Qualitative Interviews

Qualitative interviews are interviews during which the researchers allow the interviewees a great deal of freedom when describing and explaining their experiences and perceptions. They can take the form of narrative interviews, discursive and dialogic interviews, or expert interviews, for example. The subjective perspectives of researchers and interviewees are taken into consideration to a greater extent than during standardized interviews, and the methods can be more strongly adapted to suit the interviewee.

In the WISO Survey Lab you can carry out semi-standardized and non-standardized telephone interviews that can be completely recorded and transcribed by our staff. The WISO Research Lab team would be happy to help you prepare and carry out qualitative studies. We can provide you with technical assistance, help you select the population and design the surveys. For further information, contact the laboratory head at olaf.bock"AT"uni-hamburg.de.

Supply of technical equipment

To analyze the transcribed texts, students at Universität Hamburg can apply for a 3-month license for the text analysis software MAXQDA from the Regional Computing Center at Universität Hamburg.

The Regional Computing Center’s Media Competence Center hires out camcorders, audio devices, and similar equipment to members of Universität Hamburg to record personal interviews. Please contact the Regional Computing Center’s media service(rrz.medienservice"AT"uni-hamburg.de).

In the Project Office for Applied Social Research you can also borrow Olympus dictation machines (a security deposit is required) to record personal interviews. Please contact the Project Office(projektbuero.wiso"AT"uni-hamburg.de).