Discuss+considerations+involved+before,+during+and+after+an+interview+(for+example,+sampling+method,data+recording,+traditional+versus+postmodern+transcription,+debriefing).

Interviews have been used to collect data in order to support theories or gather new knowledge, and know it is one of the most common ways to gather qualitative data. According to Hayes (2000) interviewing is a social situation therefore the interviewer needs training. Now, for an interview there are certain factors that should be taken into consideration

Before the interview:

sampling procedures generally used: purposive (targets a a particular group of people), convenience (those that are available at the time) and snowball sampling(helps save time and energy choosing participants).
 * relevant sampling methods should be considered, mostly because small samples are usually used. Normally, either probability (related to statistical prob and representativeness) or non-probability sampling. the first one tends to be have a rigorous approach.
 * informed consent: the participants need to agree and be informed on their participation in the interview, as it is their right to know.
 * protecting participants from harm: even in an interview, participants should leave the interview in the same conditions as the ones they entered.
 * Training of interviewer: he should act professionally, so that the interviewer effect (related to his gender, age, or ethnicity) affect, he should as well have people skills so that he can establish a good relationship with the person being interviewed.
 * Choose the most appropriate type of interviewed thats going to be used:structured (? schedule exactly as they should be asked) unstructured (only specifies the topic) semi-structured (more like an informal conversation)
 * Choice interviews:people respond differently depending on the gender of the interviewer
 * Interview guide: even when the interview is not necessarily structured, the researcher should have a basic guide of whats being looked for.
 * Choose ?: descriptive:general account of something, structural: identify meanings to make sense of the world, contrast (compare events or things), evaluative: ask about feelings.
 * Transcription of data: verbatim (word to word) postmodern transcripts (include even no verbal factors, such as laughter, false alarms etc)

During the interview:


 * Observation: many times, it is not only important what the interviewed says, but how he said it and how he acts during the interview, reason why the interviewer should pay attention at what he hears and sees (non-verbal signs).
 * Research bias: Researcher not paying enough attention to the participants so that its own beliefs determine research process.
 * Participant expectations: participants ideas of the research and the researcher which could affect trustworthiness of data.
 * Rapport: trusting and open relationship, so answers are less bias
 * Widrawal from study: The participant has the right to widrawal from the study, as well as its information at any point of the interview, even when it is finished.
 * As well as before the interview, the researcher should take into consideration the cultural boundaries, as a person might not be able to participate in the same way, or provide the same info as participants from other cultures or beliefs

After the interview:


 * Reflexivity: assumption that its important the researcher is aware of his own contributions to the construction of meaning in the research process.
 * Anonymity and confidentiality: participants have the right to give information knowing that it is confidential, just their information (without relating it to the participant) is going to be used.
 * Reading and rereading the transcript in order to become familiar with the participants account
 * Structuring emergent themes: list all the emerging themes and see if they relate to each other in order to get to a more reliable conclusion about the participant.
 * Finally the data saturation: the point in which the researcher finds no new information about the participant`s interview.

As it can be seen, all these considerations should be considered when applying an interview, so that it is as reliable, valid and effective as possible, moreover, some of the considerations could prevent further problems when the results are published or used further on.