Qualitative interviewing: preparation for practice.

Abstract

Oualitative research approaches are diverse and provide the opportunity to explore the experiences, behaviours,. contexts and lifestyle choices of individuals with cardiovascular disease. Understanding these complex health and social factors is essential to the delivery of responsive health care services that improve patient satisfaction and health outcomes. In-depth interviewing is a popular and versatile data collection method used in qualitative inquiry. Qualitative research interviews are not as simple as they may first seem and involve complex interactions that employ a range of communication and interpretation skills. Preparation for interview practice can promote rigour and help avoid pitfalls, such as premature interpretation of research data, inadequate depth of questioning, and the identification of researcher presuppositions that may influence data collection and analysis. In this research column, an overview of qualitative interviewing is presented followed by a brief outline of practice techniques to improve the execution and outcomes of this valuable data collection method.