Techniques, tools and processes

Interviews can be undertaken using one of three main approaches, either structured, semi-structured or unstructured where the approach adopted is aligned with the overall research aim and strategy (Punch 2014).

Denscombe (2010) describes structured interviews as being tightly controlled, almost like a questionnaire where questions are predetermined, in careful order and an expectation of limited response. This brings the advantage of standardisation to

proceedings and also the ability to pre-code answers. Haigh (2008) describes additional characteristics of this approach and suggests that the standardisation assists with the reliability of results and conclusions, but that the interviewer cannot deviate or inject any extra remarks, or share their beliefs or opinions.

Semi-structured interviews start with a clear list of issues to address, but there is flexibility and the interview can develop through the use of open-ended questions that allow elaboration on points of interest (Denscombe 2010). This style of interview therefore lets concepts emerge in a freer flowing, conversational manner, and allows the interviewer to adjust questions or inject ideas to stimulate the discussion (Haigh 2008).

Unstructured interviews are focused on the interviewee’s thoughts, and the interviewer is to only start the ball rolling with a theme or topic, where the aim is discovery rather than checking (Denscombe 2010). This is a more in depth approach that proceeds without priori categorisation and one that requires more skill and ultimately more complex analysis (Punch 2014).

This research adopted a semi-structured interview approach as it offers the benefits of the unstructured approach in terms of flexibility, but also allows the control of the discussion though the use of an interview guide, without being so rigid as a structured approach. Haigh (2008) advocates the use of an interview guide to assist this approach and suggests that it is intended to ensure that the same general areas of information are

collected from each interviewee, but also allow a degree of freedom and adaptability.

The design of the interview guide is discussed separately.

Once a suitable approach was adopted, the next stages to consider were the sampling of respondents, design of the interview guide (both of which will be discussed separately), and the interview as a data collection technique in terms of conduct during the interview and any other considerations of this type.

Haigh (2008) states that a good interview is the art and science of exploring the subjective knowledge, opinions and beliefs of an individual. As such, consideration needs to be given to the interview process that goes beyond what questions are to be asked. Denscombe (2010) suggests that interviews are easier to control when they are one to one, as this provides only one flow of information, is easier to arrange and easier to transcribe. As will be seen from the later discussion on sampling, the majority of interviews undertaken were one to one, but where opportunities arose to interview multiple respondents who can offer different but complementary perspectives, this was taken irrespective of the increased difficulty. For consistency, the same interview guide was used, but rather than work around each respondent in turn the respondents were encouraged to interact with each other. This follows the protocol for group interviews as proposed by Silverman (2014). This resulted in a more cohesive interview where all respondents could contribute to the discussion.

Denscombe (2010) also raises the question of the effect the interviewer can have on proceedings. He suggests that the interviewer’s identity can have an impact on the amount of information people are willing to share. This has been considered in the discussion earlier in this chapter, but it is worth noting that it is the opinion of the author that his experience and position in the industry helped to improve the quality of the conversation in the interviews as both the author and respondents are from the same profession and share many of the same professional ethical standards and practices. This commonality between the author and respondents resulted in extended conversations about the minutiae of the measurement process and this also helped to explore the respondent’s diffusion journey in more detail than would have been possible otherwise.

Haigh (2008) cites a different issue with regard to the influence that the interviewer can have over the interviewee, and suggests that care needs to be taken and consideration needs to be given to tact, phrasing, clarity, bias, accuracy and confidentiality. These aspects were considered as part of the interview guide design and also through the use of a checklist of items that were discussed before each interview. This checklist

consisted of permission to record and also discussion on interviewees wishes in terms of confidentiality and remaining anonymous in the research.

In terms of conduct during the interview, authors such as Denscmobe (2010), Haigh (2008), Punch (2014) and Bryman (2008) are in agreement with the main points. Firstly, conduct should be of a professional manner and good preparation is needed in terms of the interview guide, recording equipment and appearance. Recording equipment used was an Apple iPhone 6 which not only provided excellent recordings in terms of audio clarity, but also allowed hassle free transfer of files to computer for playback and transcription. The iPhone was set to ‘airplane’ mode to prevent any interruptions during the interview.

In addition, certain skills are identified as being crucial to the success of the interview and these can be summarised as follows:

• Attentiveness.

• Sensitivity to feelings.

• Tolerate silences.

• Adept at using prompts.

• Adept at using probes.

• Adept at using checks.

• Non-judgemental.

Bryman (2008) also suggests that making notes after the interview is of great importance and can help with analysis at a later date. These notes should contain thoughts on how the interview went, where it took place, any feelings about it, any initial thoughts on key themes and any amendments to the guide that are required. This was undertaken in the form of memos that were written in a journal immediately after

each interview and these were used to aid the data analysis and to support the

transcribed interviews. Items considered in the memos included suitability of location, observations on interviewees and their reactions to questions, key themes that were emerging and any comments on specific questions that needed revision or

reconsideration. The memos were also used to make early charts of the respondent’s diffusion journey which would later be useful when considering the development of the contextualised diffusion model.