Writing - How to Conduct an Interview (Part 1: The Preparation)

An interview is a live one-on-one discussion with another person where the interviewer asks the interviewee a series of questions. Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant's experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around a topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses.

Before you start to design your interview questions you should clearly determine what the problem or situation is and then what additional information is needed to be asked that can fill in the gaps to your research. By doing this step first it will help you remain focused on the intent of each question that needs to be asked. Always prepare a set number of questions ahead of time before actually conducting an interview. To break this down and to help you prepare for the interview, follow a series of steps as follows:

PREPARATION FOR AN INTERVIEW

Prepare a list of questions to take to the interview. As stated above, prepare a set list of questions first after determining what information you need or would like to obtain. Then memorize the first few questions on your prepared list. By memorizing the first few questions, once you get to the interview, you can look directly at the interviewee without looking at your notes. This shows the interviewee that you are interested in them and what they have to say. In addition, having rehearsed and memorized your questions, the questions will seem more naturally flowing. After the conversation is rolling along, you can then start to steal occasional glances at your written questions and add in new questions that the interviewee’s answers may open up. Other helpful hints in preparing for an interview:

1. Choose a setting with little distractions. Avoid loud lights or noises, ensure the interviewee is comfortable (you might ask them if they are), etc. Often, they may feel more comfortable at their own place of work or home.

2. Explain the purpose of the interview. (Example: “I am researching possible career choices for myself and wanted to speak with someone who has had firsthand experience in my possible career choice to find out the good things about the career, the bad things about the career, education needed, continuing education needed, and their overall personal opinion of that field.”)

Arranging the Interview. When you first contact your subject to arrange the interview, you should:

• Know what you want to say before you approach the person.
• Be courteous, regardless of the circumstances.
• Explain the purpose of the interview but don't talk too much, or try to impose a thesis before your subject has had an opportunity to express herself/himself.
• Take a low-key approach. Use the word "interview" sparingly; instead, suggest that you would "like to talk with" your subject.

3. Explain the format of the interview. Explain the type of interview you are conducting and its nature. (Such as – face-to-face interview, tape recording interview, taking handwritten notes of the interview, videotaping the interview.)

4. Indicate how long the interview usually takes. (On average, interviews should take no more than 15 to 20 minutes top.)

5. Ask them if they have any questions before you both get started with the interview. Let them get to know you a little bit.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS:

1. Informal, conversational interview - no predetermined questions are asked, in order to remain as open and adaptable as possible to the interviewee's nature and priorities; during the interview, the interviewer "goes with the flow".

2. General interview guide approach - the guide approach is intended to ensure that the same general areas of information are collected from each interviewee; this provides more focus than the conversational approach, but still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting information from the interviewee.

3. Standardized, open-ended interview - here, the same open-ended questions are asked to all interviewees (an open-ended question is where respondents are free to choose how to answer the question, i.e., they don't select "yes" or "no" or provide a numeric rating, etc.); this approach facilitates faster interviews that can be more easily analyzed and compared.

4. Closed, fixed-response interview - where all interviewees are asked the same questions and asked to choose answers from among the same set of alternatives. This format is useful for those not practiced in interviewing.

TYPES OF TOPICS IN QUESTIONS

1. Behaviors - about what a person has done or is doing

2. Opinions/values - about what a person thinks about a topic

3. Feelings - note that respondents sometimes respond with "I think ..." so be careful to note that you're looking for feelings

4. Knowledge - to get facts about a topic

5. Sensory - about what people have seen, touched, heard, tasted or smelled

6. Background/demographics - standard background questions, such as age, education, etc.

Note that the above questions can be asked in terms of past, present or future.

Taking the time to learn these simple interview preparation steps will help you feel more comfortable when it comes time to conduct your interview. And the more your practice them, the more information you will be able to gather from your interviewees.

Now that you’ve learned a little about the interview preparation process, let’s see how well you can answer the following ten questions on the process. It’s easier than you think! And remember that interviews can be really fun – you could get hooked on doing them!