Interview methods

Data collection is a difficult and yet very important part in survey research. Each data
collection method has its own complexities as well as advantages and limitations. We
cannot say which method is the best out of them. Each method should be seen in relation
to the type of research to be conducted and more particularly the research problem to
be investigated. The basic instruments of data collection in survey research are
questionnaire and interview methods
Interview as a technique of data collection is used in social research. The interview is,
in a sense, an oral questionnaire. Instead of writing the response, the interviewee or
subject gives the needed information verbally in a face-to-face relationship. In this
method, a researcher or an interviewer can interact with his respondents and know their
inner feelings and reactions.
G.W. Allport in his classic statement sums this up beautifully by saying that “if you
want to know how people feel, what they experience and what they remember, what their
emotions and motives are like and the reasons for acting as they do, why not ask them.”
An interview is a direct method of inquiry. It is simply stated as a social process in
which a person known as the interviewer asks questions usually in a face-to-face contact
with the other person or persons known as interviewee or interviewees. The interviewee
responds to these and the interviewer collects various information from these responses
through a very healthy and friendly social interaction. It is a mutual interaction of each
other
The objectives of the interviewer are to penetrate the outer and inner life of persons and
to collect information pertaining to a wide range of their experiences in which the
interviewee may wish to rehearse his past, define his present and canvass his future
possibilities
Various sociologists have remarked that the objective of the interview is two-fold:
• To elicit certain information from the interviewee, which is known only to him
and cannot be collected from any other source and the psychological study of
verbal and non-verbal behaviour under given circumstances.

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Definition
• According to P.V. Young, “interview may be regarded as a systematic method
by which a person enters more or less imaginatively into the life of a comparative
stranger.”
• W. J. Goode and P. K Hatt have observed that “interviewing is fundamentally
a process of social interaction.” In the interview, two persons are not merely
present at the same place but also influence each other emotionally and
intellectually
• John Medge defines interview as “a meeting of persons face to face, especially
for the purpose of formal conference on some point.”
• Krishan Kumar (1992) defines “interviewing is a process of personal
interaction between a researcher and a respondent”.
• Ranjit Kumar in his book Research Methodology (1999) opined that “any
person- to- person interaction between two or more individuals with a specific
purpose in mind is called interview.”
• O’ Leary (2004) of the view that “Interviewing a method of data collection
which involves researchers asking respondents basically open-ended questions.”
CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERVIEW (BLACK AND CHAMPIONS)
[Link] communication: There is a face-to-face contact, conversional exchange
and verbal interaction between the interviewer and the respondent.
[Link] status: The status of the interviewer and the interviewee is equal
[Link] are asked and responses received verbally
[Link] is recorded by the interviewer and not the respondent.
[Link] relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee who are strangers to
each other is transitory
[Link] interview is not necessarily limited to two persons. It could involve two
interviewers and a group of respondents or it could be one interviewer and two or more
respondents
[Link] is considerable flexibility in the format of the interview.

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 TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
There are many types of interviews which differ from one another in terms of
➢ Structure
➢ The interviewer's role
➢ Number of respondents involved in the interview etc.
➢ Some types of interviews are employed in both quantitative and qualitative
researches but others are used in one research type only
Unstructured Interview: In the unstructured interview, there are no specifications in
the wording of the questions or the order of the questions. The interviewer forms
questions as and when required. The structure of these interviews is flexible, being
presented in the form of guide.
In simple words, in this interview, the interviewer has:
(i) only the general nature of the questions in mind,
(ii) has no prior indication of the specific issues on which the questions are to be asked,
(iii) has not ordered questions in a particular way, and
(iv) has no time-limit for continuing the interview.
Thus, what is asked from one respondent in the beginning may be asked from the other
respondent in the end and from yet other respondent in the middle. Similarly, some
questions may be asked from some respondents but not all respondents. The questions
may not be worded in the same way. One or two particular facets may be concentrated
in one interview but other facets in other interview. This type of interview is mostly
used in qualitative research
The advantages
(1) The questions being asked spontaneously, the interview can be conducted in the
form of natural conversation.
(2) There is a greater possibility of exploring in an unrestricted manner.
(3) Finding the interest of the respondent in a specific aspect of the problem, the
interviewer can focus his attention on that particular aspect.
Limitations
1) The data obtained from different respondents cannot be compared with each other.

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(2) With no systematic control over asking questions, the reliability of the data becomes
doubtful.
(3) The obtained data cannot be quantified.
(4) Much time can be wasted adding nothing or little to the knowledge already obtained.
Time is also wasted in repetitions and unproductive conversations.
(5) Some aspects may be left out in discussions, when conversation is focused on a few
aspects. Generally, the researchers prefer some degree of structuring their interviews.
The structured interview: The structured interview is based on the structured
interview-guide which is little different from the questionnaire. In reality, it is a set of
specific points and definite questions prepared by the inter viewer. It allows little
freedom to make adjustments to any of its elements, such as content, wording, or order
of the questions (Sarantakos, 1998:247). In this type of interviewing, the interviewer is
expected to act in a neutral manner offering the same impression to all the respondents.
The purpose is to reduce the interviewer's bias to the minimum and achieve the highest
degree of informality in procedure. This form of interview is employed in quantitative
research.
In this interview, all dimensions, i.e.,
(a) specifying the setting of the interview,
(b) regulating questions and the range of responses,
(c) controlling the interviewer's and the interviewee's characteristics, and
(d) limiting the facets of the problem, are regulated
(a) Specifying the setting of the interview means fixing the place where the interview
is to be conducted, determining the time for conducting the interview so that normal
working of the respondent is not disturbed, and assuring confidentiality to the
respondent so that he gives information freely
(b) Regulating questions and the range of responses means determining the questions
and the order in which they are to be asked from all respondents.
c) Controlling interviewer-interviewee characteristics means developing such
relationship between the two that the respondent goes on giving information willingly
and the interviewer goes on encouraging the respondent to continue talking.

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(d) Limiting the facets of the problem means determining in advance what the
interviewer wants to find out from the respondents. This includes not only narrowing
the range of items but also time for conducting the interview.
Somewhere between the structured and the unstructured interview, there exists semi-
structured interview. It has characteristics of both. This method is used for both
quantitative and qualitative re-searches.
Standardized v/s unstandardized interviews: In standardized interviews, answer to
each question is standardized as it is determined by a set of response categories given
for this purpose. The respondents are expected to choose one of the given options as the
answer. For example, the alternative answers could be yes/no/don't know;
agree/disagree; illiterate/less educated/highly educated; for/against/undecided; and so
on. This is mainly used in quantitative research.
Unstandardized interview is one in which the responses are left open to the
respondent. This is used mainly in qualitative research.
Individual v/s group interviews: Individual interview is one in which the interviewer
interviews only one respondent at a time, while in group interview, more than one
respondent are interviewed simultaneously. The group can be small say, of two
individuals (e.g., husband and wife, or two co-workers in a factory etc.) or large of 10
to 20 persons.
Self-administered v/s other-administered interviews: In self-administered interview,
the respondent is supplied a list of questions along with instructions for writing answers
in the appropriate place on the interview form. In other-administered interview, the
interviewer himself writes answers to questions on the response sheet.
Unique v/s panel interviews: Unique interview is one in which the interviewer
collects entire information in one interview. However, he is not barred for approaching
the interviewer for the second time for seeking additional information.
In panel interview, the interviewer collects information from the same group of
respondents two or more times at regular intervals. If different respondents are involved
in various stages for asking the same questions, it is called trend study

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Soft v/s hard interviews: In soft interview, though the interviewer holds a secondary
position in the process of data collection but he guides the respondents without putting
any pressure on them.
In hard interview, the interview resembles the police interrogation. The interviewer
questions the validity and the completeness of the answers obtained, often warning the
respondents not to lie and forcing them to give an answer when they hesitate. This type
of interview appears more in quantitative than in qualitative form
Personal v/s non-personal interviews: In the personal interview, there is a face-to-
face contact between the interviewer and the interviewee, while in the non-personal
interview there is no face-to-face relationship, but the information is collected through
telephone, computer or some other medium.
Focused interview: Focused interview is one which is focused on a specific topic. In
this, all respondents are subjected to the same experience. For example, all persons who
were present in the riot are asked particular questions relating to their common
experience in the situation. The interview is thus focused on the actual effects of the
experience as viewed by the participants. P.V Young refers to this as semi-standardised
interview. This kind of interview has been employed by Robert K. Merton and his
associates for studying the socio-psychological effects of mass media like radio,
television, cinema, etc
According to Sarantakos some of the advantages of focus interviews are
(1) the respondent gets relatively more freedom of responding to questions;
(2) interviewer's role is mild;
(3) information is more specific; and
(4) opportunities for increased information are greater.
Telephone interview: This type of interview is common in western societies but not in
India. However, gradually, it is now being used in urban areas. Newspapers, radio and
TV personnel use this method more to assess public opinion on important issues, e.g.,
reactions on budget, opinions on election results, sudden increase in petrol or cooking
gas prices, communal riots in the city, increasing crime in a town, and so on.
Some advantages of this interview are:
(i) It is fast and it can be recorded on machine.

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(ii) It is cheap as not many investigators need to be appointed. Though the cost rises if
the interviewee is located at a long distance or he is interviewed for a long period of
time, yet it is much lower than the travel costs for interviewers. According to one
estimate, telephone interview costs one-fourth or one-fifth of the cost of personal
interviews.
(iii) Respondents can be contacted at their convenient time, even in the evenings.
(iv) Respondent remains more anonymous than in the personal interview.
Disadvantages of this interview are
(1) Each selected respondent in the sample may not own the telephone (i.e., he may be
talking on family telephone) and therefore may not feel free in answering.
(2) Respondents are often less motivated over the telephone Sometimes; the
respondents can terminate the interview at his will.
(3) Sometimes the respondents can be distrustful, particularly when they believe that
the interviewer is playing a prank on them.
4) Since the respondent has to give quick answers on telephone, he may not be able to
think much on his answers, later on, he may think of some more relevant and useful
answers which he cannot convey to the interviewer as he may not possess the
interviewer's telephone number or his contact address
In India, this method of interviewing cannot be in much vogue because:
(1) the number of telephone owners is very small;
(2) the cost of one call for three minutes is comparatively high;
(3) poor people do not own telephones and their inclusion in the sample is prevented;
(4) information received is not adequate; it does not compare favorably with that
received by face-to-face interviewing;
((5) the response rate for telephone survey is very much lower than that achieved in
personal interviewing; and
(6) respondents take less interest in telephone interview than in face-to-face interview
Computer interview: This interview is conducted with the help of computers. In India,
this can be conducted only by those who own computers and very few people own
computers with internet facility. Therefore, this method is not popular

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 Treatment Interview: When a psychological problem is not caused by physical illness
(like brain injury or chemical imbalance), it may stem from mental complexes,
unresolved conflicts, or unhealthy life patterns. A Treatment Interview is a structured
conversation between therapist and patient. To help the patient become consciously
aware of the hidden cause of their suffering, so they can work on changing it.
Diagnostic Interview: As the name makes it clear, in this type of interview, the
interviewers try to understand the cause or causes of an illness. In clinical psychology
and psychoanalysis, the preliminary interviews with the patients are held with a purpose
to grasp the nature and cause of the disease
Interviews to Fulfil Curiosity: These interviews, as the name implies, are held to
satisfy some question lurking in the mind of a scientist. For example, if a scientist gets
an idea that good lectures are delivered extempore, he has to interview some reputedly
good lecturers whether they take extensive notes for delivering a lecture or not.
Selection interview: An interview held to select an individual with some particular
qualities is called selection interview. In social research, a selection interview is
conducted to screen and select appropriate respondents who meet the requirements
of the study, such as age, occupation, experience, or social background
Research Interview: These interviews are held to gather information pertaining to a
certain problem. The questions to be asked to gather the desired information are pre-
determined and by asking them of the informants the data is collected. Inasmuch as this
data is gathered for the purpose of research into a problem, these are called 'Research
Interviews'.
CONDITIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW
Collecting data through the interview technique may be easy, yet its adequacy,
reliability and validity pose important problems. Interviewers differ in interest and
skill, respondents differ in ability and motivation, and content of interview differs in
feasibility
What are the conditions for a successful interview?
Gardner (1965:535-37) has pointed out three conditions for successful interviewing:
i. Accessibility: For giving information, it is important that the respondent
understands what is required of them and they are also willing to provide

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 information they possess. The possibilities are that the respondent might have no
information or he might have forgotten some fact, or they are under emotional stress
and therefore unable to give information. Or the question is so framed that he cannot
answer it.
ii. Understanding: The respondent sometimes is not able to understand what is
expected of them. Unless the respondents understand the significance of the
research/survey, the extent of interview demand, the concepts and the terms used,
the nature of answers which the interviewer expects from them, the answers might
be off the point.
iii. Motivation: The respondent needs to be motivated not only for giving information
but also for giving accurate information. The fear of consequences, embarrassment at
ignorance, being suspicious about the interviewer, and dislike of the subject are some
of the factors which decrease the level of respondent's motivation. The interviewer,
therefore has to try to reduce the effect of these factors.
THE INTERVIEWER
Three things need to be analyzed with regard to the interviewer
[Link]: Since the interviewer holds the central place in the interview technique, the
tasks assigned to him are significant, and failure to fulfil them seriously affects data
collection. Baker (1988:87-88) has listed the following tasks in this regard
• Selecting and approaching the respondents.
• Pre-arranging data, time, duration and conditions of the interview.
• Persuading respondents for high response rate.
• Controlling the interview situation by eliminating resistance, suspicion, etc.
• Avoiding bias and recording information accurately as given by the respondents.
(ii) Qualities: An interviewer must have some personal qualities to prove himself
an ideal interviewer. Some of these, as identified by Moser and Kalton (1980:285-
87), are as follows
a) Honesty: This involves actually going to the field, interviewing the respondents, and
recording the true answers.

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(b) Interest: Interest in work is necessary to avoid poor quality work. If the interviewer
considers research valueless and remains more interested in money, the quality of the
work is bound to deteriorate.
(c) Accuracy: If the obtained data are not recorded accurately, the findings become
biased.
d. Adaptability: Since the interviewer has to meet the respondents in different
situations in which he is likely to face different problems, he should have the ability to
adapt himself with the respondents.
(e)Temperament: The interviewers should have such temperament that they do not
become 'friendly' with the respondents. Getting too emotionally involved with the
respondents and their problems will change their interest in getting objective facts.
(f) Intelligence: Ordinary interview does not call for special intelligence. Too much
intelligence can also bore the interviewer in taking the required interest. What is needed
is average intelligence to understand and follow instructions and to be adaptable to each
respondent
(g) Education: Education provides required maturity to the interviewer. A less educated
person may not even understand the problem on which he is conducting interviews. He
may also fail to understand some of the specific terms used by the respondents.
Education here refers to required basic knowledge in the area of investigation
The qualities of the interviewees
i.) Capability to verbalize,
ii.) high communication skill,
iii.) high formal education, and depth of knowledge
iv. sociable nature and willingness to respond, etc., would bear directly on the
information provided by the respondent.
The status of the interviewee vis-a-vis the interviewer also affects the willingness of the
respondent to take interview seriously. If the respondents are handled with more prestige
and assured that they are knowledgeable and their relevant responses will affect the
findings, they are sure to cooperate more with the interviewers.
iii. Training: Some organizations give much importance to the training of the
interviewers but some believe in sending them to the field soon after appointing them

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and explaining them the objectives of the study, the dimensions of issues to be studied,
the selected sample and a few general instructions.
Main ingredients of a sound training scheme, according to Moser and Kalton are:
Talks and discussions in office on objectives of research, dimensions of study, the
sample to be selected, method of recording responses, how the results are to be used,
the importance of accuracy and objectivity in responses, observation of supervisors at
work, trial interviews and written instructions.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INTERVIEWER AND THE
RESPONDENT
In interviewing technique, the relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee
has some characteristics. Some of them are the following:
i. A positive and effective relationship has to be developed by the interviewer with his
respondent. This will promote trust, understanding and cooperation.
ii. In asking questions, the interviewer should not be arrogant. He should not be
shabbily dressed nor dressed in a very fashionable manner
iii. The interviewer should never patronize the respondent.
iv. He should not show disbelief in the answers given.
v. The interviewer should prompt answers by offering possible answers.
vi. He should probe answers for gaining more information.
According to Black and Champion (1976:355), the relationship between the interviewer
and the respondent is:
(i) transitory,
(ii) one in which participants are strangers, and
(iii) which is based on (a) equality (the respondent being assured that he will not be
contradicted or harassed), and (b) comparability (respondent being assured that though
his information will be compared with one given by others but he himself will not be
compared).
PROCESS OF INTERVIEWING
Interviewing is a systematic process carried out in stages, each involving specific tasks
to ensure accuracy, fairness, and reliability of data collection. The process can be
explained as follows

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[Link] Stage: Explain to the interviewer what the study is about, its objectives,
and the aspects to be focused on
• Seek appointments before approaching respondents to ensure cooperation
• Arrange the interview setting so that only the respondent is present, minimizing
external influence
• Inform the respondent about the approximate duration of the interview
[Link] Stage: Begin the interview by stating the organization represented and
explaining how the respondent was selected. Adopt a friendly and respectful attitude so
the respondent feels free to express views. Reassure the respondent about
confidentiality and anonymity of their identity. Motivate the respondent to cooperate
willingly.
3. Questioning Stage: Ask questions in an impartial and unbiased manner. Probe
answers carefully to gain more information, but avoid over-probing which may pressure
the respondent into guessing. Do not reveal personal views, as this may distort or bias
the respondent’s answers. Giving pauses or expectant glances. Encouraging responses
(e.g., “Tell me more about it”)
4. Types of Questions: According to Atkinson (1967), interviewers should know when
to ask different types of questions:
• Factual Questions → Seek precise information (e.g., age, income).
• Opinion Questions → Capture personal views on specific issues
• Knowledge Questions → Assess respondent’s knowledge on a theme (e.g., “Do
males commit more suicides than females?”).
• Probe Questions → Clarify ambiguous answers or explore deeper reasons
5. Recording Stage: Record answers objectively, without inserting interviewer bias.
Ensure responses are complete, accurate, and properly documented
6. Training & Supervision: Training the interviewer that all applicable questions
have to be asked in a given order.
1. Instructions: Provide clear fieldwork guidelines to avoid irrelevant data
collection.
2. Supervision: In large-scale studies, supervisors coordinate sample selection,
assign interviewers, and check work regularly

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 3. Checking Fieldwork: Ensure correct respondents are interviewed
[Link] Conditions: Maintain interviewer morale by providing good facilities
(transport, refreshments, accommodation, regular payments, etc.). Comfortable
conditions improve efficiency and data quality.

Summary
The process of interviewing involves preparation, introduction, questioning, recording,
and supervision, supported by proper training and working conditions. Each stage
ensures that interviews are conducted ethically, objectively, and effectively, leading to
reliable and valid data collection.
MERITS/LIMITATIONS OF INTERVIEW
Gordon (1969:52-54) has listed five major advantages of the interview
i. Quick information: The information is obtained quickly.
ii. Proper interpretation: Respondents interpret the questions properly.
iii. Flexibility: It permits flexibility in questioning.
(iv) Checking validity: The validity of the information checked can be readily
(v) Control: Exercising control on the context of questions and answers is possible.
Besides, some more advantages are:
(i) the response rate is high,
(ii) in-depth probing is possible,
(iii) respondent's confidence can be sought through personal rapport,
(iv) interviewer can explain difficult terms and remove confusion and
misunderstandings,
(v) administration is easy because respondents are not required to be educated or handle
long questionnaires,
(vi) interviewer gets opportunity to observe respondents' non-verbal behaviour,
(vii) identity of the respondent is known, and
(viii) since all questions asked by the inter-viewers are answered by the respondents,
completeness of the interview is guaranteed
Limitations

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1. The interviewees can hide information or give wrong information because of fear of
identity.
2. Interviews are more costly and time-consuming than questionnaires.
3. The nature and extent of responses depends upon interviewee's mood. If the
respondent is tired, they will be distracted. If the respondent is in hurry, they will try to
dispose of the interviewer quickly.
4. There could be variability in responses with different interviewers, particularly when
interview is unstructured.
5. The interviewer may record the responses differently, depending upon his own
interpretation sometimes.
6. It offers less anonymity than other methods.
7. It is less effective for sensitive questions

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