Interview guide development for studying information systems processes: A Grounded Theory mode of understanding

This paper applies a reflexive lens to qualitative IS research focusing on the process of data collection trough interviews, demonstrating the importance and impact of interview guide development on the outcomes of data generation, emergence and interpretation, in the framework of a Grounded Theory-based enquiry. It accounts for the researchers' concerns in tailoring an effective interview guide for an interpretive study of e-learning appropriation by Portuguese Faculty, revealing the non-linear, iterative nature of the task, which entails reflection and revision. In the course of the study, aimed at understanding and ascertaining faculty's relevant e-learning beliefs and related university-wide processes and factors influencing attitude and individual decision-making, it became apparent how the interview guide should provide the prompts to channel and accommodate emerging themes, extractable from informants' focused responses. The rationale and approach to interview guide development are outlined and discussed alongside with examples from the research itself to assist qualitative research students and researchers by offering practitioner reflexivity on integral aspects of the interview process.