INTERVIEWS

INTERVIEWS

1. Definition

   • Set of assumptions
   • Understandings
   • about the situation which are not normally associated with a casual conversation

2. Types

   • The unstructured interview
     • Very flexible approach
     • Areas of interest are established by the researcher but the discussion of issues is guided by the interviewee
     • They are difficult to steer if the discussion gets away from the key subject matter
       • They can prove extremely difficult to analyse
   • The semi-structured interview
     • The interviewer directs the interview more closely
     • There is sufficient flexibility to allow the interviewee an opportunity to shape the flow of information
   • The structuredinterview
     • The interviewer has control over the order of questions, all of which are pretermined
     • Provide an easier framework for analysis
     • There is an element of predictability to the structured interview which allos the event to be timetabled with some precision

3. Procedures

   • Draft the interview
     • Begins by broadly indicating the questions which you'd like to ask
     • In any interview type, it is important for the interviewer to prepare to list of key questions to be covered
       • This so that important issues are not overlooked and the interview follows a logical progression
     • It is important clarify both the number and type of questions you will ask and how they will be sequenced during the interview
     • A decision should be made concerning how interviews will be recorded. Atape recorder or transcript can be used to reliably record what was said in the interview
   • Pilot your questions
     • You can begin to identify and correct imperfections by piloting, or testing out, your questions with a select few people in order to establish their clarity
     • Piloting is crucial, it assists in eliminating ambiguous question as well as in generating useful feedback on the structure anf flow of your intended interview
     • Interview questions should be easy to understand
   • Select your interviewees
     • Extra care must be taken when selecting the sample group of interviewees
     • The interview takes a long time, but it transcription twice as long
       • and interviewer has to go to the interviewee´s field
   • Conduct the interviews
     • The physical organisation of your interview setting is an important part of the interview process
     • Formal interviews tend to be intimidating, even seating arrangements are important
     • It is recommended to have someone to take notes of ithe nterview so as not to interrupt and slow down the interview
     • Open.ended questions give confidence to the interviewee, in addition to comforting signals of acceptance
   • Analyse the interview data
     • The final stage begins by drawing together the data collected and structuring them in such a way as to make ready for analysis
       • It should grouping the responses to each question from all interviewees to make comparision between respondents easy
     • For data analysis, you can use NU.DIST and NVIVO, commercialy available packages
       • They rely on a coding structure that has to be developed by the researcher before any meaningful analysis can take place

4. Data Analysis

   • Objective
     • Inferences, lessons, or conclusions data more manageable of understandable information
   • Identify patterns across observations
     • Start by read through transcripts of interviews
       • Try to identify codes
         • Provides a clear idea about what sorts of themes come up across the interviews
         • Helps to achieve the goal of data management and data reduction
         • Types
           • Inductive
             • This process is also referred to as open coding
             • Require multiple analyses
           • Deductive
             • Used by research analysts who have a well-specified or pre-defined set of interests
         • Generate themes
           • Discard irrelevant codes and focus on potential themes that are useful and make the analysis more credible
           • Compare the transcripts
             • Repeat the process with the remaining transcripts. Check if the themes are actually present in the data
             • Define themes
               • Describe what is about, what makes it interesting, and how it contributes to the understanding of the data
               • Write the results
                 • Summary and discussion of analysis

5. Uses

   • It is used for different reasons
     • For example:
       • In the recruitment of personnel in a company
         • Finding the best people, with the necessary skills and capabilities
       • Researchs
         • Serving to learn about a subject with greater precision, gain new perspectives or archieve greater understanding
       • Proyects
       • Also used by physicians, educators, anthropologists and journalists
         • To disclose general or specific information
           • Generating supporting information and making it credible
     • Its purpose is to
       • Collect information
         • This information is then analyzed and interpretation
           • It then serves as an information resource for others
     • Their use depends on the type of information they require
       • So you can choose the best type of interview, adjusting it to your interests
         • For all types of interviews will allow for conversation and participation between the subjects