Abstract
The Use of Closing Questions in Qualitative Research: Results of a Web-Based Survey
International journal of qualitative methods, v 18, pp 35-35
22 Jan 2019
Abstract
Interviews are a mainstay for data collection in qualitative research traditions. Anecdotally, closing questions (e.g., “Is there anything else that you would like to share, that we have not talked about today?”) are often included in interview guides. The purpose of this study was to understand why qualitative researchers include closing questions during interviews and how they use these data. We recruited a snowball sample of persons known to have qualitative research experience via e-mail and asked them to complete a web-based survey. We asked participants about their professional backgrounds, use of qualitative research traditions, and experience with conducting qualitative interviews and using closing questions. Ninety-nine persons took the survey. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Most respondents were affiliated with a U.S. academic institution and about half identified with the nursing discipline. Many researchers who included a closing question did so to convey that participants were heard and gave interviewees a voice to expand on topics important to them. Closing questions also served as a means for terminating interviews and the participant–researcher relationship. Data obtained from closing questions were used to inform and clarify other data, refine interview guides, and discover new areas for inquiry. Overall, the reasons for including and using closing questions were more than for data collection and analysis purposes. Implications of these findings suggest that researchers should carefully consider a closing question when developing their interview guide as data gathered under this type of question could be informative for their study findings.
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Details
- Title
- The Use of Closing Questions in Qualitative Research: Results of a Web-Based Survey
- Creators
- Timothy Joseph Sowicz - University of North Carolina at GreensboroElliane Irani - Case Western Reserve UniversityJustine S Sefcik - University of PennsylvaniaHelen L Teng - University of Pennsylvania
- Publication Details
- International journal of qualitative methods, v 18, pp 35-35
- Conference
- Qualitative Health Research Conference, 2018 (Seoul, South Korea, 20 Jun 2018–22 Jun 2018)
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Number of pages
- 1
- Resource Type
- Abstract
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Nursing (Undergraduate); Doctoral Nursing
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000456660000103
- Other Identifier
- 991022148304204721
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary