Qualitative Research
Open-ended personal interviews
The Survey Lab carries out all types of interview-based research, including in-person qualitative research. When fixed-choice response categories cannot capture the information of interest, we instead use interview guides that allow for open-ended input from respondents. Interviews of this sort produce text as opposed to numerical data. We can tape and transcribe interviews or take detailed hand-written notes. We can analyze textual data for you: The Lab has a site license for ATLAS.ti textbase software stations for coding and analyzing data from open-ended questionnaires and field notes. We can also consult with you on sampling and interview guides for in-person interviews you may wish to conduct yourself.
Focus groups
The Survey Lab has a focus group room with one-way glass to allow for observation. We conduct stand-alone focus group research as well as focus groups that serve as part of the survey design or evaluation process. We use focus groups to explore the range of opinions on a particular research topic and the reasoning behind people's views. This helps us to develop appropriate questions and wording for a survey questionnaire. We can also conduct post-survey focus groups to better understand or elaborate on the quantitative findings or to learn why people answered as they did. The latter serves as a reality check concerning our interpretations of survey findings.
Observations
Some data can only be gathered through observation. Survey Lab staff are trained in observational data collection, or ethnography. Studies may be based entirely on observation or may include an observational component. The data from observational studies come as text that we can analyze to detect patterns and themes.
