Qualitative interview techniques

Methodology courses and philosophy of science

Introduction

Key terms: qualitative research, interviewing skills, semi-structured in-depth interviews, introductory course, relevant for students in any PhD phase.

How can you design and conduct qualitative interviews that will generate valuable research insights? This course is designed to show you exactly how.

The course focuses on developing practical skills, but also pays attention to theoretical grounding of interviewing as a methodology.  Across three sessions, you will learn how to prepare for and conduct interviews, and how to integrate them into your research design. The course is highly practical, ensuring you will feel comfortable and confident to deal with sensitive or challenging interviews.  

Through a mix of readings, videos, and exercises, we move from theory to application, while focusing on your own research. By the end of the course, you will have developed both deeper methodological understanding and practical interviewing skills which you can immediately apply in your own academic work.

Please note that the course focuses on the practice of interviewing itself. It does not cover broader qualitative data analysis techniques, such as coding or software training. 

Course information

ECTS: 2
Number of sessions: 3
Hours per session: 3

Practical information

Start date
Wednesday 12 Nov 2025
Price
Free and paid
Micro Credential
No
Teaching mode
In-person

Who is this for?

This course is relevant for PhD students from any research discipline who do qualitative research and like to learn about doing qualitative interviews.

No specific skills or prior experience with qualitative interviewing are required for attending the course.
 

What will you achieve?

  • After this course you will understand the theoretical foundations of qualitative interviewing and how to position this method within your research design.
  • After this course you will be able to design and structure an in-depth interview with the help of a topic list.
  • After this course you will be able to formulate and ask suitable open-ended questions to yield meaningful responses.
  • After this course you will be able to probe and ask further questions based on the answers of research participants.
  • After this course you will have a foundation to manage sensitive topics, or difficult or unexpected situations that happen during an interview.
  • After this course you will be able to critically reflect on your own interviewing style and apply strategies to improve your skills for future research.

Relations with other courses

This course has no overlap with other EGSH offerings, but it does complement our courses about qualitative methodology and research design (such as the course Building your research proposal) by explaining with further detail how qualitative interviews can be designed and executed.

Sessions and preparations

Session 1: Introducing qualitative interviewing
•    Theoretical foundations of qualitative interviewing
•    Scientific approaches to interviewing
•    Is interviewing the right method for me?
•    How to integrate the method into your own research design

Session 2: Open interviewing as practice
•    Preparing and structuring in-depth interviews
•    Designing a topic list
•    Practicing verbal and non-verbal interviewing skills

Session 3: Dealing with and reflecting on sensitive topics and difficult situations
•    Conducting interviews on sensitive topics;
•    Managing unexpected or uncomfortable situations;
•    Developing strategies for ethically and effectively handling challenges.
 

Start date

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Edition 1
Session 1: November 12 (Wednesday) 2025 | 10.00-13.00 hrs | Offline (Theil building, room C2-4)

Session 2: November 19 (Wednesday) 2025 | 10.00-13.00 hrs | Offline (Theil building, room C2-4)

Session 3: November 26 (Wednesday) 2025 | 10.00-13.00 hrs | Offline (Theil building, room C2-4)

Instructor

  • Portait of Simone Driessen
    Dr. Simone Driessen is an assistant professor in Media and Popular Culture in the Arts and Culture Department at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She specialises in popular culture and media studies, with a focus on fandom, audience engagement, and digital science communication. In addition to her work on media and fandom, she contributes to EU-funded projects projects IANUS and COALESCE, with a particular focus on digital and popular formats of public engagement.
    Email address

Contact

Facts & Figures

Start date
Wednesday 12 Nov 2025
Price
  • free for PhD candidates of the Graduate School
  • €575,- for non-members
  • consult our enrolment policy for more information
Tax
Not applicable
Micro Credential
No
Instruction language
English
Teaching mode
In-person

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