Interview

Farhana Saeed Hashmi

• Interview is one of the popular methods of research
data collection. The term interview can be dissected
into two terms as, ‘inter’ and ‘view’. The essence of
interview is that one mind tries to read the other. The
interviewer tries to assess the interviewed in terms of
the aspects studied or issues analyzed.
Definition
• According to Mcnamara 1999,
• Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participants’
experiences.
• The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic
• Interview my be useful as follow-up to certain respondents
PURPOSE & IMPORTANCE
• The main purpose of interview as a tool of data
collection, is to gather data extensively and intensively.
The objectives of the interview may be exchange of
ideas and experiences, eliciting of information
pertaining to a very wide range of data in which the
interviewee may wish to rehearse his past, define his
present and canvass his future possibilities. Thus, in
brief, the objectives of interviewee are two fold:
[Link] exchange ideas and experience and
[Link] elicit information.
The importance of interview may be known through these points,
• It is the method best suited for the assessment of personal
qualities.
• It has definite values for diagnosis of emotional problems and for
therapeutic treatments.
• It is one of the major bases upon which counseling procedures are
carried out.
• It provides information to supplement other methods of collecting
data.
• It may be used, in addition to observation, to verify information
obtained through correspondence methods.
TYPES according to format of
interview
There are different types of interviews used in the research data
collection. An interview is either structured or unstructured,
depending upon whether a formal questionnaire has bean
formulated and the questions asked in a prearranged order or not.
An interview is also either direct or indirect as a result of whether
the purposes of the questions asked are plainly stated or
intentionally disguised.
Cross-classifying these two characteristics provides four different
types of interviews. That is, an interview may be:
• structured and direct,
• unstructured and direct,
• structured and indirect, or
• unstructured and indirect.
1. STRUCTURED-DIRECT INTERVIEW
The usual type of interview conducted during a consumer survey to
obtain descriptive information is one using a formal questionnaire
consisting of non-disguised questions, a questionnaire designed to
“get the facts”.
If the marketing search manager of a television set manufacturer
wants to find out how many and what kinds of people prefer various
styles of television cabinets, for example, he may have a set of
questions drawn up that asks for these facts directly. Assuming that
personal interviewing is being used, each interviewer will be
instructed to ask the questions in the order given on the
questionnaire and to ask only those questions. The resulting
interviews will be structured-direct in nature.
2. UNSTRUCTURED-DIRECT
INTERVIEW
In the unstructured-direct method of interviewing, the
interviewer is given only general instructions on the type
of information desired. He is left to ask the necessary
direct questions to obtain this information, using the
warding and the order that seems most appropriate in
the context of each interview. Unstructured-direct
interviews are often used in exploratory studies. Many
research projects that use a formal questionnaire for the
final interviews go through an exploratory phase in which
respondents are contacted and unstructured interviews
are held. These interviews are useful in obtaining a
clearer understanding of the problem and determining
what areas should be investigated.
3. Structured-indirect interview: In the case of
structured indirect interview the questions are pre-
decided and arranged in a structured way. However the
purpose of the study is not revealed.
4. Unstructured-indirect interview: In the case of
unstructured indirect interview the questions aren’t pre-
decided and neither the purpose of the study made
known explicitly.
Types according to the style
• Personal Interviews
• Telephonic Interview
• Focus Groups Interviews
• Depth Interviews
• Projective Interviews
Personal Interviews
• Personal interview is the face to face two way communication
between interviewer and the responder
• Generally personal interview is carried out in a planned manner and is
referred to as structured interview
• This can be dome in many forms eg., door to door, or formal executive
meeting
Method for conducting personal
interview
A personal interview require a lot of preparation. Generally, personal
interview should go through following five stages:
a. Rapport Building
• Interviewer should increase the receptiveness of the
respondents
• By making him believe that his opinions are useful to the research,
and is going to be pleasure rather than an ordeal (trial).
b. introduction
• An introduction involves the interviewer identifying himself by giving
him his name, purpose and sponsorship if any.
• An introductory letter goes a long way in conveying the study’s
legitimacy.
c. Probing
• Probing is the technique of encouraging the respondents to answer
• Completely
• Freely
• Relevantly
d. Recording
• The interviewer can either write the response at the time of interview
or after the interview
• In certain cases, where the respondents allow for it, audio or visual
aids can be used to record answers.
e. Closing
• After the interview, interviewer should than the respondent and once
again assure them about the worth of their responses.
• And also assures them about the confidentiality of the answers
provided
Telephone Interviews
• This type of interview is conducted through telephone
• This method can be used in combination of computers and other
devices.
• This is used when respondents are not geographically accessible by
the interviewer due to their location.
• As it is conducted at the convenience of respondent and the
interviewer. Hence, it is important to get permission for recording and
also use proper device to communicate. So that important
information may not get distorted.
Projective Technique
• Projective technique involves the presentation of an ambiguous,
unstructured object activity or person that a respondent is asked to
interpret and explain.
• Respondents are asked to interpret the colors of dress
• In projective techniques, the respondents are asked to interpret the
behavior of others/objects and in this way they indirectly reveal their
own behavior in the same situation. Some of these techniques are as
follows:
• Word Association Test: Respondents are given a list of words one at a
time and they are asked to respond immediately with the first thing
that comes in to their mind.
• Cloud Picture test: This shows two or more characters conversing to
each other and cloud of one character is left empty.
• Then a response to be filled by a respondent according to his interpretation of
what the other characters are saying
• Sentence Completion test: A sentence is left incomplete and the
respondent is asked to fill it with the first thought that comes to their
mind. e.g., People who use public library are……………..
• Story completion study: A step further to sentence completion is the
story completion study.
• Under this a story is created by the researcher which defines the topic of
research and the respondents are asked to complete the story
• The Third-Person Technique: The simplest way
of obtaining information through indirect questioning of
a respondent is to ask for the view of a neighbor, an
(unnamed) associate, or some other person whose
views on the subject at hand might reasonably be
known. This permits the respondent to project his own
views with no feeling of social pressure to give an
“acceptable” answer.
• The Depth Interview: There is substantial use of the
unstructured, informal interview in research to explore the
underlying predispositions, needs, desires, feelings, and
emotions of the respondents toward products and services. This
method of interviewing is referred to as a “depth interview”.
The depth interview in research may consist of either direct or
indirect questions, or some combination of the two. The skilled
interviewer will generally employ both types of questions, A
direct, free answer question such as “What are the major reasons
why you bought your iPhone? Might well be followed up, for
example, with an indirect question such as “Why do you think
people who own smart phones bought them?”
ADVANTAGES

• It provides flexibility to the interviewers

• The interview has a better response rate than mailed questions, and
the people who cannot read and write can also answer the questions.
• The interviewer can judge the non-verbal behavior of the respondent.
• The interviewer can decide the place for an interview in a private and
silent place, unlike the ones conducted through emails which can have
a completely different environment.
• The interviewer can control over the order of the question, as in the
questionnaire, and can judge the spontaneity of the respondent as well
Disadvantages

• Conducting interview studies can be very costly as well as very

time-consuming.
• An interview can cause biases. For example, the respondent’s
answers can be affected by his reaction to the interviewer’s race,
class, age or physical appearance.

• Interview studies provide less anonymity, which is a big concern

for many respondents.
• There is a lack of accessibility to respondents (unlike conducting
mailed questionnaire study) since the respondents can be in
around any corner of the world or country.
FOCUS GROUP
• Focus groups: small group (6 – 12 people) discussions led by a
trained moderator; homogeneous group; tightly bounded topic area
• Objectives:
• Generate ideas
• Reveal Respondents benefits sought, needs, motives,
perceptions, and attitudes on various things
• Understand findings from quantitative studies
Moderator Role & Responsibilities
• Focus group moderator: a person who conducts the session and
guides the flow of group discussion across specific topics
• Moderator characteristics:
• Experienced
• Enthusiastic
• Prepared
• Involving
• Energetic
• Open-minded
Reporting and Use of Focus
Group Results
• Factors to remember when analyzing data:
• Some sense must be made by translating the qualitative statements of
participants into categories and then reporting the degree of consensus
apparent in the focus groups
• Demographics and pbehavior characteristics of focus group
participants should be judged against the target objectives to assess
what degree the group(s) represent(s) the target population
• A focus groups analysis should identify major themes as well as salient
areas of disagreement among the participants
• Online focus group: one in which the respondents and/or moderator (and
sometimes clients) communicate and/or observe by use of the Internet;
group members are at their own pc
• Advantages:
• No physical setup is necessary
• Transcripts are captured on file in real time
• Participants can be in widely separated geographical areas
• Participants are comfortable in their home or office environments
• The moderator can exchange private messages with individual
participants
Disadvantages:

• Observation of participants’ body language is not possible

• Participants cannot physically inspect products or taste food
items
• Participants can lose interest or become distracted
• Advantages:
• Generation of fresh ideas
• Client interaction
• Versatility (many topics, other research techniques may be used,
product tests, etc.)
• May tap special respondents (drs., lawyers …)
Criteria for interviewer
• Knowledgeable: Being familiar with the topic
• Structuring: outline the procedure of the interview
• Clear: simple, easy and short questions which are spoken distinctively
and understandably
• Gentle: being tolerant, sensitive and patient to provocative and
unconventional opinions.
• Steering: to control the course of the interview to avoid digression
from the topic
• Critical: to test the reliability and validity of what the interviewer tells
• Remembering: Retaining the subject information from the interview
• Interpretive: provide interpretation of what the respondent said
Types of Topics in Questions
• Behaviors: What a person has done or doing
• Opinions/values: What a person thinks about a topic
• Feelings: What a person feels rather than what a person thinks
• Knowledge: To get facts about the topic
• Sensory: What people have seen, heard, tasted, touched or smelled
• Background/Demographic: Standard background questions like
education, age etc.
After the Interview
• Verify if the tape recorder, if used, worked throughout the interview
• Make any notes on your written notes
• Write down any observations made during the interview
Conclusion
• So, we can use the interview technique as one of the data collection
methods for the research
• It makes the researcher to feel that data what he collected is true and
honest and original by nature because of the face to face interaction