IDIs & focus groups
Analyze IDIs and focus groups
Turn existing in-depth interviews and focus groups into structured, searchable, source-linked research evidence. xelper supports recordings as well as prepared transcripts.
The following steps apply exclusively to IDIs & focus groups.
Workflow at a glance
1. Prepare the project
How you start depends on the service model:
Admin or Member configures the project under Project Setup. Follow Set up an IDI or focus group project for the complete process. If the guide changes during fieldwork, read Edit discussion guides and variants.
Admin or Member uploads the discussion guide and other material under Files and completes Project Briefing. xelper handles project and guide setup.
The guide then provides the structure xelper uses to organize sections and reporting topics, including studies with guide variations or rotations.
2. Add and review the source material
Under Import recordings, configure the interview language, speakers, glossary, discussion-guide variant, and any translation or sectioning settings before uploading the recordings. Resolve any requested speaker-count decision during processing. You can also pause each recording after sectioning, review the sectioned transcript, and then resume the analysis manually. Follow Import and transcribe recordings for the complete Self Service process.
Upload the recording files under Files. xelper handles transcription, review, and assignment to guide variants or rotations. Make the intended assignment identifiable through descriptive filenames or an additional document that lists the applicable variant or rotation for each recording.
3. Structure the conversations
xelper sections the transcript according to the discussion guide and creates concise notes from participant statements. This turns long, sequential conversations into evidence that can be searched and analyzed across the study.
4. Generate reports and the topline
Once the project data is ready, generate topic reports, section summaries, an optional comparison report, and the topline report as a written summary and slideshow. In Self Service, the first generation can serve as an interim report and the second as the final report. Follow Generate reports and topline for the complete process.
5. Review reports and investigate further
Start with the topline report, open detailed topic reports, inspect supporting quotes or transcript passages, compare relevant segments, and use Chat with Your Data for questions that emerge during interpretation. Understand topic reports explains the overview, report types, counts, and evidence links.
Keep the original context in view
Transcription, speaker attribution, sectioning, and AI-generated analysis all benefit from researcher review. Use the links back to the transcript and recording when wording, tone, or group dynamics affect the interpretation.
Next step
Continue by analyzing the results in the shared workspace.