Question cards: Putting your cards on the table in the interview process

Abstract

This research note introduces the use of question cards as a technique that can aid the interviewing process. Question cards provide a dynamic checklist of themes and questions, affording interviewers and interviewees increased flexibility in shaping dialogue. This approach empowers interviewees by allowing them to influence the interview's direction, determine question order, and contribute their own questions. The transparency facilitated by question cards clarifies the interview's purpose and reduces ambiguity. Additionally, question cards act as visual aids, aiding navigation and enabling both interviewer and interviewee to have a clear sight of the topics for discussion. Importantly, this technique levels the information playing field, granting all parties access to the interview's structure, questions and themes. Post-interview, question cards prove invaluable as prompts for coding and analysis, streamlining data extraction. As such, the research note suggests, the use of question cards has many potential benefits for the qualitative researcher.