Social workers in direct practice are often called upon to collect qualitative data in a couple of different ways. First, they may need to ask their clients open-ended questions as part of an intake assessment, care planning, or program evaluation. Second, social workers may need to conduct focus groups to assist with needs assessment, program planning, or agency evaluation activities. Before completing this discussion, be sure to watch the Week 8 video ‘Moderating Focus Groups’ and review the Open-Ended Questions PowerPoint presentation.

Thinking about a social work or human service setting where you have worked, develop a list of 6 – 10 open-ended questions you would like to ask in a qualitative interview. You may choose to develop your questions for either a) an individual client or b) a client or staff focus group. In addition to your interview questions, post a brief description of the hypothetical client or client/staff group that would be the focus of your interview.