Open access Methodology

Semistructured interviewing in primary

care research: a balance of relationship

Family Medicine and Community Health: first published as 10.1136/fmch-2018-000057 on 8 March 2019. Downloaded from https://fmch.bmj.com on 1 October 2025 by guest.
and rigour
Melissa DeJonckheere,‍‍ 1 Lisa M Vaughn2,3

To cite: DeJonckheere M, Abstract In contrast to large-scale epidemiological

Vaughn LM. Semistructured Semistructured in-depth interviews are commonly used in studies, or even surveys, a family medicine
interviewing in primary

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qualitative research and are the most frequent qualitative researcher can conduct a highly meaningful
care research: a balance
data source in health services research. This method typically project with interviews with as few as 8–12
of relationship and rigour.
consists of a dialogue between researcher and participant, participants. For example, Chang and her
Fam Med Com Health
guided by a flexible interview protocol and supplemented
2019;7:e000057. doi:10.1136/ colleagues, all family physicians, conducted
fmch-2018-000057 by follow-up questions, probes and comments. The
semistructured interviews with 10 providers
method allows the researcher to collect open-ended data,
►► Additional material is
to explore participant thoughts, feelings and beliefs about to understand their perspectives on weight
published online only. To view gain in pregnant patients.1 The interviewers
please visit the journal online a particular topic and to delve deeply into personal and
(http://​dx.​doi.​org/​10.​1136/​fmch-​ sometimes sensitive issues. The purpose of this article was asked questions about providers’ overall
2018-​000057). to identify and describe the essential skills to designing and perceptions on weight gain, their clinical
conducting semistructured interviews in family medicine and approach to weight gain during pregnancy
primary care research settings. We reviewed the literature and challenges when managing weight gain
Received 03 November 2018 on semistructured interviewing to identify key skills and
Revised 04 December 2018
among pregnant patients. Additional exam-
components for using this method in family medicine and ples conducted by or with family physicians
Accepted 23 January 2019
primary care research settings. Overall, semistructured or in primary care settings are summarised in
interviewing requires both a relational focus and practice
table 1.1–6
in the skills of facilitation. Skills include: (1) determining the
From our perspective as seasoned qualita-
purpose and scope of the study; (2) identifying participants;
(3) considering ethical issues; (4) planning logistical aspects; tive researchers, conducting effective semi-
(5) developing the interview guide; (6) establishing trust structured interviews requires: (1) a relational
and rapport; (7) conducting the interview; (8) memoing focus, including active engagement and curi-
and reflection; (9) analysing the data; (10) demonstrating osity, and (2) practice in the skills of inter-
the trustworthiness of the research; and (11) presenting viewing. First, a relational focus emphasises
findings in a paper or report. Semistructured interviews the unique relationship between interviewer
provide an effective and feasible research method for family and interviewee. To obtain quality data, inter-
physicians to conduct in primary care research settings. views should not be conducted with a trans-
Researchers using semistructured interviews for data actional question-answer approach but rather
collection should take on a relational focus and consider
should be unfolding, iterative interactions
the skills of interviewing to ensure quality. Semistructured
© Author(s) (or their between the interviewer and interviewee.
interviewing can be a powerful tool for family physicians,
employer(s)) 2019. Re-use
primary care providers and other health services researchers Second, interview skills can be learnt. Some
permitted under CC BY-NC. No of us will naturally be more comfortable and
commercial re-use. See rights to use to understand the thoughts, beliefs and experiences
and permissions. Published by of individuals. Despite the utility, semistructured interviews skilful at conducting interviews but all aspects
BMJ. can be intimidating and challenging for researchers not of interviews are learnable and through prac-
1
Department of Family Medicine, familiar with qualitative approaches. In order to elucidate tice and feedback will improve. Throughout
University of Michigan, Ann this method, we provide practical guidance for researchers, this article, we highlight strategies to balance
Arbor, Michigan, USA including novice researchers and those with few resources, relationship and rigour when conducting
2
Department of Pediatrics, to use semistructured interviewing as a data collection semistructured interviews in primary care
University of Cincinnati College strategy. We provide recommendations for the essential and the healthcare setting.
of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, steps to follow in order to best implement semistructured
USA interviews in family medicine and primary care research
3
Division of Emergency
settings.
Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Background
Hospital Medical Center, Qualitative research interviews are ‘attempts
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Introduction to understand the world from the subjects’
Correspondence to Semistructured interviews can be used by point of view, to unfold the meaning of
Dr Melissa DeJonckheere; family medicine researchers in clinical settings peoples’ experiences, to uncover their lived
​mdejonck@​med.​umich.​edu or academic settings even with few resources. world prior to scientific explanations’ (p 1).7

DeJonckheere M, Vaughn LM. Fam Med Com Health 2019;7:e000057. doi:10.1136/fmch-2018-000057 1

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Table 1 Examples of research articles using semistructured interviews in primary care research
Article Study purpose Context/setting Use of interviews

Family Medicine and Community Health: first published as 10.1136/fmch-2018-000057 on 8 March 2019. Downloaded from https://fmch.bmj.com on 1 October 2025 by guest.
Chang T, Llanes M, Gold KJ, et al. To explore prenatal care University hospital in the 10 semistructured interviews
Perspectives about and approaches providers’ perspectives USA with prenatal care providers
to weight gain in pregnancy: a on patient weight gain (family physicians,
qualitative study of physicians and during pregnancy obstetricians, nurse midwives);
nurse midwives. BMC Pregnancy and thematic analysis
Childbirth 2013;13:47.1
Croxson CH, Ashdown HF, Hobbs To understand NHS in England 34 semistructured interviews
FR. GPs’ perceptions of workload in perceptions of provider with general practitioners;
England: a qualitative interview study. workload thematic analysis
Br J Gen Pract 2017.2
DeJonckheere M, Robinson CH, Evans To elicit provider Veterans Affairs Medical 15 semistructured interviews
L, et al. Designing for clinical change: perspectives of their Center in the USA with providers (primary

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creating an intervention to implement uptake of new statin care physicians and clinical
new statin guidelines in a primary care guidelines. pharmacists); deductive
clinic. JMIR Human Factors 2018 ;53. To tailor a local thematic analysis
quality improvement
intervention to improve
statin prescribing.
Griffiths F, Lowe P, Boardman F, et To explore women's Four UK specialist diabetes 15 semistructured
al. Becoming pregnant: exploring the accounts of their antenatal clinics interviews with women with
perspectives of women living with journeys to becoming pregestational type 1 diabetes;
diabetes. Br J Gen Pract 2008;58:184– pregnant while living thematic analysis
904. with type 1 diabetes
Saigal P, Takemura Y, Nishiue T, et al. To understand Medical school in Japan 25 semistructured interviews
Factors considered by medical students factors considered with medical students, informal
when formulating their specialty by Japanese medical interviews with academic
preferences in Japan: findings from a students when faculty, field notes; thematic
qualitative study BMC Med Educ 7:31, choosing their specialty analysis
2007.5
Schoenborn NL, Lee K, Pollack CE, et To elucidate Four clinical programmes 40 semistructured interviews
al. Older adults’ preferences for when perspectives on how affiliated with an urban with community-dwelling older
and how to discuss life expectancy and when to discuss academic medical centre adults; qualitative content
in primary care. The Journal of the life expectancy with analysis
American Board of Family Medicine older adults
2017;30:813–5.6

Qualitative research interviews unfold as an interviewer focus on the most common form of semistructured inter-
asks questions of the interviewee in order to gather views within qualitative research—individual, face-to-face,
subjective information about a particular topic or experi- in-depth interviews.
ence. Though the definitions and purposes of qualitative
research interviews vary slightly in the literature, there Purpose of semistructured interviews
is common emphasis on the experiences of interviewees The overall purpose of using semistructured interviews
and the ways in which the interviewee perceives the world for data collection is to gather information from key
(see table 2 for summary of definitions from seminal informants who have personal experiences, attitudes,
texts). perceptions and beliefs related to the topic of interest.
The most common type of interview used in qualita- Researchers can use semistructured interviews to collect
tive research and the healthcare context is semistruc- new, exploratory data related to a research topic, trian-
tured interview.8 Figure 1 highlights the key features of gulate other data sources or validate findings through
this data collection method, which is guided by a list of member checking (respondent feedback about research
topics or questions with follow-up questions, probes and results).9 If using a mixed methods approach, semistruc-
comments. Typically, the sequencing and wording of the tured interviews can also be used in a qualitative phase to
questions are modified by the interviewer to best fit the explore new concepts to generate hypotheses or explain
interviewee and interview context. Semistructured inter- results from a quantitative phase that tests hypotheses.
views can be conducted in multiple ways (ie, face to face, Semistructured interviews are an effective method for
telephone, text/email, individual, group, brief, in-depth), data collection when the researcher wants: (1) to collect
each of which have advantages and disadvantages. We will qualitative, open-ended data; (2) to explore participant

2 DeJonckheere M, Vaughn LM. Fam Med Com Health 2019;7:e000057. doi:10.1136/fmch-2018-000057

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Table 2 Definitions of qualitative interviews

Authors Definition Purpose

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10
DiCicco-Bloom and Crabtree Semistructured interviews are ‘organized ‘To contribute to a body of knowledge that
around a set of predetermined open-ended is conceptual and theoretical and is based
questions, with other questions emerging on the meanings that life experiences hold
from the dialogue between interviewer and for the interviewees’ (2006, p 314)
interviewee/s’ (2006, p 315)
Hatch12 ‘special kinds of conversations or speech ‘To uncover the meaning structures
events that are used by researchers to explore that participants use to organize their
informants’ experiences and interpretations’ experiences and make sense of their
(2002, p. 91) worlds’ (2002, p 91)
Kvale7 ‘attempts to understand the world from the ‘To gather descriptions of the life-
subjects' point of view, to unfold the meaning world of the interviewee with respect
of peoples' experiences, to uncover their lived to interpretation of the meaning of the

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world prior to scientific explanations’ (1996, p described phenomena’ (1983, p 174)
1)
Josselson15 ‘a shared product of what two people—one ‘To enter the world of the participant and try
the interviewer, the other the interviewee—talk to understand how it looks and feels from
about and how they talk together’ (2013, p 1) the participant’s point of view’ (2013, p 80)

thoughts, feelings and beliefs about a particular topic; Step 2: identifying participants
and (3) to delve deeply into personal and sometimes After deciding on the purpose of the study and research
sensitive issues. question(s), the next step is to determine who will provide
the best information to answer the research question.
Designing and conducting semistructured interviews Good interviewees are those who are available, willing to
In the following section, we provide recommendations for be interviewed and have lived experiences and knowledge
the steps required to carefully design and conduct semi- about the topic of interest.11 12 Working with gatekeepers
structured interviews with emphasis on applications in or informants to get access to potential participants can
family medicine and primary care research (see table 3). be extremely helpful as they are trusted sources that
control access to the target sample.
Steps for designing and conducting semistructured interviews
Sampling strategies are influenced by the research
Step 1: determining the purpose and scope of the study
question and the purpose of the study. Unlike quantita-
The purpose of the study is the primary objective of your
tive studies, statistical representativeness is not the goal of
project and may be based on an anecdotal experience, a
qualitative research. There is no calculation of statistical
review of the literature or previous research finding. The
power and the goal is not a large sample size. Instead,
purpose is developed in response to an identified gap or
qualitative approaches seek an in-depth and detailed
problem that needs to be addressed.
understanding and typically use purposeful sampling.
Research questions are the driving force of a study
See the study of Hatch for a summary of various types
because they are associated with every other aspect of the
design. They should be succinct and clearly indicate that
you are using a qualitative approach. Qualitative research
Table 3 Steps to designing and conducting semistructured
questions typically start with ‘What’, ‘How’ or ‘Why’ and interviews
focus on the exploration of a single concept based on
Step Task
participant perspectives.10
1 Determining the purpose and scope of the study
2 Identifying participants
3 Considering ethical issues
4 Planning logistical aspects
5 Developing the interview guide
6 Establishing trust and rapport
7 Conducting the interview
8 Memoing and reflection
9 Analysing the data
10 Demonstrating the trustworthiness of the research
11 Presenting findings in a paper or report
Figure 1 Key characteristics of semistructured interviews.

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of purposeful sampling that can be used for interview

Table 4 Suggestions for successful audio recording of
studies.12 interviews
‘How many participants are needed?’ The most common

Family Medicine and Community Health: first published as 10.1136/fmch-2018-000057 on 8 March 2019. Downloaded from https://fmch.bmj.com on 1 October 2025 by guest.
Component Suggestions
answer is, ‘it depends’—it depends on the purpose of the
study, what kind of study is planned and what questions Clarity Audio-recording equipment should
the study is trying to answer.12–14 One common standard clearly capture the interview so that both
in qualitative sample sizes is reaching thematic satura- interviewer’s and interviewee’s voices
tion, which refers to the point at which no new thematic are easily heard for transcription. Many
interviewers use small battery-powered
information is gathered from participants. Malterud and
recorders but sometimes the microphones
colleagues discuss the concept of information power, or a do not work well.
qualitative equivalent to statistical power, to determine
Reliable Audio-recording equipment needs to be
how many interviews should be collected in a study. They reliable and easy to use. Increasingly,
suggest that the size of a sample should depend on the researchers are using their smartphones to
aim, homogeneity of the sample, theory, interview quality record interviews.
and analytic strategy.14

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Familiarity Whatever kind of recording equipment
is used, the researcher needs to be
Step 3: considering ethical issues familiar with it and should test it at the
An ethical attitude should be present from the very interview location before starting the actual
beginning of the research project even before you interview—you do not want to be fumbling
decide who to interview.15 This ethical attitude should with technology during the interview.
incorporate respect, sensitivity and tact towards partic- Backup If you are the sole interviewer and do not
ipants throughout the research process. Because semi- have an additional person taking notes, we
structured interviewing often requires the participant recommend having two recording devices
to reveal sensitive and personal information directly to for each interview in case one device fails
the interviewer, it is important to consider the power or runs out of batteries. Make sure to bring
extra batteries.
imbalance between the researcher and the participant. In
healthcare settings, the interviewer or researcher may be Note-taking Some researchers recommend taking
notes or having a partner take notes during
a part of the patient’s healthcare team or have contact
the interviews in addition to the audio
with the healthcare team. The researchers should ensure recording. Taking notes can ensure that all
the interviewee that their participation and answers will interview questions have been answered,
not influence the care they receive or their relationship guide follow-up questions so that the
with their providers. Other issues to consider include: interview can flow from the interviewee’s
reducing the risk of harm; protecting the interviewee’s lead and serve as a backup in the case of
information; adequately informing interviewees about malfunctioning recorders.
the study purpose and format; and reducing the risk of
exploitation.10
study, why they have been selected and who will be there.
Step 4: planning logistical aspects In addition, participants should be informed that they
Careful planning particularly around the technical can refuse to answer questions or can withdraw from the
aspects of interviews can be the difference between a study at any time, including during the interview itself.
great interview and a not so great interview. During the Audio recording the interview is recommended so that
preparation phase, the researcher will need to plan and the interviewer can concentrate on the interview and
make decisions about the best ways to contact potential build rapport rather than being distracted with exten-
interviewees, obtain informed consent, arrange inter- sive note taking16 (see table 4 for audio-recording tips).
view times and locations convenient for both participant Participants should be informed that audio recording is
and researcher, and test recording equipment. Although used for data collection and that they can refuse to be
many experienced researchers have found themselves audio recorded should they prefer.
conducting interviews in less than ideal locations, the Most researchers will want to have interviews tran-
interview location should avoid (or at least minimise) scribed verbatim from the audio recording. This allows
interruptions and be appropriate for the interview (quiet, you to refer to the exact words of participants during
private and able to get a clear recording).16 For some the analysis. Although it is possible to conduct analyses
research projects, the participants’ homes may make from the audio recordings themselves or from notes, it is
sense as the best interview location.16 not ideal. However, transcription can be extremely time
Initial contacts can be made through telephone or consuming and, if not done yourself, can be costly.
email and followed up with more details so the individual In the planning phase of research, you will want to
can make an informed decision about whether they wish consider whether qualitative research software (eg, NVivo,​
to be interviewed. Potential participants should know ATLAS.​ti, MAXQDA, Dedoose, and so on) will be used to
what to expect in terms of length of time, purpose of the assist with organising, managing and analysis. While these

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Table 5 Questions and prompts in semistructured interviewing

Type of question Definition Purpose Example

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Grand tour General question related to the ►► Initiate the interview How has your pregnancy been so
content of the overall research ►► Help participant to start talking far?
question, which participant knows a about their experience
lot about
Core questions Five to 10 questions that directly ►► Answer the research question(s) What do you think pregnant women
relate to the information the ►► Help participant talk openly about should do for exercise during
researcher wants to know the topic in an exploratory way pregnancy?
►► Typically asked of all participants
Planned follow-up Specific questions that ask for more ►► Answer particular aspects of the It sounds like you exercise most
questions details about particular aspects of the core interview questions days. What activities do you do for
core questions ►► Obtain greater detail about exercise?
responses
►► Asked depending on participant

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responses
Unplanned follow-up Questions that arise during the ►► Answer particular aspects of the You mentioned that you were feeling
questions interview based on participant participant response lonely and didn’t have the energy to
responses ►► Obtain greater detail about exercise during pregnancy. Can you
responses tell me more about that?
►► Asked depending on participant
responses

tools are helpful in the management of qualitative data, it can be added to explore new topics that are introduced
is important to consider your research budget, the cost of by participants in previous interviews.10
the software and the learning curve associated with using
a new system. Step 6: establishing trust and rapport
Interviews are a special form of relationship, where the
Step 5: developing the interview guide interviewer and interviewee converse about important
Semistructured interviews include a short list of ‘guiding’ and often personal topics. The interviewer must build
questions that are supplemented by follow-up and rapport quickly by listening attentively and respectfully to
probing questions that are dependent on the interview- the information shared by the interviewee.19 As the inter-
ee’s responses.8 17 All questions should be open ended, view progresses, the interviewer must continue to demon-
neutral, clear and avoid leading language. In addition, strate respect, encourage the interviewee to share their
questions should use familiar language and avoid jargon. perspectives and acknowledge the sensitive nature of the
Most interviews will start with an easy, context-setting conversation.20
question before moving to more difficult or in-depth To establish rapport, it is important to be authentic
questions.17 Table 5 gives details of the types of guiding and open to the interviewee’s point of view. It is possible
questions including ‘grand tour’ questions,18 core ques- that the participants you recruit for your study will have
tions and planned and unplanned follow-up questions. preconceived notions about research, which may include
To illustrate, online supplementary appendix A pres- mistrust. As a result, it is important to describe why you
ents a sample interview guide from our study of weight are conducting the research and how their participation
gain during pregnancy among young women. We start is meaningful. In an interview relationship, the inter-
with the prompt, ‘Tell me about how your pregnancy has viewee is the expert and should be treated as such—you
been so far’ to initiate conversation about their thoughts are relying on the interviewee to enhance your under-
and feelings during pregnancy. The subsequent questions standing and add to your research. Small behaviours that
will elicit responses to help answer our research question can enhance rapport include: dressing professionally but
about young women’s perspectives related to weight gain not overly formal; avoiding jargon or slang; and using a
during pregnancy. normal conversational tone. Because interviewees will
After developing the guiding questions, it is important be discussing their experience, having some awareness
to pilot test the interview. Having a good sense of the of contextual or cultural factors that may influence their
guide helps you to pace the interview (and not run out perspectives may be helpful as background knowledge.
of time), use a conversational tone and make necessary
adjustments to the questions. Step 7: conducting the interview
Like all qualitative research, interviewing is iterative in Location and set-up
nature—data collection and analysis occur simultaneously, The interview should have already been scheduled at a
which may result in changes to the guiding questions as convenient time and location for the interviewee. The
the study progresses. Questions that are not effective may location should be private, ideally with a closed door,
be replaced with other questions and additional probes rather than a public place. It is helpful if there is a room

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where you can speak privately without interruption, and

Table 6 Probing techniques for semistructured interviews
where it is quiet enough to hear and audio record the (modified from Bernard30)
interview. Within the interview space, Josselson15 suggests

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Probing
an arrangement with a comfortable distance between the
technique Description Example
interviewer and interviewee with a low table in between
for the recorder and any materials (consent forms, ques- Wait time Interviewer remains What do you think
tionnaires, water, and so on). silent after asking pregnant women
a question. should do for
Beginning the interview This allows the exercise during
Many interviewers start with chatting to break the ice and interviewee to pregnancy? (Wait,
think about their do not respond
attempt to establish commonalities, rapport and trust.
response and with additional
Most interviews will need to begin with a brief explana- often encourages questioning until
tion of the research study, consent/assent procedures, the interviewee to participant speaks)
rationale for talking to that particular interviewee and speak.
description of the interview format and agenda.11 It can

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Echo Interviewer repeats Right, so it was
also be helpful if the interviewer shares a little about who or summarises the hard to exercise
they are and why they are interested in the topic. The participant’s words, after working all
recording equipment should have already been tested encouraging them day.
thoroughly but interviewers may want to double-check to go into more
that the audio equipment is working and remind partici- detail.
pants about the reason for recording. Verbal agreement Interviewer uses Yes…
affirming words Okay…
Interviewer stance to encourage the
During the interview, the interviewer should adopt a interviewee to
friendly and non-judgemental attitude. You will want to continue speaking.
maintain a warm and conversational tone, rather than a Expansion Interviewer asks Tell me more.
rote, question-answer approach. It is important to recog- participant to Give me an
nise the potential power differential as a researcher. elaborate on a example of that.
Conveying a sense of being in the interview together and particular response. Can you describe
that you as the interviewer are a person just like the inter- that?
viewee can help ease any discomfort.15 Explanation Interviewer asks Tell me what you
participant to mean when you
Active listening clarify a specific say exercise is
During a face-to-face interview, there is an opportunity comment. ‘disruptive’?
to observe social and non-verbal cues of the interviewee. Leading Interviewer asks You said that you
These cues may come in the form of voice, body language, interviewee to decided to only
gestures and intonation, and can supplement the inter- explain their exercise after the
viewee’s verbal response and can give clues to the inter- reasoning. baby is born. Tell
me how you came
viewer about the process of the interview.21 Listening is
to that decision.
the key to successful interviewing.22 Listening should be
‘attentive, empathic, nonjudgmental, listening in order
to invite, and engender talk’15 15 (p 66). Silence, nods, Prompts encourage people to continue talking and they
smiles and utterances can also encourage further elabo- can elicit more details needed to understand the topic.
ration from the interviewee. Examples of verbal probes are repeating the participant’s
words, summarising the main idea or expressing interest
Continuing the interview with verbal agreement.8 11 See table 6 for probing tech-
As the interview progresses, the interviewer can repeat niques and example probes we have used in our own
the words used by the interviewee, use planned and interviewing.
unplanned follow-up questions that invite further clari-
fication, exploration or elaboration. As DiCicco-Bloom Step 8: memoing and reflection
and Crabtree10 explain: ‘Throughout the interview, the After an interview, it is essential for the interviewer to
goal of the interviewer is to encourage the interviewee to begin to reflect on both the process and the content of
share as much information as possible, unselfconsciously the interview. During the actual interview, it can be diffi-
and in his or her own words’ (p 317). Some interviewees cult to take notes or begin reflecting. Even if you think
are more forthcoming and will offer many details of their you will remember a particular moment, you likely will
experiences without much probing required. Others will not be able to recall each moment with sufficient detail.
require prompting and follow-up to elicit sufficient detail. Therefore, interviewers should always record memos—
As a result, follow-up questions are equally important notes about what you are learning from the data.23 24
to the core questions in a semistructured interview. There are different approaches to recording memos: you

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can reflect on several specific ideas, or create a running a well-developed interview guide with open-ended ques-
list of thoughts. Memos are also useful for improving the tions and asking questions in an insensitive way. Outside
quality of subsequent interviews. of pitfalls during the actual interview, other problems

Family Medicine and Community Health: first published as 10.1136/fmch-2018-000057 on 8 March 2019. Downloaded from https://fmch.bmj.com on 1 October 2025 by guest.
with semistructured interviewing may be underestimating
Step 9: analysing the data the resources required to recruit participants, interview,
The data analysis strategy should also be developed transcribe and analyse the data.
during planning stages because analysis occurs concur- Despite their limitations, semistructured interviews
rently with data collection.25 The researcher will take can be a productive way to collect open-ended data from
notes, modify the data collection procedures and write participants. In our research, we have interviewed chil-
reflective memos throughout the data collection process. dren and adolescents about their stress experiences and
This begins the process of data analysis. coping behaviours, young women about their thoughts
The data analysis strategy used in your study will depend and behaviours during pregnancy, practitioners about
on your research question and qualitative design—see the care they provide to patients and countless other
the study of Creswell for an overview of major qualitative key informants about health-related topics. Because
approaches.26 The general process for analysing and inter-

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the intent is to understand participant experiences, the
preting most interviews involves reviewing the data (in the possible research topics are endless.
form of transcripts, audio recordings or detailed notes), Due to the close relationships family physicians have
applying descriptive codes to the data and condensing with their patients, the unique settings in which they work,
and categorising codes to look for patterns.24 27 These and in their advocacy, semistructured interviews are an
patterns can exist within a single interview or across attractive approach for family medicine researchers, even
multiple interviews depending on the research question if working in a setting with limited research resources.
and design. Qualitative computer software programs can When seeking to balance both the relational focus of
be used to help organise and manage interview data. interviewing and the necessary rigour of research, we
recommend: prioritising listening over talking; using
Step 10: demonstrating the trustworthiness of the research clear language and avoiding jargon; and deeply engaging
Similar to validity and reliability, qualitative research can in the interview process by actively listening, expressing
be assessed on trustworthiness.9 28 There are several criteria empathy, demonstrating openness to the participant’s
used to establish trustworthiness: credibility (whether worldview and thanking the participant for helping you
the findings accurately and fairly represent the data), to understand their experience.
transferability (whether the findings can be applied to
other settings and contexts), confirmability (whether the
findings are biased by the researcher) and dependability Further Reading
(whether the findings are consistent and sustainable over ►► Edwards R, & Holland J. (2013). What is qualitative
time). interviewing?: A&C Black.
►► Josselson R. Interviewing for qualitative inquiry: A
Step 11: presenting findings in a paper or report relational approach. Guilford Press, 2013.
When presenting the results of interview analysis, ►► Kvale S. InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative
researchers will often report themes or narratives that Research Interviewing. SAGE, London, 1996.
describe the broad range of experiences evidenced in ►► Pope C, & Mays N. (Eds). (2006). Qualitative research
the data. This involves providing an in-depth description in health care.
of participant perspectives and being sure to include
multiple perspectives.12 In interview research, the partici- Contributors Both authors contributed equally to this work.
pant words are your data. Presenting findings in a report Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any
requires the integration of quotes into a more traditional funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
written format. Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent for publication Not required.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.
Conclusions Open access This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the
Though semistructured interviews are often an effective Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which
way to collect open-ended data, there are some disadvan- permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially,
tages as well. One common problem with interviewing is and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is
properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use
that not all interviewees make great participants.12 29 Some is non-commercial. See: http://​creativecommons.​org/​licenses/​by-​nc/​4.0
individuals are hard to engage in conversation or may be
reluctant to share about sensitive or personal topics. Diffi-
culty interviewing some participants can affect experi-
enced and novice interviewers. Some common problems References
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