Interview design

An explanatory passage was written and read out at the interviews to explain the nature of the research project. The wording was carefully chosen to avoid leading or influencing the participants. The interview schedule was piloted with two workers who attend group supervision from a different organisation, Portage, with the same facilitator to check if questions are leading and how the data collection process should take place. This is further discussed in threats to reliability and validity.

The realistic interview framework was designed in order to elicit the features of the context, the mechanisms and the outcomes from each interviewee. The questions were phrased so that the interviewer was open to learning about the programme theory of the interviewee, whilst having a clear link to the research

questions of the present study. Table 8 below shows the interview question, the significance for the evaluator and the link to the research question of the present study.

Table 8: Realistic interview schedule

Interviewer question Significance for evaluator Link to research question

I want you to tell me about your ideas around group supervision and the impact it has upon you as a Family Support Worker

(FSW)/Children’s Centre manager and the people you work with. I am keen to follow your lead in the interview and so we can go through the questions in any order that suits you.

Interviewer is explaining to participant what is wanted from the interview.

Opening explanatory passage.

I am asking you to consider the benefits or costs of group supervision to FSWs. This is not easy to do so it may help to consider examples where it has helped or hindered you as a FSW/Children’s Centre manager.

Interviewer is suggesting the discussion of concrete examples as a way of understanding the programme theory.

What are the outcomes of group supervision for FSWs and their managers?

What do you feel is the impact on the families you work with? Can you think of an example of that?

Interviewer is checking if there is an impact on the families.

What are the outcomes of group supervision for FSWs and their managers? What do you feel is the impact

on the children you work with? Can you think of an example of that?

Interviewer is checking if there is an impact on the children in a similar or different way from families.

What are the outcomes of group supervision for FSWs and their managers?

Interviewer question Significance for evaluator Link to research question

What is it about group supervision that makes you personally attend the sessions? What do you feel group

supervision gives the FSWs?

Interviewer is asking for clarity over the mechanisms in the programme theory.

What mechanisms within group

supervision promote or inhibit its use with FSWs in Children’s Centres?What mechanisms within FSWs promote or inhibit the use of group supervision with them?

What about you helps you to attend group supervision?

Interviewer is asking about the context (within person) in the programme theory.

What are the features of the context that promote or inhibit the use of group

supervision with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

What about stops you from attending group supervision?

Interviewer is seeking clarity over the aspects of the context in the programme theory that may prevent theory from working.

What are the features of the context that promote or inhibit the use of group

supervision with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

What do you feel group supervision offers in

comparison with individual supervision?

Interviewer is asking for clarity over the mechanisms in the programme theory.

What mechanisms within group

supervision promote or inhibit its use with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

What was your previous

experience of supervision? Interviewer is looking at possible features of the context.

What are the features of the context that promote or inhibit the use of group

supervision with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

Interviewer question Significance for evaluator Link to research question

How have your ideas of supervision changed since attending group supervision?

Interviewer is checking if context changes over time.

What are the features of the context that promote or inhibit the use of group

supervision with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

Can you think of a time when group supervision has assisted you?

Interviewer is asking for examples to triangulate previous question on the mechanisms within group supervision.

What mechanisms within group

supervision promote or inhibit its use with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

Why did it assist you on that occasion?

Further understanding of the mechanism of group

supervision that makes it work in the context of Children’s Centres.

What mechanisms within group

supervision promote or inhibit its use with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

What is special about FSWs that makes group supervision work or not work for them?

Interviewer is finding out about the key features of the context (FSWs).

What mechanisms within FSWs

promote or inhibit the use of group

supervision with them?

What about the structure of your workforce means that group supervision works or doesn’t work for you?

Interviewer is finding out about the key features of the context (FSWs).

What are the features of the context that promote or inhibit the use of group

supervision with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

Interviewer question Significance for evaluator Link to research question

Are there any other types of groups of worker for whom you feel group supervision would be useful?

Interviewer is finding out other examples of groups that may have similar

features for whom the model works, checking the key features of the context and of the mechanisms within FSWs.

What are the features of the context that promote or inhibit the use of group supervision with FSWs in Children’s Centres? What mechanisms within FSWs

promote or inhibit the use of group

supervision with them?

Why? Prompt for further detail.

What factors in group supervision or your role help or hinder you from attending?

Interviewer is seeking to find out mechanisms in group supervision or in role, and any features in context to triangulate previous answers.

What are the features of the context that promote or inhibit the use of group supervision with FSWs in Children’s Centres? What mechanisms within group supervision promote or inhibit its use with FSWs in Children’s Centres?

What mechanisms within FSWs

promote or inhibit the use of group

supervision with them?

So, group supervision is ….. Interviewer articulates the emerging CMO

configuration explicitly to check for agreement on programme theory.

All research questions are

summarised to clarify the points made by the interviewee.

3.4 Data collection and analysis