How do you stop students from lying in research interviews?

Working back through my notes from last week's Australian International Education Conference (AIEC), I found a bunch of questions people asked about research in the data masterclass, panel session and just in conversation. I love the discussions that arise from questions like these (and thank you for being curious!). Here's one example, with more to come over the next few days...

Q: "How do you stop students from lying in research interviews?"

This is actually the first time I've been asked this, but it highlights a really important aspect of research: how do we design the right kinds of questions and create the right conditions for students and other interviewees to tell us about themselves in meaningful ways (not just what they think we want to hear)?

Ask better questions, design better conversations

Whilst there may be occasional participants who deliberately or consciously don't tell the truth in interviews, the bigger challenge is making sure we ask questions that participants can actually answer. This means that we DO:

• Ask them about their routines, daily lives, who they spend time with, where they go, and what they do;

• Ask them to talk about things they've done in the past, with the help of visuals like timelines and simple diagrams so they can show us and we can check understanding.

It also means we DON'T:

• Constantly badger them about why they did or do something (they may not always be aware, or be able to articulate it);

• Ask them what they think they will do in future (e.g. use a service, buy a product);

• Ask them to recall very specific details about past behaviour (and assume it's accurate).

So it's not so much about preventing lying, but more about creating an inclusive, welcoming and thoughtfully planned discussion where students feel they can talk freely about themselves and we can learn from what they share. Start with this premise, and you'll build some solid insights that actually reflect what's going on in your students' lives.

Next FAQ: "How can a small sample size help us understand a broader population?"