Engagement methods
Qualitative methods: interviews
Description
A one-to-one interview can take place by telephone or face-to-face. The length of an interview depends on the complexity and scope of the subject to be discussed, and often, on the amount of time the interviewee has available. Typically this will be 30 to 60 minutes.
When to use
Interviews can be appropriate when seeking to access people who:
- are senior
- are difficult to access
- may not respond well to other types of community engagement
- may not feel comfortable about raising their views in public.
Strengths
- Allow for a detailed exploration of an individual's opinions about a particular issue or set of issues
- New issues can be introduced into later interviews that you may not have thought about when carrying out the initial interviews
- They are also a good approach for sensitive topics which people feel reticent about discussing in front of other people
Weaknesses
- Does not allow interviewees to listen to and respond to other people's opinions and enter a dialogue
- You cannot extrapolate the results to the wider population or put 'how many' percentages to the results
- Difficult to analyse objectively
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