Ravalier PhD Theis.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

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previously unreported potential interventions - this would be difficult to do with completely structured interviewing.
(Brtek & Motowidlo, 2002).
Discussion Box 13: How Semi-Structured Interviews Fit the AI Methodology
Semi-structured interviews fit the AI methodology excellently, and have been used in various
pieces of anecdotal AI-based research. They allow individuals to put forward their own take
on reality, with this process also continuing to help the seeds of enthusiasm directed at
change to grow.
Interviewing also played a part in the first three of the five AI cycle steps. Step 1, discovery,
is where the exceptional areas of working and the areas which work best are revealed. This
was done in the interview stage by asking participants to elaborate and comment on positive
results from the previous two stages (survey results and logs). Step 2, dream, allowed
participants to imagine the changes that they believe can make a positive impact in the
working environment. Finally step 3, design, is where the changes that were envisioned
previously are turned into a reality, with participants bringing together their knowledge of the
2e) Focus Groups
Focus groups have been in use for a number of decades, and are thought to first have been used in the
1930s. They came about because researchers of the time were uneasy with the influence of the interviewer in
individual interview sessions, as well as the limitations inherent in traditional questionnaire methodologies (Kruger,
1988). Therefore social scientists developed methods to lessen the impact that researchers could have in the