Fourteen newly qualified nurses and 27 senior health service personnel were interviewed, using an unstructured format, for a study exploring careers guidance. Through comparing and contrasting the two sets of interviews, important differences in the approaches required to elicit trustworthy data emerged. This paper covers strategies used to encourage participation, establish rapport, manage the interview, and keep the interview productive with members of the two groups. The implications of sampling strategies, the interview setting and gender issues are also considered.
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