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Profiling Your Community
Guide to Interviewing


This guide was prepared by Martha Hale. It is based on ideas gathered over the years and from Henczel, Susan. (2001). The Information Audit: A Practical Guide. Munich: K.G. Saur.


Introduction: Personal interviews are one-on-one conversations conducted to collect data you probably won't be able to find in any other source.

Interviews have the following advantages and disadvantages:

  • Personal contacts give a personal emphasis to the data collection process. They are particularly good if the person being interviewed is a person you wnat to meet or if you need to supplement data collected using another method.
  • You receive an immediate response to the questions.
  • They allow discussions of the meaning to the questions to eliminate ambiguity.
  • They allow he collection of a wider variety of data than you expect.
  • They take time and courage to conduct.
  • Sorting important data from chaff can be time consuming and difficult.
  • Interviewers can introduce their own bias in the way they ask quesitons.


Types of Interviews:

Stuctured: Formal interviews with a structured list of questions from which you do not deviate. Requires minimum interviewing skills.

Semi-structured: Less formal process which uses a prepared list of issues, open-ended questions derived from the issues, that allow the interviewer to follow up on unanticipated responses. Requires an interviewer who is more confident.

Unstructured: Informal process in which the general subject matter is predetermined. This is a good choice when the process is more important than the results and when the interviewer is intuitive, experienced, and confident.



Planning the Interviews:

  1. Let your creativity roll.

  2. Decide which type of interview you are going to conduct. Select the subjects, issues, and questions that will be covered in the interview(s). Define what you hope to discover or accomplish with the interview(s).

  3. Decide whether or not you will record the interview(s).

  4. Prepare for the interview. Keep your questions clear, concise, and free of jargon. Now get some feed back from other planning team members on your proposed questions and interview format.

  5. Prepare an invitation or request (telephone, written, or face-to-face) to the potential interviewee(s).

  6. Check your interview preparations and make any adjustments necessary.


Conducting the Interview:

  1. Greet the person being interviewed.

  2. Explain why the interview is being conducted.

  3. Explain how the interview will be conducted.

  4. Ask the questions and listen carefully. Try not to interrupt the interviewee.

  5. Probe gently to clarify answers or pursue issues or subjects that seem fruitful. (For example, say, "Can you tell me more about...?")

  6. Wrap up the interview by providing details of what will be done with the results and thank the interviewee for her/his participation. Ask the interviewee, "Is there anything I forgot to ask that you would like to tell me?"


Analyzing the Results:

  1. Transcribe the interview results yourself because that will help you review the interview in detail.

  2. Look for patterns in the interviewee's responses and summarize them.

  3. Ask other planning team members to read your transcript and check your summary.




Bibliography

Bell South, Digital Storyteller. (2002). The Art of Conducting an Interview. (http://www.knowitall.org/bellsouthdigitalstoryteller/training/pdf/interview.pdf)

*McNamara, Carter. (1999). General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews. (http://www.mapnp.org/library/evaluatn/intrview.htm) - This is an excellent, comprehensive resource for interviewing.