Research Setup
Learn how to prepare a qualitative research project, generate interview guides and create an initial codebook structure.
Research Setup helps you prepare the structure of a qualitative research project. You can define your research objectives and questions, generate interview guides and create an initial set of categories for your codebook.
What this section is about
Qualitative interviews require questions that are connected to your research objectives. Research Setup helps you turn your research context and research questions into structured interview guides for participants and experts.
When you should use Research Setup
- When you are planning qualitative interviews
- When you need interview questions for participants
- When you need a separate guide for expert interviews
- When you want an initial structure for your codebook
- When you want to connect interview questions to your research questions
How it works
Open Research Setup
Go to Qualitative Research and open Research Setup.
Add your research context
Enter the working title, discipline, degree information, research objectives and research questions for your project.
Import existing topic information if available
If you previously worked with Topic Explorer, you can use available project information as a starting point instead of entering everything again.
Generate the Research Setup
Start the generation once the research information has been reviewed.
Review the interview guides
Check the generated participant and expert interview questions, including any follow-up questions or probes.
Review the initial codebook categories
Check whether the suggested categories fit your research questions and methodological approach.
Add categories to your codebook
If the suggested structure is useful, adopt the relevant categories as a starting point for your codebook.
Generated output
- Research context summary
- Structured research questions
- Participant interview guide
- Expert interview guide
- Follow-up questions or probes
- Initial codebook categories
Important notes
Generated interview questions are suggestions and should be adapted to your research context. Review the wording, order and relevance of each question before conducting interviews. Pilot testing the interview guide can help identify unclear or unnecessary questions.
Related sections
- Building a Codebook
- Importing Interviews