Download Introduction to Interviews and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!
2 1
UNIT 2 INTERVIEW AND INTERVIEWING
Structure 2.0 Introduction 2.1 Objectives 2.2 Definition of Interview 2.3 Description of Interview 2.4 Types of Interview 2.4.1 General Interview Guide 2.4.2 Standardised Open Ended Interview 2.4.3 Closed Fixed Response Interview 2.4.4 Telephone Interview 2.4.5 Validating of Interview 2.5 Aspects of Qualitative Research Interviews 2.6 Interview Questions 2.6.1 Sequence of Questions 2.6.2 Stages of Interview 2.6.3 Procedure to be Followed during Interviewing 2.7 Convergent Interviewing as Action Research 2.8 Research Team 2.9 Let Us Sum Up 2.10 Unit End Questions 2.11 Suggested Readings
2.0 INTRODUCTION
The primary focus in interview is to find out answers to the problems related to the research topic. This is one method of collecting the data. This is an interactive process in which the interviewer or the researcher interacts with the respondent (interviewee) to elicit the needed information from the latter. It may be structured or unstructured and it may be a conversational type of interview. Either way the data is collected on the topic and the researcher may write the needed information in the questionnaire or interview schedule after completion of the interview. The unit describes the method, puts forward the advantages and disadvantages. It also provides the kind of topic for which interview will be most suited.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After completion of this unit, you will be able to: define interview as a method of data collection; describe the method of interviewing and collecting research data; list out the ways in which the interview should be conducted – the do’s and dont’s; and enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of interviewing.
Tools of Data Collection
2.2 DEFINITION OF INTERVIEW
Interview can be broadly defined as a face to face verbal interchange in which there are two persons, that is the researcher or the interviewer and the other is the respondent or the interviewee. The interviewer tries to elicit the needed information on the research topic from the respondent. It appears to be like a conversation but this conversation is more with a specific purpose. In conversation the roles of the persons go on changing. One starts the conversation and the other responds then the other may take lead and the first one may be a listener so there may be alterations in roles. In interview on the other hand there is no changing of the roles of the interviewer and the interviewee. Conversation is unplanned whereas interview is clearly thought out and clearly planned.
2.3 DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW
Some interviews are conducted for gathering information from very important persons to know about their lives, ideas etc. This can be used for biographical writing. Other types of interview are the ones conducted for the purpose of understanding an event that has taken place, such as the suicide of an individual or murder of a person etc. Here the purpose is clear though the method of interviewing may vary considerably. Other type of interview is to have clear questions in order to understand a person and his or her problem. There is another type of interview between the doctor and the patient, where the doctor questions the patient in a particular order as to what the symptoms are and how long the person had it and then based on the interview which is called case history is able to come to an understanding of the diagnosis of the patient’s problem. An Interview, meant for a research study, involves the researcher or his investigators interacting on a one- to-one level with a respondent, who has been selected by the researcher as one of the subjects for the study. The interviewer puts questions to the respondent on a particular subject matter and the respondent’s replies are noted down verbatim, where possible or recorded as an audio report. The interview aims to describe the meanings of central themes in the life of the subjects. The main task in this is to understand the meaning of what the interviewees say. Interviews also can focus on the main aspects of the subject matter. The interview is as a follow-up instrument to get to know about certain responses to the questionnaires, so that one can further investigate their responses. An interview can be one to one or it can be one to many. Answers to the questions posed during an interview can be recorded by writing them down (either during the interview itself or immediately after the interview) or by tape-recording the responses, or by a combination of both. Interviews can be conducted with varying degrees of flexibility that is high and low degree of flexibility. As regards high flexibility, one can take an example of studying sensitive issues such as teenage pregnancy and abortions. The investigator may use a list of topics rather than fixed questions. These may include how teenagers started sexual intercourse, the responsibility girls and their partners take to prevent pregnancy (if at all), and the actions they take in the event of unwanted pregnancies etc. The investigator should have an additional list of topics ready when the respondent falls silent, (example, when asked about abortion methods used, who made the decision and who paid).
Tools of Data Collection 2 4
- What is flexible and non flexible interview? ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
2.4 TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
The interviews are of many types, as for instance (1) Informal, conversational type, (2) General interview guide (3) Standardised open ended interview (4) Closed fixed response. Informal conversational type interviews In the informal conversational interview, as is implied, the respondents are identified and are involved in a pleasant conversation. This conversation is with a specific research purpose that has been already determined. In the pleasant conversation, the interviewer talks in general, gets acquainted with respondents, after which the purpose of the research study is put across to the respondents and they are told what is expected of this study and how important the respondent and his responses are for the research. Thus from a general approach the researcher moves on to the specific purpose. There are no pre-determined questions, and the researcher indicates clearly that any answer the interviewee provides should be stated without hesitation as there is no right or wrong answers. During the interview the interviewer “goes with the flow” of what the respondent tells.
2.4.1 General Interview Guide
In this, every effort is put in to ensure that no important points are left out and the manner in which the questions should be asked and the sequences are kept up. This general interview guide also helps in conducting the interview to get information from all the respondents, on all the items that have to be covered. The interview guide thus provides the needed focus to the conversational approach and at the same time gives enough freedom to the interviewer and the respondent.
2.4.2 Standardised, Open Ended Interview
This type of interviews gives considerable scope for the respondent to answer fairly in detail his own ideas and opinions on the particular topic instead of answering or tick marking the answers only. These open ended questions are also uniformly put to all the respondents selected for the study. It not only elicits a variety of responses but also makes the research much more rich in contents.
2.4.3 Closed, Fixed-response Interview
In this the answers are provided to all the questions, and the respondents are required to select from within them, that response which is most applicable to them. Thus all respondents will choose answers from amongst the same set of alternatives. This format is useful where the questions could have clear cut answers and they can be categorised meaningfully into 7 to 10 categories or less, and the respondents, except a few would find their answers within those categories and tick mark the same. Such responses are easy to score code and analyse, as compared to the
2 5 responses obtained in the open ended interview. This is so because, the responses in the open ended questions may be so many that the researcher will have to scrutinise all the responses and categorise them after the entire data have been collected.
2.4.4 Telephone Interview
Another type of interview is the Telephone Interview, in which the researcher gathers information rapidly through telephone. Though these interviews do help to establish a kind of rapport with the person at the other end of the telephone, yet many respondents may just refuse to answer and may put down the phone. At the same time, there is a personal touch which can be transmitted to the respondent. Furthermore the telephone interviews have to be necessarily short as no one would like to answer a large number of questions. There are varying points of view regarding the advisability and utility of using the telephone to conduct research interviews. The potential benefits associated with using telephone interviews as a mechanism of data collection include: a) using economic and human resources efficiently, b) minimizing disadvantages associated with in-person interviewing, c) developing positive relationships between researchers and participants, and d) improving quality of data collection. The potential challenges to telephone interviewing include: a) maintaining participant involvement, b) maintaining clear communication, c) communicating with participants who offer extraneous information, d) encountering participants with health concerns, and e) communicating with a third party. Telephone interviewing can be an effective method of data collection when interviewers understand the potential benefits as well as challenges. We offer solutions to the identified challenges and make pragmatic recommendations to enhance researcher success based on the current literature and our research practice. Supportive training for interviewers, effective communication between interviewers and with research participants, and standardised telephone follow-up procedures are needed to ensure successful telephone data collection. We have found our ‘Manual of Operations’ to be an effective tool that assists research assistants to meet the requirements for successful telephone interviewing.
2.4.5 Validity of Interview
Studies by Kahn and Cannell (1961), Maccoby and Maccoby (1954) can be mentioned in this connection. There have been found inaccuracies in respondents versions during interviews when compared with the information obtainedby other means. In the case of self reports also similar inaccuracies have been found, particularly when the questions are asked about the sexual behaviour. Kanfer and Phillips (1970) who have discussed the methodological problems in using a few Interview and Interviewing
2.6 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
The questions to be included in any interview guide should be very carefully prepared. it must be able to tap the behaviours of the respondents, their moods and emotions and their exact responses which are truthful and objective. Given below are some of the important aspects that should be covered in any interview questions.
- Behaviours : These questions try to find out from the respondent what he does or did or would do if given a situation. (Example, Respondent’s opinion in regard to making admission to schools for children without screening under Right to Education Act. Here the person may say that he will write articles against it in the newspaper or give lectures or speeches condemning such non screening as it is harmful to children who are normal and intelligent. These indicate the behaviours of the respondent in regard to the topic).
- Opinions/values : These questions will also tap the attitudes and opinions of the respondents regarding an issue. Opinions and values are generally strong until something very significant occurs which changes the opinion and value. The questions would be for instance, what does the respondent think of a person marrying out of caste and religion. The respondent may state that he is very much against anyone marrying out of caste and religion. This is his opinion and to an extent perhaps goes with his value system.
- Feelings : The questions also elicit the feelings of the individual in regard to what a person feels rather than what a person thinks.
- Knowledge : This would ensure that the topic of research and knowledge about the facts regarding the topic is conveyed to the respondent. Thus the respondents get facts about the topic.
- Sensory : The Questions that would be included in this section will deal with the respondent’s perceptions. That is, what ever he has seen, whatever he has touched, whatever he had heard, whatever he had tasted, whatever he had smelt etc.
- Background / Demographics : The respondent is asked questions related to his age, gender, education, income, marital status etc., which are all put together constitute the socio demographic features of the respondent.
2.6.1 Sequence of Questions
It is important that the researcher should involve the respondents as early as possible in the interview situation. The researcher or the investigator should start with some factual information such as the date of birth, where they live etc. The controversial matters should be taken up either almost at the end or when the interviewer is very confident that he has been able to establish excellent rapport with the respondent. The rule is that, start with facts and move on to other more subjective questions. Before asking questions related to any controversial matters, first ask about some facts. Distribute these fact based questions in the entire interview and ask questions about the present before questions about the past or future. The last questions might be to allow respondents to provide other information they prefer to add and their impressions of the interview. Interview and Interviewing
Tools of Data Collection Self Assessment Questions
- What type of questions should be included in interview? ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
- What purpose do these questions serve in the interview guide? ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
- What do you understand by qualitative research interviews? ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
- What are the sequence should we follow while writing interview questions? ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
2.6.2 Stages of Interview
There are in all seven (7) stages in the interview investigation. These include the following:
- Thematising: The why and what of the investigation.
- Designing: Plan the design of the study.
- Interviewing: Conduct the interview based on a guide.
- Transcribing: Prepare the interview material for analysis.
- Analysing: Decide on the purpose, the topic, the nature and methods of analysis that are appropriate.
- Verifying: Ascertain the validity of the interview findings.
- Reporting: Communicate findings of the study based on scientific criteria.
Tools of Data Collection Occasionally verify the tape recorder (if used) is working. Ask one question at a time. Attempt to remain as neutral as possible. Encourage responses. Be careful about the appearance when note taking. Provide transition between major topics. Don’t lose control of the interview. Every effort should be made to get all answers to all questions and that too truthfully and objectively. The researcher should if using a tape recorder, check if it works and whether it would be able to record the entire interview of one hour. The tapes should be otherwise changed so that uninterruptedly the interview can go on. Also before using the tape recorder the interviewer should get permission to use the same from the respondent. If there is a need and requested the researcher should be prepared to replay the recorder for the respondent who may like to verify what answers have been given and if they are to be reported etc. The researcher should be always neutral and even if the respondent gives some kind of emotional statements, the researcher should not respond to it either positively or negatively but record the same as felt and presented by the respondent. Where ever necessary the researcher must encourage the respondent to answer the questions. Many tactics may be used to get the respondent answer the questions, and it always works if the researcher has established a good rapport with the respondent. Even if the interview is being tape recorded it is important to note the various emotions and expressions as well as facial expressions of the respondent at the appropriate places. These should be taken as note format and later on incorporated in the recorded interview at the appropriate places in the interview. As the researcher moves from one topic to another, it must be made in a smooth manner. The researcher must have complete control over the interview and should not slip at any point of time. Focusing on the interview and concentrating on how the respondent answers and the various expressions that the respondent is using are all to be recorded and used while analysing the data. After the interview The researcher should verify if the tape recorder, if used, worked throughout the interview. He should make detailed notes on the ones noted by him during the interview. He should write down observations made during the interview. Self Assessment Questions
- What do we mean by stages of interview? Write in detail each of the stages ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
3 1
- Elucidate the procedure to be followed while conducting interview. ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
- What are the precautions to be taken if the interview is being recorded? ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
- What precautions to be taken after the interview is completed? ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
2.7 CONVERGENT INTERVIEWING AS ACTION
RESEARCH
Some times an interview session is followed by a review session constituting a research cycle. The review sessions interpret the data emerging from the interviews and also help plan the questions in order to get a better understanding of the situation. The sampling and the process of gathering data are checked and modified if necessary. By asking more specific questions and pursuing deeper understanding the researcher interprets the data collected, gives explanations and where necessary put forward his disagreements. There is also a need to follow up the explanations and disagreements. In interviewing one could structure interview or unstructured. In structured interview, the questions are in a certain sequence and put across to all the respondents in the same order and sequence and in the same manner so that the administration of the questions does not lead to any differences. The structured interview is also very useful for quantitative analysis. Such structured interviews are generally used in survey research and not in one to one interviewing method unless it is a situation calling for such interview method. Interviewers read the questions exactly as they appear on the survey questionnaire. The choice of answers to the questions is often fixed (close-ended) in advance, though open-ended questions may also be included within a structured interview. Structured interviews can also be used as a qualitative research methodology (Kvale, 1996). These types of interviews are best suited for focus group studies in Interview and Interviewing
quality of the result that would be obtained from the interview. It is important to organise in detail and rehearse the interviewing. Important aspects related to training Interviewers need to know more than simply how to conduct the interview itself. They should have background of the study and why the study is important. The interviewer may not understand why sampling is so important and if they have to conduct the interview efficiently and adequately they must know not only the background of the research but also why the sampling is important and who are the respondents from whom the information is being collected.
2.9 LET US SUM UP
We defined interview and interviewing as a face to face verbal interchange in which there are two persons, that is the researcher or the interviewer and the other is the respondent or the interviewee. The interviewer tries to elicit the needed information on the research topic from the respondent. It appears to be like a conversation but this conversation is more with a specific purpose. Some interviews are conducted for gathering information from very important persons to know about their lives, ideas etc. There is another type of interview between the doctor and the patient, where the doctor questions the patient in a particular order as to what the symptoms are and how long the person had it and then based on the interview which is called case history is able to come to an understanding of the diagnosis of the patient’s problem. An Interview, meant for a research study, involves the researcher or his investigators interacting on a one- to-one level with a respondent, who has been selected by the researcher as one of the subjects for the study. The interviewer puts questions to the respondent on a particular subject matter and the respondent’s replies are noted down verbatim, where possible or recorded as an audio report. An interview can be one to one or it can be one to many. Answers to the questions posed during an interview can be recorded by writing them down (either during the interview itself or immediately after the interview) or by tape-recording the responses, or by a combination of both. Interviews can be conducted with varying degrees of flexibility that is high and low degree of flexibility. Interviews also can focus on the main aspects of the subject matter, or can get to know what the topic has to convey behind the scene and what the topic can convey. The interviews are of many types, as for instance (1) Informal, conversational type, (2) General interview guide (3) Standardised open ended interview (4) Closed fixed response. There have been found inaccuracies in respondents versions during interviews when compared with the information obtained by other means. Hence it is important to have the validation of the interviews. Interviews are completed by the interviewer based on what the respondent says. Interviews are a far more personal form of research than questionnaires. Topics included in the questions of the interview should cover behaviours, opinions and values of the respondent, their feelings, knowledge and their perceptions. Interview and Interviewing
Tools of Data Collection It is important that the researcher should involve the respondents as early as possible in the interview situation. The rule is that, start with facts and move on to other more subjective questions. Before asking questions related to any controversial matters, first ask about some facts. Distribute these fact based questions in the entire interview and ask questions about the present before questions about the past or future. There are in all 7 stages in the interview investigation. These include the following:
- Thematising: The why and what of the investigation.
- Designing: Plan the design of the study.
- Interviewing: Conduct the interview based on a guide.
- Transcribing: Prepare the interview material for analysis.
- Analysing: Decide on the purpose, the topic, the nature and methods of analysis that are appropriate.
- Verifying: Ascertain the validity of the interview findings.
- Reporting: Communicate findings of the study based on scientific criteria. During the interviews the researcher must take care of the following: Occasionally verify the tape recorder (if used) is working. Ask one question at a time. Attempt to remain as neutral as possible. Encourage responses. Be careful about the appearance when note taking. Provide transition between major topics. Don’t lose control of the interview. The researcher should verify if the tape recorder, if used, worked throughout the interview. He should make detailed notes on the ones noted by him during the interview. He should write down observations made during the interview. In interviewing one could structure interview or unstructured. In structured interview, the questions are in a certain sequence and put across to all the respondents in the same order and sequence and in the same manner so that the administration of the questions do not lead to any differences. The structured interview is also very useful for quantitative analysis. Such structured interviews are generally used in survey research and not in one to one interviewing method unless it is a situation calling for such interview method. Then we discussed about the research team and the orientations that they should have.
2.10 UNIT END QUESTIONS
- Define and describe interview as a research method
- What are the various types of interview? Present these in detail
- What are qualitative research interviews?
