Preparation, Development, and Refinement of the Interview Protocol in Qualitative Research

Authors

David C. Coker, West Liberty University, West Virginia, USAFollow
Adebowale Akande, IR Global, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaFollow

Abstract

Interview protocols are by far the most common method utilized in qualitative research data collection. Novice and experienced researchers, from working on dissertations to grant proposals or other publications, often lack detailed interview design methods, as many educational programs do not require specific coursework on interview protocols and question development. To improve qualitative research, we make a proposal to incorporate an interdisciplinary approach that operationalizes three stages: preparation, development, and refinement. Preparation involves mapping the extant literature to define broad, narrow, and focused topics to write actionable standards, goals, and objectives. Development uses instructional design and educational psychology to construct questions/prompts, with an examination of survey research principles, data acquisition, and anti-biasing techniques. Refinement uses a multistep evaluative piloting model, reviewing conditions operationalized through the interviewer, the interviewee, and the space between. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is explained through each stage, including the roles of thinker, collaborator, and partner. Using these guidelines can improve rigor, reliability and validity, and the thoroughness of data and results.

Keywords

qualitative research, interviewing, methodology, researcher bias, validity and reliability, artificial intelligence, doctoral research

Author Bio(s)

David C. Coker, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor and Doctoral Methodologist at West Liberty University. He teaches and coaches doctoral students in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. He has collaborated and published with researchers across the USA and over 20 countries. As a clinician and researcher, he has participated in thousands of interviews and coached students nationally and internationally.

Adebowale Akande, Ph.D., is an international social theorist and an emerging towering figure in global politics, management, and social science. As a researcher on SCOPUS. One of the world’s top contributors and very productive transcultural scientist-practitioners- researchers and editor of numerous best-selling international books and hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles/chapters/technical papers. Akande was a lead researcher on the GLOBE research projects and Cross-Cultural Family. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010, he is an international director and professor of IR GLOBE in Vancouver.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Kien Nguyen-Trac for his thoughtful commentary and editorial assistance.

Publication Date

8-31-2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7964

Recommended APA Citation

Coker, D. C., & Akande, A. (2025). Preparation, development, and refinement of the interview protocol in qualitative research. The Qualitative Report, 30(8), 4205-4235. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7964

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9138-2125