Conducting qualitative interviews: an introduction

Do you want to find out what people think about an issue, or what their experiences are? Qualitative interviews are used to find out people’s views and experiences on a range of different topics. In this course, we will discuss what a researcher needs to consider before interviewing people, how to prepare and conduct a qualitative interview, and what researchers need to do after the interview.

Whether you need to conduct research as part of your job, in a volunteer role, or as part of your studies, this free course Conducting qualitative interviews: an introduction is designed to help you design, carry out and record qualitative interviews. It has been developed from a cutting-edge research project in which volunteer researchers from diverse backgrounds were trained as peer researchers, interviewing their friends and family members.

The course has been developed from the findings of Reproductive Bodylore: The Role of Vernacular Knowledge in Women’s Contraceptive Decision-Making, funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Grant (AH/S011587/1) and led by a research team from The Open University (OU) and undertaken in partnership with Public Health England and The Folklore Society. Our thanks to all the volunteer researchers and participants in the Reproductive Bodylore project.