Designing semi-structured interview guides for interpretative phenomenological analysis and reflexive thematic analysis: a practical guide

Abstract

Semi-structured interviews are the most common data generation strategy for many qualitative research approaches. While there is copious advice about the “what” of interview questions (types, phrasing, good practice) and conceptual and theoretical aspects, there is little guidance through the practical process of creating them (“how to”). There is a particular gap for guidance tailored to specific approaches such as interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and reflexive thematic analysis (reflexive TA). This gap is also pronounced relative to the attention devoted to analytic processes and leaves novice researchers inadequately supported in generating appropriate data. This article offers a step-by-step process, particularly for first-time undergraduate or postgraduate researchers, to develop an interview guide from a research question. The guidance focuses on IPA and reflexive TA as popular, commonly taught approaches, to enhance teaching resources and provide practical resources for students. This guidance, developed from the authors’ experience as instructors, research supervisors, and researchers, contributes to improving research teaching and practice by providing methodological guidance for research methods courses and independent student research projects. An example is developed throughout as an illustration.