Interviewing & Coding Interviews For De Nederlandse GezinsRaad

Index

Secondment To The Nederlandse GezinsRaad

In 2006, while working at E‑Quality, the Nederlandse GezinsRaad (Dutch Family Council) requested support for their research on families in Rotterdam. After conducting two trial interviews, one with a colleague in Amsterdam and another with a former colleague in The Hague, I was assigned to interview a wide range of families with children in the Rotterdam neighborhoods of Noord, Pendrecht and Hoogvliet.

Interviewing All Kinds Of Families In Rotterdam

The respondents were families with children in many different compositions. Sometimes I interviewed the father, sometimes the mother, and in other cases both parents together. The interviews took place in three distinct Rotterdam neighborhoods: Pendrecht, Hoogvliet and Noord.

These were qualitative interviews focused on assessing how family‑friendly Rotterdam is. Each interview consisted of four components:

• Oral questionnaire

• Sorting tasks

• Written questionnaire

• In‑depth interview

The entire interview was recorded. During the in‑depth interview, respondents could elaborate on topics raised earlier in the questionnaires or sorting tasks. As the interviewer, I could ask them to expand on answers they had given, and they could point to issues they wished to discuss further. On average, the full interview lasted about one hour and fifteen minutes. The in‑depth interview continued as long as necessary to cover all themes. My role was to encourage parents to elaborate without letting the conversation become repetitive.

Coding The Interviews Into Categories

After the interviews were completed, a team of typists transcribed each conversation literarily. Every meaningful sentence was then coded into thematic categories, an essential step for analyzing and reporting on the findings. In addition to conducting interviews myself, I was also part of the team responsible for assigning these codes to the transcribed material.

My Thoughts On Having Children

I enjoyed conducting the interviews and later coding them, but my view on having children has remained unchanged since I was ten years old. Even now, in 2026, I still do not want children, a certainty I have had since 1987, when I turned ten. The interviews took place in 2006, and they did not influence my perspective; nothing will change my mind about having children. I have no issue with others choosing to have children, as long as they do not keep pressuring me about having them. Because I don’t like to have to argue with them all the time and explain myself.

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