340-341). The researcher commenced with the face-to-face interviews using the following grand tour ‘question’: “Tell me your views about trust and the trust relationships in the nursing education environment that may affect teaching and learning during the four-year nursing programme”. The interviews conducted were informal, and by using open-ended questions and probing the researcher discovered what the phenomenon meant to participants. Brink et al (2012:153) describe the strengths of interviews which the researcher kept in mind during the interviews. The strengths of these interviews were that they were recorded, direct observations were made and memo notes were taken regarding the reaction of

the participants. In-depth information was generated and collected from the participants through probing.

In-depth interviews attempt to achieve the same deep level of knowledge and understanding of the world of the participants (Botma et al 2010:207; Lichtman 2014:261). Deep understanding begins with commonsense perceptions but aims to explore the contextual boundaries of that perception; thus it goes beyond a commonsense explanation of some events or perceptions (Johnson 2002:106). Deep understanding allowed the researcher to grasp and articulate the multiple views and perspectives. Interview skills were essential for the researcher and this included the ability to establish a positive atmosphere and encourage discussions on sensitive topics during the interview. Probing focused on the discussions of participants when the researcher listened to the meanings participants attached to the trust and trusting relationships in nursing education. Grove et al (2013:272) advise researchers to present a natural front and be relaxed and affirmative during the interview; therefore the researcher purposefully demonstrated communication and listening skills to establish rapport with the participants during the interviews to encourage them to reveal information.

Because interviewing is strenuous, Botma et al (2010:208) recommend that the interview should not exceed an hour and a half. The duration of the interviews ranged from between forty-five minutes and an hour and a half. The researcher concluded the interviews by indicating to the participants that the interview was nearing its end. A last opportunity then was given if a participant wanted to add any new information. The researcher briefly summarised the interview and expressed appreciation to the participants for participating in the study. The researcher was cordial and appreciative during the interviews and the participants were reminded to confirm the data through viewing the transcribed dialogues and analysis of the interviews. The transcribed dialogues were analysed and handed to the participants after the first initial coding for them to review and confirm whether it was a true reflection of their views.

2.8.2.3 Conducting focus group interviews

Focus group interviews aim to explore specific issues of a topic through in-depth and open-ended discussions (Goodman & Evans 2006:353). Focus group interviews are

used to promote self-disclosure of feelings and experiences among participants on a particular topic in a shorter period than with multiple interviews (Kandola 2012:260). The focus group interviews with students were opened with the grand tour ‘question’: “Tell me your views about trust and the trust relationships in the nursing education environment that may affect teaching and learning during the four-year nursing programme”.

The focus groups sizes ranged between four and seven students. The advantage of the size of the focus group interviews was that students were comfortable with their peers in the groups. Spontaneity was obvious among the students during the discussions on what they regarded as important for trust and trusting relationships in nursing education. The focus group interviews were not structured, nor were specified questions used. Good listening and analytical skills enabled the researcher to identify emerging codes and concepts. With the memoing from previous interviews, probing into the emerging codes and concepts maintained spontaneity among the students to elaborate on their views. The duration of the focus group interviews ranged from one hour to an hour and a half.

Creswell (2013:85) states that data collection consists of going back and forth between participants, interviewing participants, and then returning to the emerging model to elaborate on how it works and to fill gaps. During the interviews the researcher implemented quality processes that were necessary for the trustworthiness of the interviews.