Guide to conduct an ethnographic Interview
Ethnographic interviews play a crucial role in gaining deep, nuanced insights into people's
behaviors, motivations, and pain points. Unlike traditional surveys, these interviews allow
researchers to explore the context and underlying reasons behind actions, offering a richer
comprehension of the user experience.
Understanding the Context
To effectively conduct ethnographic interviews, it is crucial to understand the context
surrounding the community or individual being studied. This context includes social, cultural,
and historical dimensions that shape the participants' experiences and perspectives.
Understanding these dimensions enables the interviewer to create a more meaningful and
empathetic dialogue.
Building Trust with Participants
Establishing trust with participants is a crucial step in conducting successful ethnographic
interviews. Building trust allows for more honest and open communication, encouraging
participants to share their lived experiences in a more genuine manner. To foster this trust, your
approach must be empathetic, respectful, and demonstrate a genuine interest in the participants'
stories.
Steps for Conducting Effective Ethnographic Interviews
1. Building the Interview Protocol
- It first outlines the aim of the study, and then what steps should be followed in the
interview. Besides, the main ethical considerations are also included. Adjusting a detailed
protocol before the interview can help the researchers completely dominate the interview
sessions and determine the main and follow-up questions which are required to address
the purpose of the study. For this purpose, researchers should mention the following
notes in the interview protocol:
Describe what is the research question.
List the personnel included in the research
Prepare an introduction and the list of ethical considerations
Review what processes the interviewer should follow
List the primary and follow up questions
Consider a “Thank You” statement
A. Writing a Preamble
This section is prepared as an introduction to the research study, its objectives, and how the
researcher aims to use and disseminate the information obtained from the interview session. This
part should be included in the first section of the interview to inform participants about their
rights ranging from withdrawing the interview or protecting and securing their identities.
Respondents are free to answer the questions as much as they want. However,
B. Designing Interview Questions
To design the set of primary and follow-up questions, you first need to detect and consider the
research question. In the first step, the broad area that the interview covers should be determined
by considering the research questions. For this purpose, the researcher should examine what
he/she wants to hear from the participant. This helps the researchers to perceive the general
direction of the questions, and then they can recognize and list more detailed topics
C. Working with Others
Researchers are required to conduct discussion sessions with different groups such as co-
researchers and supervisors as well as potential interviewees including similar qualities with the
main participants to examine the primary interview protocol and guides.
2. Interviewee Selection and Preparation
In this process, researchers should consider different aspects based on the object of their study to
select the target participants. This is an important process that can overshadow the results and
validity of the research directly
A. Choosing Participants
Researchers are required to select the most appropriate people as target samples for their study
since it helps them to obtain the most complete and effective answers. Initially, determining the
interviewees depends on the research intention. Therefore, the process of sampling should be
conducted purposefully. The number of participants varies based on the type of research.
B. Preparing Interviewees
Researchers can initially contact participants to determine the ones who are willing to participate
in the study, the times that they are available, and their contact information if possible. They can
prepare participants with a different range of information from the topic and the aim of the study
to the main questions they need to answer.
3. Timing :- Researchers are expected to consider time as an important factor before
interview sessions.
4. Site or Location:- The importance of the interview location is one of the most
important factors which should not be underestimated. The interviewer, commonly,
dictates the site where the interview takes palace.
5. Ethical consideration. Ethical issues are conducted to ensure that the collected data
in the interview will not harm the participant in any way. Important ethical
considerations are discussed in the following
avoiding the participants’ exploitation is another important point to consider.
the anonymity of the participants should be also respected when the study
aims to gather sensitive information.
The interviewers who are informed about all these aspects should sign written
consent provided to show their agreement to be involved in the study.
a third party should approve the questions to examine all ethical
considerations are respected
Reference
Catherine Dawson. (2007) “a practical guide to research method”. Beg broke,
Oxford OX5 1RX. United Kingdom.