*New course running in Methods School 2025!

Understanding human experiences and social phenomena requires more than just observation—it demands meaningful engagement with people’s voices, perspectives, and interactions. This course introduces two cornerstone methods of qualitative research: interviews and focus groups. These tools allow researchers to uncover deep insights into individual beliefs, cultural norms, and group dynamics, making them essential for anyone seeking to explore the complexities of human behavior. Through a blend of theory, practical exercises, and ethical reflection, this course will empower you to design and conduct interviews and focus groups, equipping you with the skills needed to gather rich data in diverse contexts.

 

Dates

This one-week, 17.5-hour course runs Monday-Friday, 7 - 11 July, 2025. The course is scheduled for 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm.

 

Classroom Location

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

 

Instructor

Elvin Xing Yifu, National University of Singapore

 

Detailed Description

In the realm of qualitative research, interviews and focus groups serve as important tools for understanding human experiences, perspectives, and social dynamics. This course offers an exploration of these methodologies, equipping students with the skills to design and conduct in-depth interviews and group discussions.

Interviews provide opportunities to delve deeply into individual stories, motivations, and beliefs, allowing researchers to capture nuanced insights that might otherwise remain hidden. Focus groups, on the other hand, harness the power of collective dialogue and group interaction, enabling participants to interact, challenge, and build upon each other’s ideas, revealing shared meanings and divergent viewpoints within a cultural or social context.

Through this course, students will learn how to craft interview guides and facilitate engaging focus group sessions while considering ethical dimensions such as informed consent, confidentiality, and researcher reflexivity. We will also explore practices for active listening, probing techniques, and creating safe spaces where participants feel empowered to share their thoughts openly.

The course combines theoretical foundations with hands-on practice, including exercises in designing interview and discussion guides, interview skills, and moderating discussions. Students will engage with case studies to understand how interviews and focus groups can be adapted to different research goals and settings.

By the end of the course, students will not only have developed practical skills in conducting interviews and focus groups but will also be able to critically reflect on the strengths, limitations, and ethical considerations inherent in these methods. Whether preparing for academic research, community engagement, or research projects, participants will leave equipped to gather rich, meaningful data that sheds light on the complexities of human experience.

 

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course. However, it will be beneficial if participants come with a broad research topic or question in mind.

 

Requirements

Participants are expected to have access to an internet-connected computer.

 

Core Readings

Rubin, Herbert J., and Irene Rubin. Qualitative Interviewing: the Art of Hearing Data. 2nd ed. London;Los Angeles, [Calif.];: SAGE, 2004.

Krueger, Richard A., and Mary A. Casey. Focus Groups: a Practical Guide for Applied Research. 4th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2009.

 

Suggested Readings

Brinkmann, Svend. 2023. "Conducting and Analyzing Qualitative Interviews." In Qualitative Interviewing: Conversational Knowledge Through Research Interviews, 2nd ed. New York: Oxford Academic. Online edition, October 20, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197648186.003.0003.

Rubin, Herbert J., and Irene Rubin. Qualitative Interviewing: the Art of Hearing Data. 2nd ed. London;Los Angeles, [Calif.];: SAGE, 2004.

Morgan, David L. "Focus Groups and Social Interaction." In The SAGE Handbook of Interview Research: The Complexity of the Craft, 2nd ed. edited by Gubrium, Jaber F., James A. Holstein, and Amir B. Marvasti, 161-76. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2012. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452218403.

Kamberelis, G., & Dimitriadis, G. (2013). Focus Groups: From structured interviews to collective conversations (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi-org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.4324/9780203590447