Hi guys, so I've been doing a few interviews recently as part of my MA, and at the moment I'm transcribing one.

What's bugging me though, and what has frustrated me in the past when transcribing, is the fact that I walk past obvious opportunities for the participant to discuss something in more detail. Instead of, for example, asking them to go into more detail and why they say/think something, I just move onto the next question and it's driving me mad!

Does anyone else ever get this? For the more experienced interviewers, will I get better at probing a bit deeper for responses? I hope so!

button x

A huge amount of the data that I'm gathering for my PhD is through interviews and I carried out a good few for a final year project last year. It gets much, much easier to spot good opportunities with experience, believe me! :) I know how annoying it is right now, but it'll come easier..

Hey Button, yep, absolutely done that. It's practice, and becoming more familiar with your research and the emerging results. When I started I was really nervous and wanted to make sure I covered off all my questions, and did miss some opportunities. As I got more experienced, the interveiws flowed better, I listened more actively, and could start to see research themes emerging. You'll pick up on cues, on what someone says which could lead to something. It's practice and you'll get there. Relax and enjoy!

Thanks to both of you, I'm glad I'm not the only one that has experienced this!

Hey Button! Yeah- I get exactly this! My PhD is mostly quant, but I have a small qual study going on as well which means interviewing my participants, and I have no prior experience of doing this at all! I think that it's good that you can at least see that you're doing this- I showed my supervisor the transcripts of my first three interviews (a bit cringey cos they weren't great!) and she gave me loads of feedback, but mainly pointed out where it would have been better to follow something up in more detail or to re-phrase a question. I agree with Sue- it does get easier and you will start to get a better idea of what you're looking for. I also found it very helpful to do an initial analysis on my first three interviews just to get a feel for how it would work, and having gone through that process has helped me fine-tune my questions and highlight the things that are interesting and that I need to follow up in more detail. To be honest, the only reason I had time to do this going along was because I broke my foot and couldn't go out testing for two months, but I am really glad I had the opportunity- even if you just try to do an initial analysis on the first one or two before you finish interviewing the others, I think it helps. I think the worst thing for me is listening to the recordings and thinking, oh my god, did I really just say that?! Yup, I did. Arse!
It does get easier though! Good luck with it, KB

Thanks KB, I have the "oh my god, did I really just say that" feeling rather a lot while I'm transcribing!

But I guess at least I'm noticing this now, and I think when I do interviews again I'm going to be a lot more conscious of what the participant is actually saying, rather than worrying about the questions I want to ask!

Thanks again!

I hate transcribing - When I first started interviewing I did a lot of nervous laughing - very irritating to listen to when transcribing. But there have been several instances such as..

Interviewee: "and then all my family died in a horrific car crash"

Sneaks: hehehehehe (nervous laugh)


I didn't notice me doing it at the time - but I actually did, its awful!

I also had a few interviews where they wouldn't SHUT UP, so I deliberately cut opportunities for detail short because I just wanted to get out of the room.

Hi Button,

Guilty of all of the above. As well as this, I have had to conduct interviews after work-sometimes after heinous days- and I can tell I am emotionally tired-listening really well becomes very difficult. I also find that if the participant is a little emotional, I feel really bad. Afterwards, I tell myself that it is a difficult topic but putting this in framework and discussing it might be helpful in the long run-but part of me worries that I am exploiting them. I understand just why the ethics process and approvals were so stringent now.

However, I don't like listening to transcripts-I sound lame as! Like you, I am hoping it is par for the course-and of course-am working towards improvement as well. One thing I have done though- is not follow the structure of my interview scripts so thoroughly but to watch for body language as well as hesitations and try to 'clarify'- (explore further) an area that I think might have more to it-if you know what I mean. Doesn't always work though.