Planning and Conducting Various Types of Interviews

                                
                                  Planning and Conducting Various Types of Interviews

Interviews allow you to gather information

from respondents by asking them questions

directly (rather than having them complete

answers on their own, such as by filling out

a questionnaire). Interviews may be done

in-person or by telephone. Interviews tend

to be more time-consuming and expensive

to conduct than surveys, but can also yield

a better response rate. Interviews are most

useful when you need in-depth information

about people’s experiences or perspectives

or when you want to interact with your

respondents, by clarifying questions or

providing them with information.

Interviews vary in their degree of structure

and formality. Less formal interviews may

be useful if you are exploring a broad topic

or conducting interviews with very diverse

participants. More structured interviews

are useful when it is important to collect

consistent information across all of your

participants. Interviews generally fall somewhere

along the following continuum:

1. Informal, conversational interview —

No predetermined questions are asked, in

order to remain open and adaptable to

the respondents’ nature and priorities.

2. Semi-structured interview —

The same general areas of information

are collected from each respondent,

providing more focus than the informal

approach. However, the specific

questions, and the way that they are

asked, may vary each time, allowing

some flexibility in getting information.

3. Structured interview —

All respondents are asked exactly the

same questions and provided with a

consistent set of response options.

While this approach is less flexible, it

makes it easier to analyze and report

responses.

When interviews are structured, it is

important that they be done consistently

each time. If more than one person is going

to conduct interviews, provide training in

advance, including opportunities to conduct

practice interviews.

While people are usually willing to be

interviewed, some may refuse. People are

more likely to agree to an interview when

their initial contact with an interviewer is

positive. On making initial contact:

  Maintain a positive attitude and be

enthusiastic.

  Explain the purpose of the interview,

the kinds of questions you will ask,

how long the interview usually takes,

and how the information will be used.

  Allow the respondent to ask questions

before beginning the interview.

  If someone seems reluctant to participate,

ask about their concern or objection and

try to address it – this is more effective

than being pushy.

Practice your introduction before contacting

respondents…people respond more favorably

when you sound like yourself and not as

though you are reading from a script.

Conducting the interview

Interviews allow you to establish rapport

with respondents. Before starting, use small

talk to give yourself and the person you are

interviewing a chance to get comfortable.

Once you begin the interview:

  Ask questions at a reasonable pace.

  If the interview is structured, read each

question exactly as written and in the

same order every time.

  Read the entire question before

accepting an answer.

  When asked to repeat a question,

repeat the entire question.

  Do not skip a question because it was

answered earlier or because you think

you know the answer.

  Encourage responses with occasional

nods of the head, "uh huh"s, etc.

  Provide transition between major topics,

e.g., "we've been talking about (some

topic) and now I'd like to move on to

(another topic)."

  Do not count on your memory to recall

their answers. Ask for permission to

record the interview or take notes.

  Do not allow the person you are

interviewing to continually get off

topic. If the conversation drifts, ask

follow-up questions to redirect the

conversation to the subject at hand.

  Avoid getting into casual conversation

or discussing issues, topics, and viewpoints

that are related or unrelated to

questions on the survey.

If you plan to conduct the interview in

person, be thoughtful about where it will

take place. Make sure the location is

comfortable for the respondent, such as

their home, work place, or other location

they prefer. The setting should be quiet and

private, so that you can conduct the interview

without violating confidentiality.

Avoiding bias

One disadvantage of interviews is the

possibility of respondents changing their

answers to please the interviewer or avoid

embarrassment. It is important to prevent

bias when conducting interviews. Do not

express your own attitudes, opinions,

prejudices, thoughts, or feelings during

the interview.

The following tips can help you avoid

influencing the respondent’s answers:

  Do not show surprise, approval,

or disapproval with your words,

gestures, or expressions to anything

the respondent says or does.

  Do not disagree or argue with someone

even if they express opinions you feel

are wrong.

  Do not become too familiar or casual

by sharing personal information.

  Do not laugh too much or make the

interview seem like a friendly

conversation.

  Do not seek clarification in a way

that leads the respondent toward one

particular answer.

Probing for more information

Interviews provide the opportunity for you

to explain or clarify questions, and allow

you to explore topics in more depth than

you can with a survey. Use “probe” questions

to obtain more information about answers

that are incomplete, unclear, or irrelevant.

Common probes include: “Could you be

more specific?,” “Could you give me an

example,?” or “Could you explain that?.”

Probes should be asked in a neutral way, and

should not be used to pester or coerce someone

into answering uncomfortable questions.

Other recommendations for using probes:

  Never use leading probes. If you are not

sure what a respondent means, ask the

question again or ask for clarification.

  Probe responses to closed-ended

questions if the respondent selects an

answer that was not on your list.

Repeat the entire list of options, instead

of trying to guess what was meant.

  Respondents sometimes say “Don’t

Know” because they didn’t understand

the question, didn’t hear the entire

question, or are not sure how to answer.

If someone says that they “don’t know”

an answer, probe at least once. Reading

the question again can be effective.

  If someone does not want to answer a

question, probe one time. If he or she

still doesn’t answer the question, move

on to the next question. Sometimes it is

helpful to reassure the respondent

that all answers are confidential.

  Probe for clarification and inconsistencies.

Make sure that you understand what

the respondent is saying. If you don’t

understand what a respondent means, ask.

 10 tips on conducting effective                   interviews

#1: Determine your objective

Before you schedule the interview, determine why you want to have it. What information can you gain from the interviewee? How will this information help you achieve your other goals? How will you be better off after having conducted this interview?

#2: Outline your areas

You certainly could write out the questions you plan to ask the interviewee and then read them aloud at the interview. However, this approach may make you look stilted and artificial, and it could hinder the flow of information. Furthermore, by reading your questions, you might miss nonverbal cues, such as body language, that could indicate an area for further questioning.

A better approach is to outline the general areas you want to cover. I do so at the top-right corner of the first sheet of the tablet I'm using. After I discuss an area, I cross it out.

#3: Pick the location

Meeting at the interviewee's office may make that person more at ease. Be aware of the possibility, though, that the interviewee might instead think you are invading his or her space. In that case, a neutral location, such as a conference room, cafeteria, or even Starbucks might be more appropriate. Present these alternatives and work things out with the interviewee.

#4: Observe standards of etiquette

If you're meeting in the interviewee's office, knock before entering. Don't sit down until invited to do so. During the interview, keep things to yourself. If you start invading the interviewee's personal space (for example, by gradually taking over the person's desk), the latter will become less willing to talk. See below for other reasons you should keep your notebook and other items near you.

#5: Open with standard rapport/small talk

Before starting the interview, take a few moments to get to know the interviewee. Ask the standard questions and make standard comments about weather or make positive comments about the meeting room or office or mementos on the interviewee's desk. However, be careful about speculating on photographs. That child whom you think is a grandson or granddaughter might actually be a son or daughter instead. A college or high school photo of the interviewee could cause problems if you say, "You looked great back then." Instead, keep your comments general, as in, "What a great photograph."

Once you've spent a few minutes with the getting-acquainted talk, you can start transitioning to the interview. To signal this transition, shift position in your seat , begin to take out a notebook or tablet, or say something like, "I appreciate your time. As you know, I've come to discuss...."

#6: Distinguish open and closed questions

Open questions begin with words such as "Who," "What," "Where," or "When." That is, they give the other person a chance to give a narrative response, without being confined by the question. Such questions are good when one is seeking general or background information. Their disadvantage is that they can cause an interviewee to ramble on endlessly.

Closed questions, on the other hand, call for a specific answer, usually a "Yes" or a "No." A person who asks a closed question is usually seeking a particular answer to a particular question. The disadvantage of closed questions is that in using them, you may be jumping too quickly to conclusions.

Both types of questions have their place during the interview. In general, begin with open questions. At this point, you want to get the big picture and to avoid jumping to conclusions or making wrong assumptions. When you ask open questions, you allow the other person to bring up matters you then can focus on more specifically.

As the interview progresses, use closed questions either to confirm your understanding or to explore in more depth the matter being discussed. You can also use closed questions to help control the rambling interviewee. If you think you know the point he or she is making, cut to the chase by asking a question such as, "So if I understand, your point is that..."? If you're right, the person will agree, and you will have saved time. If you're wrong, the person will let you know, and (you hope) will summarize the point quickly.

#7: Use notations to record impressions

When I take notes, I draw a vertical line one-third from the left of the page. On the right side, I will record the interviewee's comments. On the left side, I will record impressions and reactions, and reminders of things I should follow up on. In particular, if I hear something that clashes with what I already know or have been told, I will note the comment accordingly.

Be careful about your notations, though. People can read upside down. If you write "ridiculous" on the left side, the other person may take offense. A better alternative is to develop your own set of codes -- one for "ridiculous," another for "follow up," etc.

#8: Hide your notepad and pen

Try to hide your notepad and pen while you're writing. Rather than write on a table or desk, keep the pad and pen in your lap so that the interviewee can't see any notations you've made. Furthermore, the person won't be able to see whether you're writing anything at all. If the interviewee sees you writing in reaction to some comments and not others, it might affect what he or she is saying or planning to say.

#9: Use tact when exploring sensitive issues

You may be conducting an interview to determine the cause of some high profile problem or failure. Perhaps you're interviewing someone who either caused the problem or is connected to it. In this case, tact and diplomacy are important, not only from a courtesy standpoint, but more pragmatically, to maximize the chances you get the information you are seeking.

Be careful about the word "you," because its overuse can make people feel defensive. Instead of saying, for example, "What factors led you to make that decision?" consider a passive construction, such as, "What factors led to the making of that decision?" Similarly, a hypothetical construction can soften a question, such as, "What might have caused the accident?"

I'm not saying you always have to use such techniques. Rather, I'm recommending that you consider such alternatives before asking your questions.

#10: Contradict with caution

Be careful when confronting an interviewee who gives you contradictory information. That person might be innocently mistaken or might have recalled things incorrectly. Calling him or her a liar will hardly endear you, and it certainly won't advance the interview. Instead, consider a statement such as, "That's interesting, because I've heard different things from other people...." Making this kind of statement signals that you may not disagree, but that the other interviewees might. You could go one step further and adopt the Columboapproach -- namely, pleading ignorance and lack of familiarity, then asking the interviewee to explain differences with you have heard elsewhere.