Appendix 2: Guidelines for Research Assistants

The Interviews

• This is a very sensitive issue which can cause people to become defensive and embarrassed. It is therefore imperative that you are aware of this and act appropriately.
• We anticipate that each interview will last for an hour.
• You should be prepared to allow it to continue after an hour has elapsed if you have not asked all the relevant questions or if the participant is still offering appropriate information.
• Semi-structured interviews are conducted with a fairly open framework which allow for focused, conversational, two-way communication. They can be used both to give and receive information.
• Unlike the questionnaire framework, where detailed questions are formulating ahead of time, semi-structured interviewing starts with more general questions or topics.
• Not all questions are designed and phrased ahead of time. Some questions are created during the interview, allowing both the interviewer and the person being interviewed the flexibility to probe for details or discuss issues.

Confidentiality

• At the start of each interview the participant should be told that all replies will be kept confidential.
• You should ask if he/she has any questions and obtain verbal consent for us to record and use the interview responses for research purposes before the interview begins.
• This conversation should be recorded on the audiotape.
• We will use ID numbers instead of names to identify each interview. (They will be coded according to the Province and the number of interviews completed, e.g. SK 1, SK2.)
• All records of the person’s name and corresponding interview code will be destroyed once the research project is concluded.

Interviewing Technique

Semi-structured interviewing is guided only in the sense that some form of interview schedule, in this case a list of questions, is prepared beforehand, and provides a framework for the interview. Please use the questions as written. You will need to review them and think about possible probes and prompts which could follow from answers that might be given.

In designing these questions we aim to:

• Avoid jargon.
• Think of the language of the respondent and frame the questions in a way they will feel familiar and comfortable with.
• Try to use open not closed questions.
  (Closed questions encourage Yes/No answers rather than getting the respondent to open up about his or her thoughts and feelings).
  e.g. Closed - Should the president resign? Open - What do you think the president should do now?
• A strategy often employed in this type of interviewing is to try to encourage the person to speak about the topic with as little prompting from the interviewer as possible. One might say that you are attempting to get as close as possible to what your respondent thinks about the topic, without being led too much by your questions. Good interview technique therefore often involves a gentle nudge from the interviewer rather than being too explicit.