Do Your Interviews

Helen Kara is a leading independent researcher, author, teacher and speaker specialising in research methods, particularly creative methods, and research ethics. With over twenty years’ experience as an independent researcher Helen now teaches doctoral students and staff at higher education institutions worldwide. She is a prolific academic author with over 25 titles; notably Creative Research Methods: A Practical Guide and Research and Evaluation for Busy Students and Practitioners, both in their second editions. Besides her regular blogs and videos, she also writes comics and fiction. Helen is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. In 2021, at the age of 56, she was diagnosed autistic. Her neurodiversity explains her lifelong fascination with, and ability to focus on, words, language and writing.

• 1. How do I know I should use interviews in my research project?2. How do I find people to interview?3. How do I get people to agree to be interviewed?4. What kind of questions will give me the most detailed data?5. What practicalities do I need to plan?6. How should I behave during the interview?7. What should I do after the interview?

From a review of both Write A Questionnaire and Do Your Interviews"Beautifully written, and chock-full of key information, dealt with in a jargon-free but never condescending way. They initiate a mature understanding of both the practical issues and the human factors at play in both questionnaires and interviewing[..}I would therefore recommend these to undergraduate students and, given the welcoming layout and the clear use of language, I would also recommend them to non-native English speakers learning research skills in English."