Event Details
Event Title Introduction to Qualitative Interviewing (online)
Location Online via Zoom
Sponsor H.W. Odum Institute
Date/Time 01/28/2027 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Event Price
Cutoff Date 01/26/2027 Must register before this date
For more information, contact the event administrator: Jill Stevens jill_stevens@unc.edu
Event Presenters
Name Title  
Stephanie Anne Shelton, PhD Assoc Professor, Director of Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Studies
 
While there are ranges of ways to conduct research, interviewing is the most common form of data collection in qualitative research, with over half of qualitative studies relying on interview-based data. Interviews are valuable because they afford researchers opportunities to learn how people understand, interpret, and make meaning of their experiences through direct engagement. This introductory course provides practical skills for both designing and conducting semi-structured qualitative interviews (along with a brief overview of structured and unstructured interviewing). Using course participants’ research interests, we will develop interview protocols, practice conducting effective interviews—with emphasis on active listening and asking productive follow-up questions. Participants will learn to formulate open-ended questions, organize interview questions around a research question, and use interview probes to invite elaboration, clarification, and reflection. Through examples, discussion, and hands-on activities, we will consider how interviewing is a relational and interpretive process that also requires that researchers reflect on how their own perspectives shape assumptions and decision-making. This course is designed for beginning qualitative researchers and will offer practical opportunities and experiences to plan and conduct semi-structured interviews for qualitative research.