3.4 Ending the interview

Interviews often draw to a close naturally, this happens because all of the questions have been asked, or all of the relevant stories have been told. On other occasions though, interviewees may have a lot they want to say, or the researcher has more questions they want to ask. An aspect of your role as an ethical researcher is to ensure the interview process isn’t over taxing to you or your interviewee. This is part of taking care of your interviewee and managing your own self-care. To do this, it is important to keep track of time, to intermittently assess the progress of the interview, and to keep it moving along steadily.

If you get near to the end of the time you had said the interview would last and you anticipate going over, you can consider either extending the interview or wrapping it up with a few final questions. This decision will be based on your assessment of how you and your interviewee are doing. It can help to ask yourself:

• Are we both/all still actively engaged?
• Do I or my interviewee appear to be tiring?
• Does the interviewee seem to be running out of steam – e.g. is the same material being repeated?
• Is the focus of interview still on track or are other, less relevant subjects being talked about?
• Is extending the interview likely to add new material not already discussed?

Mull these questions over and whether you decide to extend or draw to a close, consult with your interviewee first.

Once you have indicated that you are ending the interview, but before you stop recording, check if interviewees have anything else they want to add that they have not already spoken about. Once, they’ve finished, inform them you’re going to stop recording. Once off, reiterate to them that they are no longer being recorded. Thank the interviewee for their time and reassure them that their contribution is helpful to your study. Reiterate the ways in which their interview will be used.

It can be helpful to provide all interviewees with a debrief sheet and verbally make participants aware of the relevant organisations listed at this point. It is essential you do this if an interviewee became distressed at any point during the interview. It is also good practice to remind them that they have the option to withdraw from the study if they wish, how long they are able to do this for, and how to do this. Finally, to transition out of the interview relationship, ask them a question or two about their day, what they have planned, etc.