Data Collection Methods: Semi-Structured Interviews and Focus Groups
Abstract
Provides an annotated version of a short course on qualitative research methods. The course includes an overview of semi-structured interviews and focus groups, two techniques that are commonly used in policy research and applicable to many research questions.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Semi-structured interviews allow the authors to have guidance and flexibility, by asking a set of fixed questions to then create a conversational channel of information-gathering, allowing space for spontaneous responses that add depth and in some instances unforeseen narratives.
“This methodology allows the authors to have guidance and flexibility, by asking a set of fixed questions to then, create a conversational channel of information-gathering, allowing space for spontaneous responses that add depth and in some instances unforeseen narratives to the research”
From Understanding the socio-technical nexus of Nordic electric vehicle (EV) barriers: A qualitative discussion of range, price, charging and knowledge (2020) · cites this paper as Harrell and Bradley, 2009
Cites
Handbook of Qualitative Research
Crozier, G., Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (1994) · British Journal of Educational Studies · doi:10.2307/3121684 · Cited by 26,636 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Noel, L., Zarazua de Rubens, G., Kester, J., & Sovacool, B. K. (2020) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111292 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
- Authors
- Harrell, M. C., & Bradley, M. A.
- ORCID
- Melissa A. Bradley
- Venue
- RAND Corporation eBooks
- Publisher
- RAND Corporation
- Published
- 2009
- OpenAlex
- W141658102
- Cited by
- 524
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 68 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 5.98
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- RAND Corporation eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Keywords
- semi-structured interviews, focus groups, qualitative research, data collection methods, policy research
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
