THE INTERVIEW

 

Definition

 

•       a purposeful face to face relationship between two persons

 

Advantages of the Interview

 

1. It yields a more complete and valid information.
2. The interview can be used with all kinds of people, whether literate or illiterate, rich or poor, laborer or capitalist, etc.
3. The interviewer can always clarify points or questions which are vague to the interviewee.
4. Only the interviewee respondent can make replies to questions of the interviewer, unlike in the case of the questionnaire in which filling up a questionnaire may be delegated to another person or the respondent may be aided by another person in making replies.
5. The interviewer can observe the nonverbal reactions or behavior of the respondent which may reveal rich pertinent information.
6. Greater complex questions can be asked with the interviewer around to explain things greater complex data which are vital to the study can be acquired.
7. There is flexibility.

 

Disadvantages of the Interview

 

1. Sometimes, selected respondents are hard to contact or cannot be contacted at all because of the distance of their place or due to some other reasons.

2. It is expensive if many interviewers have to be employed to meet a target date.

3. It is time consuming if only the researcher conducts the interviews.

4. It is inconvenient for both the interviewer and the interviewee in terms of time and sometimes in term of place.

5. There is no anonymity and so the interviewee may withhold some confidential but vital information, especially if the information may possibly invite trouble.

6. There is a tendency of interviewers to introduce bias because they may influence their interviewees to give replies that would favor their research-employers.

7. If the interviewer modifies a question, the standardized construction of the question is lessened and, categorization and tabulation become a problem.

 

Types or Classes of Interviews

 

1. Standardized interview

2. Nonstandardized interview

3. Semistandardized interview

4. Focused interview

5. Nondirective interview

 

Strategies for Initial Questioning

 

1. Funnel questions: a strategy that starts with an open-ended question and follows up with increasingly narrow questions

2. Inverted Funnel Questions:  a strategy that starts with a very specific question and expands by asking increasingly general questions.

 

Strategies for Follow-up Questioning

 

1.      Mirror Questions: questions repeating previous responses to gain additional information

2.      Prohibiting Questions: questions that directly ask for elaboration and explanation

3.      Climate questions: questions asking respondents to explain how they feel about the interview

 

What to Avoid in Interviews

 

1. Avoid exerting undue pressure upon a respondent to make him participate in an interview.

2. Avoid disagreeing or arguing with or contradicting the respondent.

3. Avoid unduly pressing the respondent to make a reply.

4. Avoid using a language well over and above the ability of the respondent to understand.

5. Avoid talking about irrelevant matters.

6. Avoid placing the interviewee in embarrassing situations.

7. Avoid appearing too high above the respondent in education, knowledge, and social status.

8. Avoid interviewing the respondent in an unholy hour.

 

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