Questionnaires, individual interviews and focus groups

This chapter considers three types of very popular data collection techniques: questionnaires, individual interviews, and focus group interviews. Beginning with questionnaires, the discussion focusses on their uses, advantages, disadvantages, as well as their design. The section on individual interviews covers structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews; the uses of each type; their advantages and disadvantages; and the roles of the interviewer. An example of questions and prompts, used in a semi-structured interview, completes the discussion. The section on focus groups covers similar territory â€Â' of uses, advantages and disadvantages â€Â' and concludes with examples of how focus groups have been used in research projects: the first emphasising the process of setting up and management of focus groups; the second an example of questions and prompts.