The Environmental Justice and Sustainability Research Toolbox

Key Topics to Engage in Module:

1. Interviews as a Research Method
2. Focus Groups as a Research Method
3. Analyzing Qualitative Data

Guiding Questions:

1. How do you know when it is best to use interviews and when to use focus groups when conducting qualitative research?
2. What do you need to know about yourself, your participants (interviewees), and the social context when collecting qualitative data via interview or focus group methods?
3. What skills do you need to learn and practice to conduct interviews and focus groups as well as to effectively analyze the data from these methods?

Module Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Identify the main types of interviews and focus groups.
• Explain and give examples of different types of questions.
• Develop a protocol for an interview or focus groups.
• Learn the skills necessary (and some tips) to effectively conduct an interview or focus group.
• Organize qualitative data analysis.
• Understand the basics of how to analyze the results of interviews and/or focus groups.

I. Overview & Main Concepts:

Mini-Lecture:

• *"Brief Introduction to Interviews and Focus Groups" (Panopto recording, requires SCU log in)
  • Think about: What are the main steps for conducting an interview? Why might you want to use open-ended questions in an interview? What other tips does Professor Bacon offer for interviewing? How do focus groups differ from interviews? What are the roles of the interviewer and/or facilitator for each type of method? How might questions differ depending on the type of interview you conduct? What do you do with all that textual data once it is collected? How do you involve interviewees and focus group participants in all phases of the research process?

Reading:

• Freeman, L. (2005) Appendix: Methodology. In There Goes the Hood: Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up. Temple University Press. (Requires SCU log in)
  • Think about: What dis the interpretive vs. positivist approach? How does Dr. Freeman describe the challenges and opportunities of being viewed as an "insider" by some interviewees? What is the value of coding, and having multiple coders, when possible?

Video:

• *Qualitative research methods (section from 7:49-11:24 is the most relevant to interviews)
  • Think about" What is an interview guide? Why might we want to understand the demographics and background of interviewees? What tips does Dr. Martin offer for conducting interviews? What is "thematic analysis"?

II. Designing and Implementing Interviews

Readings:

• *Community Toolbox: Conducting Interviews or Chapter 5 of Qualitative Research: A Guide To Design and Implementation - "Conducting Effective Interviews" (Requires SCU Login)
• *Leech, B. L. (2002). Asking Questions: Techniques for Semistructured Interviews. PS: Political Science and Politics, 35(4), 665–668. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1554805

Video:

• Think about: What are the 10 (or 12) characteristics of a good interviewer? What were the biggest issues with the first interview? Why was the second interview much better implemented?

• *Think about: What are the different things you need to prepare before doing a focus group? What are the data you get from a focus group. what is the best way to collect those data? How do you decide how many focus groups to do and who to invite to each group?

III. Analyzing Interview and Focus Group Data

Reading:

• *Themes Don't Just Emerge -- Coding the Qualitative Data
  • Think about: Why is it important to code qualitative data? What is inductive vs. deductive coding? What are the steps that the author recommends from initial coding to determining themes?

Case Study:

• Biodiversity Offsetting Project - Interview Guide and Interview Transcripts. For interviews read this article that analyzes stakeholder perspectives on carbon offsets, see Appendix 2 for an interview guide and link (end of article) to interview transcripts.

Video:

• Think about: When might you want to use qualitative software vs. coding by hand? What does the concept of "saturation" refer to, and how does coding help us to determine if we've reached that? Why is it important to take detailed notes about your coding process?

Additional Resources:

Readings:

• Chang, J. S. (2017). The Docent Method: A Grounded Theory Approach for Researching Place and Health. Qualitative Health Research, 27(4), 609–619. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732316667055
  • Think about: What is the docent method? How is it similar to, and different from, traditional interviews? How does the docent method support Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)? What are walking interviews broadly?
• Office for Coastal Management. (2015). Introduction to conducting focus groups. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admiration, Coastal Services Center. 
  • Think about: What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of focus groups? What are approaches to selecting participants and organizing the focus group? What are the key steps in data analysis?

Listen:

• Wheeler, J. (Host). (2018). Transforming lives with storytelling. [Audio podcast]. National Centre for Research Methods. https://www.ncrm.ac.uk/resources/podcasts/?id=transforming-lives-with-storytelling 

Watch:

• Think about: Why conduct virtual focus groups? How doe virtual focus groups differ from in-person focus groups? What organizational tips does Dr. Cook offer?

In-Class Activity:

• Activity 1: Students select into small teams (2-3 students) based on their interest in a specific topic. The students work together to develop an interview guide with questions. The students then conduct mock interviews and role-playing in class after they've developed their interview protocol. 
• Activity 2: Instructor provides a set of interview questions and then students pair off and take turns interviewing each other.
• Activity 3: "Fishbowl focus group" with 6-8 students sitting in the middle of the classroom with the rest of the students surrounding the fishbowl group. Get two volunteers facilitate the group. Try out the techniques for implementing an effective focus group. Have students comment about what worked well and what they would want to do before facilitating their own focus group.

Assignments:

• Assignment 1: Each student in the course interviews at least two other students using the same interview guide and uploads the transcriptions to a shared folder for analysis.
• Assignment 2: Analysis assignment that includes a link to qualitative data (open-ended survey responses or interview transcripts) and practice coding. This could be done using one of the case studies above.