Numbers show whether an intervention changed learners’ scores; interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) show how and why. The Department of Education’s (DepEd) Action Research Toolkit names qualitative design as one of the two designs for action research that tests an intervention (section 3.2), and devotes a full section to interviews and focus groups (section 4.3). Below, that section is put into practice: how to write interview and FGD guide questions, how to probe, how to run the session, and sample guides for a reading intervention that you can adapt.
It is written for teachers planning qualitative or mixed-methods action research, and for school heads and research committees who review interview guides.
Key points
- Interviews give depth, not breadth. The toolkit describes them as “useful for obtaining the ‘story’ behind an interviewee’s experiences”, from “a limited number of people”.
- Choose the structure to fit the question. Structured interviews make answers easy to compare; semi-structured ones, the most common in action research, allow follow-up probes; unstructured ones are conversations.
- Ask open-ended, neutral questions, one at a time. Start with what, how and why; use “why” with care, because it presumes a cause and can make people defensive.
- Sequence from easy to sensitive. Facts and the present first, then feelings and opinions, the past and the future; end with a chance to add anything.
- Probe without leading. The toolkit lists six kinds of probe, from simply repeating the question to staying silent.
- Protect the participants. Informed consent from parents and assent from learners, permission to record, confidentiality, and a plan if a learner discloses harm.
When to use interviews and FGDs
The toolkit suggests interviews for questions such as:
- What are the effects of the innovation on students?
- How did the students respond to the treatment implemented in the classroom?
- What are the reasons why students do not submit assignments?
- What class activities do students enjoy, and which do they not?
The first two belong to an action research that tests an intervention; the last two to the earlier stage of assessing the situation. In a mixed-methods study, interviews often follow a test or questionnaire, to explain its results.
Individual interview or FGD? An individual interview suits personal or sensitive topics and learners who may not speak up in a group. An FGD, with about six to ten participants, suits shared experiences and is quicker, but the group can sway what each person says, and it is a poor setting for anything private.
Types of interviews
The toolkit classifies interviews three ways:
| By | Type | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Structured | The same questions in the same order for everyone, with no follow-up; answers are easy to compare |
| Semi-structured | A set of key questions, asked in a flexible order, with probes and follow-up questions | |
| Unstructured | One opening question; the rest follow from the answers, like a conversation | |
| Number of interviewees | Individual | One person at a time |
| Focus group discussion | Several people at once, guided by a facilitator | |
| Mode | Face-to-face | In person |
| Distant | By phone or online, when meeting is not possible |
Most action research uses semi-structured interviews: enough structure to compare answers across learners, enough freedom to follow up.
Writing the questions
Open-ended, not closed-ended
Open-ended questions, starting with “what”, “how” or “why”, “give interviewees the freedom to use their own words”. Closed-ended questions, answerable by yes or no, are “recommended only as preliminary questions before open-ended ones are asked”.
Six kinds of content
The toolkit lists what interview questions can ask about, in the past, present or future:
- Background or demographics: age, grade, siblings, where the learner lives.
- Behaviors: what the person has done, is doing or will do.
- Opinions or values: what the person thinks about a topic.
- Feelings: emotions. If the answer starts “I think…”, clarify that you are asking about feelings.
- Knowledge: facts the person knows.
- Sensory: what the person has seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled.
Wording
| Rule | Weak question | Better question |
|---|---|---|
| Open-ended | Did you like the reading activity? | What did you like about the reading activity? |
| Neutral, not leading | Don’t you agree that the new routine was easier? | How was the new routine for you compared with before? |
| One question at a time | What did you read and who helped you and was it hard? | What did you read this week? (then) Who helped you? |
| Clear, in the respondent’s words | How did the intervention affect your phonemic awareness? | What happens when you see a word you don’t know? |
| Careful with “why” | Why didn’t you practice at home? | What makes it easier or harder to practice at home? |
Ask young learners in their home language. The toolkit’s own example of qualitative data is a question asked in Filipino: Ano ang nagugustuhan mo sa pagpasok sa paaralan? (What do you like about going to school?)
Sequencing
The toolkit’s advice on the order of questions:
- Get respondents involved “as soon as possible”; avoid long introductions.
- Ask about facts before sensitive topics such as feelings and conclusions, after some “warming up”.
- Spread factual questions through the interview, so it does not become a long string of them.
- Ask about the present before the past or the future.
- End by inviting respondents to add anything and to share their impressions of the interview.
Probing: getting more than the first answer
| Probe | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Basic probe | Repeats the question when the person drifts | “Let’s go back to the reading cards. What did you do with them?” |
| Explanatory probe | Asks what something means | “What did you mean by ‘mahirap’?” |
| Focused probe | Asks for a specific kind | “What sort of words were hard?” |
| Silent probe | Waits, so the person says more | (a pause of a few seconds) |
| Drawing out | Repeats the last words, or invites more | “…the cards at home? Tell me more about that.” |
| Giving ideas or suggestions | Offers a possibility to react to | “Have you tried reading with your older sibling?” |
Use the last kind sparingly: suggestions can put words in the respondent’s mouth.
Sample guides you can adapt
The guides below go with a reading intervention, such as a daily letter-sound routine for Grade 1 learners or repeated reading for Grade 3. Translate them into the learners’ home language, keep them short, and pilot them with one or two people first.
A semi-structured interview guide for learners (10 to 15 minutes)
Opening (in the learner’s language): “Hello! I am talking with some classmates about our reading time. There are no right or wrong answers. You can stop anytime. Is it okay if I write down what you say?”
- What do you usually do during our reading time? (behavior, present)
- What do you like most about the letter cards? (opinion) — probe: “Tell me more about that.”
- What is hard for you when you read a new word? (behavior) — probe: “What do you do then?”
- How do you feel when it is your turn to read aloud? (feeling)
- Who helps you read at home? What do you read together? (behavior)
- What would make reading time better for you? (opinion, future)
- Is there anything else you want to tell me about reading? (closing)
An FGD guide for parents (45 to 60 minutes)
Opening: introduce yourself and the note taker, explain the purpose, go over the ground rules, confirm consent and permission to record, and invite introductions.
- Warm-up: What does your child like to read or listen to at home?
- What have you noticed about your child’s reading since the start of the school year?
- How did you use the weekly take-home cards? What helped, and what got in the way?
- When your child reads with you, what do you usually do?
- What do you wish the school would do to help your child read at home?
- Of everything we discussed, what is most important to you?
- Closing: Is there anything we did not ask that you would like to share?
An interview guide for a teacher (20 to 30 minutes)
- Tell me about a typical reading block in your class this quarter.
- How did you carry out the routine? What did you change along the way, and why?
- What changes, if any, have you seen in your Low Emerging readers?
- Which learners did the routine seem to help most, and least? What do you think explains the difference?
- What would you keep, change or drop if you used it again next year?
Running the interview
The toolkit gives detailed steps before, during and after an interview:
Before: share the questions in advance if possible; choose a quiet place, such as a vacant classroom or a corner of the library; explain the purpose, the format and how long it will take (an hour is usually enough for adults; far less for young learners); assure confidentiality and anonymity; get informed consent; and ask permission to record, or bring a note taker.
During: take notes even when recording; ask one question at a time and pause; stay neutral (“act as if ‘you’ve heard it all before’”); encourage with nods and “uh huh”; mark transitions between topics; keep the conversation on track; and at the end, summarize the answers and let the person clarify, add or remove anything.
After: check the recording; label the notes with the interviewee’s code, the date, time and place; rewrite unclear notes the same day; and add your observations, such as whether the person seemed nervous.
Running an FGD
The toolkit’s tips for facilitators:
- Prepare the room an hour early with your assistant; test the recording equipment.
- Open by introducing yourself and the purpose, giving the informed consent form, and setting ground rules: participation is voluntary; anyone may skip a topic; there are no right or wrong answers; respect others’ opinions; stay on topic; and keep what others say private.
- Facilitate: open with a “fun, non-threatening, open-ended question”; watch for nonverbal signals; ask one open question at a time and probe unclear answers; balance participation (“Who else has something to say?”); redirect when the talk strays; and record participants’ actual words rather than paraphrasing.
- Avoid: reading the questions word for word, finishing people’s sentences, letting one or two people dominate, side conversations, taking sides, sharing your own opinions, favoring participants, and jargon.
- Close by summarizing the main points, inviting final thoughts, thanking the group and telling them how the results will be used.
Ethics for interviews with learners
- Consent and assent. Get written informed consent from parents and the learner’s own agreement, in words the child understands. A learner who says no is not interviewed.
- Confidentiality. Use codes, not names, in notes and transcripts; keep recordings and signed forms in a secure place; and quote learners anonymously.
- Sensitive topics. Under the DepEd Child Protection Policy (DO 40, s. 2012), which the Research Management Guidelines name as the reference for research with learners, a bullying incident that comes to the notice of school personnel must be reported to the school head. Tell participants before the interview that you cannot keep that kind of information secret.
- No AI with personal data. Do not paste transcripts with names into AI tools; DO 003, s. 2026 prohibits entering personal information into AI systems.
DepEd Action Research Ethics: Consent, Assent and Privacy has a sample consent letter and assent script.
From interview to analysis
Transcribe interviews word for word, on the same day if possible, so unclear notes can still be clarified. The toolkit asks that “interview and observation data have to be transcribed verbatim”. Thematic Analysis for Action Research: Steps and Sample shows how to code the transcripts and find themes.
Common mistakes
- Leading questions that suggest the answer you hope for.
- Too many questions. Six to eight main questions are enough for most guides; young learners need fewer.
- Yes-or-no questions throughout. They give short answers and little to analyze.
- Interviewing your own learners about your own teaching without thinking about how that shapes their answers. Where possible, ask a colleague to interview them.
- Relying on memory. Record, or have a note taker.
- Paraphrasing. Quote participants’ actual words in your notes.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions should an interview guide have?
For most action research, six to ten main questions for adults and fewer for young learners, each with possible probes. A semi-structured guide is a plan, not a script: follow up on what matters.
What is the difference between an interview and a focus group discussion?
An interview talks with one person at a time and suits personal or sensitive topics. A focus group discussion brings six to ten people together to discuss shared experiences; it is quicker but the group can influence what individuals say.
What are probing questions in research?
Follow-up questions or techniques that draw out more detail without suggesting an answer, such as “What did you mean by that?”, “Tell me more about that”, or simply waiting in silence. DepEd’s Action Research Toolkit lists six kinds of probe.
Can I interview my own learners for my action research?
Yes, with their parents’ consent and their own agreement, but be aware that learners may tell their teacher what they think the teacher wants to hear. A colleague can conduct the interviews, and anonymous written answers can complement them.
Should I interview learners in English?
Use the language the learners use most comfortably, usually their home language, and translate the quotes you report, keeping the original in an appendix.
More on DepEd research
- Start here: DepEd Action Research Guide: From Topic to Report
- Thematic Analysis for Action Research: Steps and Sample
- Observation in Action Research: Checklists and Field Notes
- Action Research Questions and Hypotheses, With Examples
- DepEd Action Research Ethics: Consent, Assent and Privacy
- DepEd Action Research Proposal Format, With a Sample
- Validity, Reliability and Cronbach’s Alpha in Excel
Sources
- Department of Education and the Basic Education Sector Transformation (BEST) Program. (2019). Action Research Toolkit: Teacher’s Guide, sections 3.2 (designing a qualitative action research), 4.3 (data collection through interviews) and 5.4 (qualitative data analysis), with support from the Australian Government.
- DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2012, DepEd Child Protection Policy
- DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2017, Research Management Guidelines
- DepEd Order No. 003, s. 2026, Foundational Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence in Basic Education
Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. NASH Reviewer is not affiliated with DepEd.