General Guidelines for Conducting Research Interviews

Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant's experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around a topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses. Usually open-ended questions are asked during interviews.

Before you start to design your interview questions and process, clearly articulate to yourself what problem or need is to be addressed using the information to be gathered by the interviews. This helps you keep clear focus on the intent of each question.

At http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/interviews.htm

Basics of Conducting Focus Groups

Focus groups are a powerful means to evaluate services or test new ideas. Basically, focus groups are interviews, but of 6-10 people at the same time in the same group. One can get a great deal of information during a focus group session.

1. Preparing for Session 
2. Developing Questions 
3. Planning the Session 
4. Facilitating Session 
5. Immediately After Session 

At http://managementhelp.org/businessresearch/focus-groups.htm

More on Focus Groups

This article has outlined the main features of focus group research, paying particular attention to the benefits of interaction and group dynamics which only this method can offer. Practical considerations and the time it takes to conduct focus group research may discourage many from attempting to collect data using this method. Nevertheless those who participate in this kind of research often find the experience rewarding. The process of research can be more collaborative than other forms of study, and so focus group research can be an empowering process for participants, and an exciting challenge for social researchers wanting to gain a different perspective on their field of interest.

At http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU19.html.