Interview Guide and Focus Group Script Design

Your data are only as good as the questions you ask. We take your research aims and convert them into data collection instruments that will elicit the rich and candid responses you need, whether your data are collected in an online questionnaire, a one-on-one interview or a focus group. Our proven approaches to interview design will operationalize your research questions to provide you with the rich, nuanced data you need.

Cognitive Interviewing and Pilot Testing

Cognitive interviews are essential to fielding successful questionnaires, surveys, and structured interviews. Good cognitive interviewing allows researchers to understand how respondents understand interview questions and to revise question wording accordingly. Pilot-testing is equally crucial to the designing semi-structured interview guides so that they work the way you want them to in the field.

One-on-One Interviews

In-depth interviews with patients, clinicians, and other stakeholders are the foundation of all significant, valid, and reliable qualitative health research. Our trained research team is experienced at interviewing a wide range of participants, from highly-skilled medical specialists to patients and consumers from diverse demographic groups. Whether interviews take place online, on the phone, or in person, our interview participants feel encouraged to share their stories and insights.

Focus Groups

Our team includes skilled facilitators trained by the top experts in the field. We have experience in facilitating focus groups both virtually and in-person, locally and anywhere your study participants want to meet.

Stakeholder Engagement

Our seasoned facilitators can help you to identify and recruit your stakeholders, create an engagement plan, identify training needs among stakeholders, and convene groups and provide you with their best advice. 

Participant Recruitment and Study Coordination

Robust qualitative research depends on recruiting diverse participants, ensuring their rights are understood and protected, and tracking their involvement in a study accurately over time. Our study coordinators bring expertise in conducting nationwide outreach to recruit and consent participants from across the healthcare spectrum. We treat every respondent with consideration and make sure every aspect of their participation in your study is documented precisely.

Interview Oversight and Data Quality Monitoring

Your research results are only as good as the data you collect. The beauty of qualitative data collection is also its greatest risk. Qualitative research allows for great flexibility in the data collection process – interviewers and group facilitators can steer conversations where the data takes them. However, how can you be sure that the data collector is following the right question pathway? How can you obtain consistency across interviewers? QHRC provides on-going data collection supervision to ensure high quality data. We review and critique interview and focus group transcripts to build consistency and reliability across your research team.

Training in Data Collection Methods

Whether they are meeting their first study participant or their hundredth, our experts will train your team’s data collection skills with hands-on activities.