In-Depth/Qualitative Interviews are also called Key-Informant Interviews or Executive Interviews. This method is not for deriving information that is representative of the larger population, but rather selects specific individuals believed to have highly informed perspectives on the subject of study. In this method, respondents are interviewed separately instead of in a group and most often in person.
Participants can be recruited to a central location, intercepted at a location where the appropriate respondents are likely to be found, or in some cases, interviewed over the phone. When using key informant interviews, questions are predominately open-ended rather than closed ended, and are best used for exploring issues or understanding the thinking behind attitudes, perceptions and behaviors.
As compared with focus groups, one-on-one interviews eliminate any bias that might be introduced from one respondent to another. They also allow more time for each respondent to talk since there is no competition for airtime. And, they are efficient since it is easier to keep one individual on track than it is a group of people. When conducted by an interviewer that is skilled in asking open-ended questions and able to build rapport quickly, they can provide information that is difficult to obtain by any other means.
Consider in-depth interviews as an alternative to focus groups if it’s difficult or costly to bring respondents to one place or if answers to specific questions rather than more open exploration is desired.
One-on-one interviews are often used in lieu of focus groups where it is not practical to gather people in one place. As with focus groups, they are especially effective when things must be seen or touched, etc. in order to be evaluated. Testing products and communications materials are often done with this method.
One-on-one interviews do have some limitations:
- They are highly dependent on the skill and training of the interviewer to develop the conversation and to avoid biasing the answers.
- They are time consuming and strenuous for the interviewers, so fatigue must be considered.
Executive Interviews are simply one-on-one interviews conducted with senior level respondents. This is the best way to interview senior decision-makers and important stakeholders. Since these respondents are generally very busy, it is nearly impossible to bring them together in a focus group and often they will not spend the time on a paper or telephone survey.
Visiting them on their terms and at a time that is convenient to them is often the best way to get their input. All of the advantages and disadvantages of one-on-one interviews apply. In addition, it is critical that interviewers not just be experienced and effectively trained, but they must be able to relate to senior level executives as peers. This is especially important since the interviewer will in some ways be representing the client. Since these interviewers must be senior themselves, and since they must travel to conduct the interviews, fees reflect these additional costs
Pros
Cons
Can be a relationship-building tool — respondents feel their views are important if they are skillfully interviewed.
Requires more highly skilled interviewers. Interviewers must be able to build rapport, engage in a discussion, and still ask the desired questions.
They are convenient; respondents can be interviewed at a time and place of their choosing.
Interviewing and reporting are very time-consuming so interviewing and reporting costs are relatively high per interview completed.
A skillful interviewer can probe to get incredibly in-depth and revealing information.
