Semi Structured Interviews

Interviews have proved popular in case study research within the realism paradigm to achieve a level of depth and complexity not available to other more survey based approaches (Byrne, 2004). Elger and Smith (2014) suggest:

Interviews provide an interactive method where meanings, explanations and emotions articulated by researchers are taken seriously thus the interview as a process of human interaction involves the mutual construction of knowledge about experiences, events and activities (Elger & Smith, 2014: 27)

Interviews are typically categorised on the extent to which the interviewer controls the conversation, through questions and prompts, on a continuum these can range from structured to unstructured. Cohen and Manion (2007) propose four different types of interview: the structured interview, the unstructured interview, the non-directive interview and the focused interview. Positivists generally prefer tightly controlled structured interviews consisting of standardised questions. This type of interview was

145 considered inappropriate as more than yes/no answers were required to gain an in- depth understanding of management learning through a FdA in Retailing. Although interpretive researchers favour both semi-structured and unstructured interviews, I chose the former as they are flexible and fluid but offer enough structure to avoid any aimless rambling (Wragg, 1978). Commonalities exist between critical realist and interpretive approaches to interviewing. Each recognises the significance of meaning construction and communication among human actors. However, critical realists seek to utilize interviews both to appreciate the interpretations of the participants and to analyse the social contexts, constraints and resources within which these participants act, thereby providing the competing accounts of social reality that emphasise its layered and complex character (Elger & Smith, 2014: 27). The semi-structured interview is usually organised around an aide memoire or interview guide (Mason, Jennifer, 2002), in this instance, a set of questions (themes) formed the basis for each interview but the structuring of the questions remained loose to ensure flexibility. This gave the opportunity to move between themes and follow up on areas as the conversation developed with the interviewees, enabling the interview to be shaped by the interviewee's own understandings as well as the researcher's interests, and unexpected outcomes.

Selecting Interview Themes

The themes for each set of interviews were derived from the literature and tailored to the various groups of participants, their specific organisational contexts and job roles (See Appendix B and C for examples of the interview questions) as this was likely to determine the kind of insight the respondent was likely to have (Kvale, 1996). Pawson and Tilley, (1997) contend that interviews should be explicitly “theory-

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driven” in the sense that the subject matter of the interview is the researcher’s theory

rather than the subject’s thoughts and deeds. The interviewer therefore remains the expert about the issues under investigation (Pawson and Tilley, 1997). To achieve consistency, the main themes remained the same when interviewing the student population, they only altered for the management interviews.

The interviews comprised a list of open questions to encourage elaboration although there was sufficient flexibility to change the order and ask further open and more probing questions, in response to significant or interesting comments from the interviewee. The structure of the interview went from easy to complex questions with the opening questions purposely more general and designed to place the interviewee at ease. The student interviews lasted approximately one hour, interviews with management teams with responsibility for the programmes spanned one to two hours in length. Student transcriptions when transcribed, totalled 18 to 35 pages. This was often because those in more senior positions gave longer, more detailed accounts than those in more junior posts. Interviews with those accountable for the FdA in Retailing in both the case organisation and delivering institution were conducted face-to face in their suggested location. The majority chose to be interviewed in their places of work, incurring a number of trips to the outskirts of London. Some participants selected less formal settings such as coffee shops and staff refectories, although these busy locations made it more difficult to hear the participant’s responses and record the interviews. Interviews with students had two specific aims:

 To ascertain whether the FdA in Retailing was meeting student expectations for the qualification.

147  To find out what effect studying for a Foundation Degree had on the individual

manager

Two students participated in face-to-face interviews in their own stores but the remainder were reluctant to be interviewed in-store and selected in preference a phone interview, scheduled away from the workplace and held in the manager’s own time. This was an unexpected outcome of the research and not one initially envisaged. Face-to-face interviews can take advantage of social cues such as voice, intonation, body language and as they are synchronous there is no delay between question and answer. Furthermore, the interviewer and interviewee can directly react to what the other says or does. Nonetheless, research shows that there is little difference in the kinds of response researchers get when asking questions by telephone rather than in person. Sturges and Hanrahan (2004) conducted a study using both methods and concluded there was no noticeable difference between the quality, nature and depth of participant responses.

In addition, Irvine et al (2010) noted that interviewees when using the phone tended to talk for longer although, I personally preferred the face-to-face interview. Irving (2010) produced a useful toolkit for conducting phone interviews that provided guidance. Phone interviews conducted for this study presented a highly successful means for gathering rich data. The lecturer/student relationship that had existed between the interviewer and interviewee was less apparent when not in physical proximity, resulting in the interviewee providing more honest and open answers. It also eased geographical access to respondents based in the South West of England and the Scottish Highlands. In the synchronous interview, some social cues were

148 restricted although this did not appear to hinder the interview process. There was little opportunity to create a good interview ambience and standardize the interview setting, (Mann and Stewart, 2000) although this would have proved problematic even when conducting face-to-face interviews as each interview was set to be held in a different location. All interviews were digitally recorded and later transcribed using Dragon naturally speaking software; this enabled some of the transcription to take place using voice recognition; however, it was found that the transcriptions had to be double-checked for accuracy as words could be misinterpreted if diction was not sufficiently clear. Later interview findings were cross-referenced with results compiled using other research methods.

Ethical Considerations when Conducting Interviews

The research agenda and parameters of the questions where discussed prior to the interview, with the intention of focusing participants and managing research boundaries. Nonetheless, two senior managers, the director from FdF, and one programme manager from the case organisation still attempted to lead the interview. These were both managers experienced in addressing public media. On occasion, the director from FdF was also inclined to provide polished, strongly edited accounts of his views and activities (Elger & Smith, 2014). For instance, to ensure he gave an accurate response to one question, he read from a script that he had just written for a conference speech. In such instances, it proved helpful to conduct more than one interview. Two interviews were organised with this director, the second taking place one week after the first and both purposely carried out towards the end of the process, rather than at the start. Most of the data had been collected, by this point and analysed, which meant questions could be more usefully honed to answer any

149 outstanding questions or probe answers already given, thereby making the most of the opportunity. The students typically being junior managers had a more limited view of contextual issues than those in more senior positions, so the role and status of those being interviewed was given due consideration when planning the interview themes. In total twenty-three interviews were conducted, eleven with senior managers and twelve with students who had graduated from the programme.

Interviews as a research method are not without their limitations, as those being interviewed come with their own preoccupations, vantage points and sets of interests (Elger & Smith, 2014). This is of particular relevance when interviewing managers as they may feel under pressure to speak positively of what is going on in their organisation, whether through a sense of corporate commitment, or a sense of fear. Further, they may have important occupational identity issues. “To play out the social

identity of the manager the individual is likely to feel it necessary to present themselves as a rational, strategic person who ‘knows what they are doing’ and ‘who is in control’ in their jobs” (Watson, 2010:211). Some researchers regard interviews

as “manufactured data” so suggest conducing multi-method research where interviews are combined with ethnographic work (Silverman, 2007), whereas other writers regard interviews as an indispensable starting point to social enquiry (Bhaskar,1998). Archer (2007) exploring reflexivity argues that interviewees in saying what they do, endorse a belief in their own subjectivity and that this reflexive deliberation affects their actions within the objective social situation (in which) they find themselves (Archer, 2003: 14). She emphasises the autonomy of human agents, with interior thoughts that belong to them alone, but also that such agents reflect upon themselves in a relational fashion, in relationship to others and society. Archer argues

150 that it is therefore important for the interviewer to draw out and analyse human reflexivity, individual reasoning and their grounding in the ‘inner conversation”. A key skill of a researcher when interviewing is the ability to listen, without helping or prompting, what the participant wants to say and importantly what they do not. Summarising aspects of the interview also proved helpful when checking for understanding of the topics and terms used, McClelland (1965) and Mangham (1986) found this avoided ambiguous answers and confusion. For example, respondents were asked to define the term culture in their own words, before providing examples to illustrate the type of culture that existed in their organisation.