Realist Interviewing
Tuesday 10th November 2026
Tuesday 17th November 2026
Tuesday 24th November 2026
Tuesday 1st December 2026
9.30am – 12.30pm (UK time)
Cost:
Standard: £430.00
Enhanced £550.00 (inclusive of an additional 1:1 session)
Spaces available 12
About the course
Realist interviewing is a distinctive approach to data collection in which interviews are used not simply to gather accounts, but to develop, test, and refine explanatory theory. The interviewee is treated as a theory-holder: someone whose knowledge of what works, for whom, and why is epistemically valuable and analytically generative.
This four-week course is designed for researchers who are using, or planning to use, interviews within a realist evaluation or synthesis.
The emphasis throughout is on doing realist interviewing using your own project and material, rather than learning the approach in the abstract. Alongside core methodological principles,
I will share practical approaches and worked examples drawn from my own realist research, and support participants to develop an interviewing approach that makes sense for their own project, context, and research questions.
Who is this course suitable for?
This course is suitable for researchers who are planning or conducting interviews as part of a realist evaluation or synthesis, including those new to realist interviewing and those with some experience who would like to develop greater confidence and rigour in their approach.
Some prior familiarity with realist concepts, particularly Context–Mechanism–Outcome configurations, will be helpful. Core CMO concepts will be revisited throughout the course, but participants will benefit most if they have at least a basic understanding of realist logic — for example, from prior experience with realist methods or from completing an introductory realist synthesis course.
The course is particularly well suited to:
• PhD students and early career researchers conducting realist evaluations
• Postdoctoral or applied researchers using interviews to develop or test programme theory
• Clinicians or policy researchers planning interview-based realist studies
• Researchers who have conducted realist reviews and are now moving into realist evaluation
Due to the applied nature of the course, it is less suited to those seeking a high-level overview of realist methods without applying them to an active project.
When
30th September, 7th, 14th, and 21st October 2026
9.30am–12.30pm (UK time, BST)
Across the four sessions, we will work through:
– the principles of realist interviewing and the teacher-learner cycle
– designing interview questions to probe mechanisms and context
– conducting and iteratively refining realist interviews
– analysing interview data using retroductive reasoning to build CMO configurations
– consolidating interview findings and integrating them with programme theory
Throughout the course, we will attend explicitly to the practical and methodological challenges of realist interviewing — including how to design questions that generate theory-relevant responses, how to probe effectively without leading, and how to move from raw interview data to defensible explanatory claims.
Each session combines focused teaching with group discussion, practical exercises, and time for working with your own material. There will be preparation and light homework between sessions to support cumulative learning and enable participants to make real progress on their own projects.
Participants will have access to time-limited recordings of the teaching components to support reflection between sessions, revisit key concepts, and ensure accessibility for those balancing research alongside other commitments. Live sessions will remain interactive and discussion-focused.
Individual support
A key component of the course is the level of individual methodological support provided. Each participant will receive:
• one 45-minute 1:1 session during the course, and
• a second 45-minute 1:1 session up to three months later, to consolidate learning and address questions as your project progresses.
These sessions are designed to provide focused, tailored support. Taken alone, these 1:1 sessions would typically cost over £200, and they are built into the course to ensure participants are able to work through real methodological and analytic dilemmas with confidence.
The 1:1 sessions are flexible. Participants are welcome to bring any methodological or analytic challenges they are facing, these sessions are not limited solely to realist synthesis and can be used to explore wider research questions or decision points.
Registration and payment
Payment Options:
£430 — 4-week course participation, two 45-minute 1:1 sessions as detailed above
Special Course Offer
£550 — 4-week course participation, two 45-minute 1:1 sessions as detailed above, plus one additional 1:1 session of 1 hour at a reduced rate (standard price £175), redeemable up to five months after the course ends (by March 2027)
Registration is via Jotform, with payment processed through Stripe. Places are not confirmed until payment has been received.
If you require institutional approval before completing payment, please contact me in advance so that I can temporarily hold your place while approval is sought. Places can usually be protected for a short period of a few days whilst approval and payment is organised.
This course draws directly on my experience of conducting realist interviews and supporting others to develop their practice in applied research settings. The focus is on developing methodological judgement — understanding how to design and conduct interviews that generate genuinely theory-relevant data, how to analyse that data rigorously, and how to integrate interview findings with wider realist explanatory accounts.
Let’s work together on your next project
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus
nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.