Interview

-In research,interview is a data gathering technique that makes you verbally ask the subjects or
respondents questionsto give answers to what your research study is trying to look for.Done mostly
in qualitative research studies,interview aims at knowing what the respondents think and feel about
the topic of your research.

TYPES

1.Structured Interview

This is an interview that requires the use of an interview schedule or a list of questions
answerable with one and only item from a set of alternative responses.Choosing one answer from
the given set of answers,the respondent are barred from giving answers that reflect their own
thinking or emotions about the topic.

2.Unstructured Interview

In this type of interview,the respondents answer the questions based on what they
personally think and feel abou it.There are no suggested answers.They purely depend on the
respondent's decision-making skills,giving them oppurtunity to think critically about the question.

3.Semi-Structural Interview

The characteristics of the first two types are found in the third type of interview called semi-
structured interview.Here,you prepare a schedule on a list of questions that is accompanie by a list
of expressions from where the respondents can pick out the correct answer.However,after choosing
one from the suggested answers,the respondents answer another set of questions to make them
explain the reasons behind their choices

Approaches
1. Individual Interview - only one responent is interviewed here. The reason behind this one-on-
one interview is the lack of trust the interviewees have among themselves. One example of this is
refusal of one interviewee to let other interviewees get a notion of or hear his or her responses to
the questions. Hence, he or she prefers to have an individual interview separate from the rest. This
is a interview one by one.
2. Group Interview - you ask the questions no to be one person, but to a group of people at the
same time. The group members take turns in answering the question. This approach is often used
in the field of business, specifically in marketing research. Reseachers in this field, whose primary
aim in adhering to this interview approach is to know people’s food preferences and consumer
opinions; they also call this as focus group interview. The chances of having some respondents
getting influenced by the other group members are one downside of this interview approach.
3. Mediated Interview - no face-to-face interview is true for this interview approach because this
takes place through electronic communication devices such as telephones, mobile phone, email,
among others. Through mediated interview disregards non-verbal communication (bodily
movements, gestures, facial expressions, feelings, eye contact, etc.) many, nonetheless consider
this better because of the big number of respondents it is capable of reaching despite, the cost,
distance, and human disabilities affecting the interview. It is a synchronous mediated interview if
you talk with the subjects through the telephone, mobile phone, or online chat and also find time to
see each other. It is asynchronous if only two persons are interviewed at a diffirent time through
the internet, email, facebook, twitter, and other social network media.

Steps in Conducting an Interview

Step 1: Getting to Know Each Other - the interview start from the time you, the interviewer, and
your respondents see each other at the place of interview, that is, if this is a traditional interview.
Naturally, seeing each other for the first time, your tendency would be to talk with each other to
establish friendship and a relaxed mood for both of you. Althrough, in the some cases, the place is
your respondent’s residence, you have to show signs of appreciation and respect for the chosen
venue of the interview of the interview. You warm acknowledgement for each other must lead you to
discussing several aspects to the interview such as where you have to do it, how comfortable both
of you should be, and how long should the questions-and-amswer activity be.
Step 2: Having an Idea of the Research - this second step requires you to tell the respondents
about the nature of the interview, it’s purpose, important, scope, and so on. Telling them of these
salient features of the activity enables them to anticipate not only the kind of questions they will get
to face, but also the appropriate answers they will give. Things pertaining to the confidential
treatment of responses are also tackled in this second step of interview. It is also in this period when
you have to stress the ideas to the respondents that the interview is for you to know and the hear
their own view and to let them express their owm understanding of the topic of the question in their
own words.

Step 3:Starting the interview-You open this step with a question to encourage the respondent to
talk about himself or herself, including his or her age, family, current activities, and other things you
think appear special or interesting to him or her. Following these self-introduction questions are
questions on the subject’s thoughts, attitudes or performance of his or her job or any current work
assignment. The respondent’s answer do not only help you get some clues on his or her ways or
techniques of responding to interview questions, but also give you hints on the right ways to ask
your subjects the questions, that will elicit the right data for your research.
Step 4 :Conducting the interview proper-Interview questions in this step are on the interviewee’s
open and extensive talking of things related to the research theme or research questions and on
those anticipated by him/her or emanating from his/her explanation, descriptions or narration of
things. Open or unstructured questions ask in this step of the interview aim at investigating the
respondent interests and eliciting substantial or profuse responses to questions. In asking a battery
of question, you see to it that you stick to the main point of your study to the proper phrasing of
question and to the sufficient time allotted for answering each question.

Step 5: Putting an end to the interview-Signs to the approaching end of the interview work to alert
the respondent in winding up with his or her talking. For instance using words expressing your
decision, wish or attempt to ask the very last question serves as a clue for the respondent to think
that the interview is nearing it’s ends. This step also reminds you of your responsibility to let the
respondent be free In airing whatever doubts or question he or she has about the research design,
method, interview time and other aspects of the interview.
 Step 6 : Pondering Over Interview After thoughts-The last step of the interview gives the
respondent the opportunity to ask question about the interview activity and let him or her have an
idea about what will happen next to the interview results.

Questionnaire :

A questionnaire is a paper containing a list of questions including the specific place and space in the
paper where you write the answer to the question. This prepared set of questions elicit factual or
opinionated answers from the respondent’s through his or her acts of checking one chosen answer
from several options or of writing on a line provided for any opinionated answer.
Purposes of a Questionnaire

1.To discover people’s thoughts and feelings about the topic of the research.

2.To assist you in conducting an effective face to faceinterview with your respondents

3.To help you plan how to obtain and record the answers to your questions.

4To make the analysis,recording,and coding of data easier and faster.

Types of Questionaire

1.Postal questionnaire

As the name connotes,this type of questionnaire goes to the respondent through postal service
or electronic mail.It is through the mail or postal system that the accomplished questionnaires will
be sent back to the researchers.

2.Self-administered questionnaire

This kind of questions makes you act as the interviewer and the interviewee at the same
time.First,you ask the questions either in person or through phone;then,you will be writing the
interviewee's answers on a piece of paper.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Questionnaire

Advantages

1.It is cheap as it does not require you to travel to hand the questionnaires to a big number of
respondents in faraway places.

2.It entails an easy distribution to respondents.

3.It offers mor opportunity for the respondents to ponder on their responses.

4.It enables easy comparison of answers because of a certain degree of uniformity among the
questions.
5.It has the capacity to elicit spontaneous or genuine answers from the respondents.

Disadvantages

1There is a possibility that some questions you distributed do not go back to you,and this prevents
you from getting the desired rate of response.

2.Confusing and uninteresting questions to respondents fail to elicit the desired responses.

3.wing to individual differences between the selected subjects and those in the population,in
general,the questionnaire is hard up in obtaining unbiased results to represent the characteristic of
the target population.

4.It prevents you from being with the respondents physically to help them unlock some difficulties in
their understanding of the questions.
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