Interview: An Overview

The “interview” defined as a “conversation where questions are asked and the corresponding answers are
given. The setting and execution of the interview range from casual to semi-formal to formal, and it
involves two parties: the interviewer and interviewee. The interviewer’s objective is to collect data and
information by asking questions, and probing the answers that are given by the interviewee. It may even
be described as the “interviewer’s script”.
An interview may be conducted one-on-one, with one interviewer and one interviewee, or in groups. For
example, one interviewer may discuss with multiple interviewees, or more than one interviewer may
converse with a single interviewee. Alternatively, it could be a group arrangement, with a panel of
interviewers facing a panel of interviewees.
When are interviews conducted? Generally, interviews are used for the following:
• Hiring or Recruitment. A job interview involves a hiring manager or recruiter talking to or
discussing with an applicant or candidate in order to assess the latter’s suitability and fit for an
open position.
• Research. One way to gather data for research (e.g. marketing, economic, and scientific research)
is through what is known as “research interview”, where respondents are sought for answers. In
scientific research, for example, questions are formulated for the purpose of testing a hypothesis
or assumption.
• Information dissemination. News is the prime example, where a person is asked questions for
television, radio, newspaper, or similar media.
How can you express the ease of an interview?
Common sense would dictate that an interview is going well if there is a continuous exchange of ideas
and information, and this can be attributed to several factors.
• An objective or purpose, revolving around a specific topic or subject. Is it a job interview? Is the
interview meant to find out what the interviewee thinks about a certain issue?
• The ability of the interviewer to ask questions and encourage the interviewee to connect and
open up to the interviewee. This also refers to his ability to probe deeper and do follow ups on the
questions to gain more information.
• The responsiveness of the interviewee, and their ability to express himself fully in his answers.
He should be able to quickly grasp the question and understand what is being asked, so he can
provide the answer that the interviewer is looking for.
• The interview setting. This includes the venue or location, the language used, and other external
factors that set the overall tone of the interview.
If any of the above are absent, one can expect the interview to go from the beginning. However, another
huge reason why most interviews fail or do not achieve the desired results is lack of preparation,
particularly on the part of the interviewer. An indication of preparedness is an “interview schedule”.
THE INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
As fun as spontaneous or on-the-spot interviews may seem to be, they will still bomb if no preparation
was put into it. Those “ambush” interviews you see on television? They are not completely random or
“on-the-spot” as they are presented to be. The questions asked have already been prepared beforehand,
and they are often contained in an interview schedule.
An interview schedule is basically a list containing a set of structured questions that have been prepared,
to serve as a guide for interviewers, researchers and investigators in collecting information or data about a
specific topic or issue. The schedule will be used by the interviewer, who will fill in the questions with
the answers received during the actual interview.
Advantages of an Interview Schedule
1. An interview schedule facilitates the conduct of an interview. Since the questions have already
been prepared beforehand, it is easier to carry out and complete the interview.
2. It increases the likelihood of collecting accurate information or data. The questions, which
were already prepared beforehand, are expected to be well-thought out and have focus, so they
target the “heart of the matter”, thereby ensuring that the answers obtained are correct or accurate.
Interview schedules can increase the reliability and credibility of data gathered.
3. It allows interviewers and researchers to get more information, since they can ask follow-up
queries or clarifications to the questions they have prepared. Thus, the information gathered is
more relevant and useful.
4. The rate and amount of responses are higher. Often, interviews are time-bound. Interviewers
are given only a limited amount of time to ask all their questions and get the answers. If he came
prepared, then he can utilize that time properly. Otherwise, he will be wasting a lot of time,
thinking about what question to ask next. The next thing he knows, time is up, and he barely got
anything substantial from the interviewee.
5. It offers flexibility and high customization, and may be used when interviewing different types
of people. The interviewer can prepare it with the respondents in mind. For example, an
interviewer may have prepared a job interview schedule for the recruitment of a construction
worker or laborer. When they are tasked to interview candidates for a senior management
position, he may also use the same schedule, but with several adjustments.
Disadvantages of an Interview Schedule
1. It can be time-consuming. Preparation of the interview schedule can take quite a chunk of the
time of an interviewer, especially if it is for an extensive or in-depth interview. Significant
amounts of research must be performed in order to be able to craft good questions.
2. There is a high risk that the interview and its results may suffer from the bias of the
interviewer, as he is the one that will choose the questions to be asked during the interview.
3. Variability may be high when the interview schedule is used by multiple interviewers. This
may result to unreliable information gathered during the interviews.
TYPES OF INTERVIEW SCHEDULES
There are two major types of interview schedules or guides that are widely used by interviewers.
In-depth interview schedule
This is used for open-ended interviews, which are aimed at obtaining in-depth information, often on
serious topics or sensitive issues. The questions are open-ended, with prompts provided for the
interviewer to ask for clarification or further information if necessary.
The interviewee is given more room or leeway to talk about all the topics that will crop up during the
interview, so he is free to use his own words and let the ideas flow out of him easily. The key
characteristics of this interview schedule are listed below.
• The schedule contains indications of the interviewee’s awareness of the purpose of the
interview and how long it will take.
• The questions must be crafted to provide answers relevant to the topic or issue. For example,
if it is a job interview, the questions should address the matter on whether the applicant being
interviewed possesses the qualifications and credentials that make him suitable for the open
position. If the interview is for purposes of research or investigation, the questions should answer
the main problem or topic of the research or investigation.
• All questions should be relevant, or have an impact on the purpose or objective of the interview.
Remove any irrelevant questions, or those with answers that won’t be of any use to you.
• It takes the one-step-at-a-time approach, with each question meant to tackle only one issue,
instead of addressing several issues all at one. This has a tendency to confuse not only the
interviewee, but also the interviewer, and result in the latter losing control of the direction of the
interview.
• Instead of using questions answerable with a Yes or No, the questions are open-ended, which
can be used as a starting or reference point for more questions. This way, the interviewer can go
deeper in getting information he needs.
• The questions are neutral, avoiding leading questions that have the potential to dictate the
answer to the interviewee.

Meaning, uses and limitations of Interview Schedule

Meaning of Interview Schedule:

Interview is a face to face or one to one situation in which the interviewer gathers information about the
behaviour, problems and future plans of the pupil. It is also designed to assist the pupil to understand
himself and his environment, so as to be able to solve his problems or modify his plans. There are various
types of interviews depending upon their purpose and design.

When interview is used as a tool for gathering data for research purpose it is called “research interview”
When interview is used for clinical purpose or to secure information about a pupil’s problems, his past
history, adjustment patterns etc. it is called clinical interview.
Similarly, interview can cover only one pupil at a time or a group of pupils. Accordingly, interview can
be “individual interview or group interview”. Interviews are also classified as “structured interview” and
“unstructured interview.” But our concern is to have a clear-cut look on interview schedule.

Interview schedule is another procedure under self-reporting technique of individual data collection. In
the interview the individual is made to answer several questions put to him related to a specific aspect in a
face to face situation. In conducting interview, the interviewer (guidance personnel) may use questions
specified beforehand. This is called structured interview. If the interviewer doesn’t have any pre-specified
questions while conducting interview, it is called unstructured interview.

Besides the above types, interviews may be counselling interview, diagnostic interview, non-directive
interview, authoritarian interview and non-authoritarian interview. For guidance purpose non-directive
interview seems to be most useful and helpful. The counsellor follows the student’s needs, reflex and
helps to clarify his feeling. He doesn’t inject his own ideas into the conversation by questions or
suggestions or by giving information or advice.

Question sequencing:
In general, questions should flow logically from one after the other
To achieve the best response rates, questions should flow from the least sensitive to the most sensitive,
from the Factual and behavioral to the attitudinal, and from the more general to the more specific
Some general rules for question sequencing:

• It’s good to Start with easy non-threatening questions that can be easily recalled.
Good options are demographics (age, gender, education level) for individual-level surveys and
firmographics (employee count, annual revenues, industry) for firm-level surveys.

• One must not start with an open-ended question.

• If following an historical sequence of events, a chronological order from earliest to latest must be
followed.

• Questioning about one topic at a time.

When switching topics, one must use a transition, such as “The next section examines your opinions
about …”

• It’s good to use filter or contingency questions as needed, such as: “If you answered “yes” to question 5,
please proceed to Section 2. If you answered “no” go to Section 3.”
Uses of Interview Schedule: The interview schedule has the following uses:

1. It is self-reporting technique which provides considerable flexibility to the interviewer.

2. Questions can be clarified, if necessary, the interview can be given an opportunity to qualify or modify
his answer and the interviewer can carefully observe the individual during the session, noting down the
feeling attached to his answer the topic or cases when he seems to be evasive and areas on which he is
most vocal.
3. If the interviewer is experienced and trained, he can go beyond external purposes of the interview and
he understands his inner feelings, wishes, desires, likes and dislikes.
4. While interviewing, the behaviour of the subject can be observed and information with regard to his
emotional complex can be observed which will be greatly helpful for individual guidance.
5. It is a potent and indispensable tool for getting data that no other research tool can do.
6. It can be adaptable, capable of being used with all types of individuals.

Limitations of Interview Schedule:

The Interview schedule has the following limitations so far as its application in the field of guidance is
concerned:
1. It is extremely time-consuming process.
2. Information obtained is not standardized from one person to another.

3. It suffers from bias of the interviewer.

4. Sometimes interviewer’s own Masses influence the questions that are asked.
5. Some of the interviewers are becoming too rigid in taking judgments, while some others get influenced
by others’ judgments.
6. A great deal of differences are found among the interviewers. As a result, the results obtained can’t be
called reliable.
7. Uniformity can’t be maintained from one interview situation to another.
In spite of the above limitations, interview technique may be quite useful for guidance. If the interviewer
is trained and if he possesses professional knowledge manners, maturity, objectivity, adequacy, well-
defined social values, the interview technique can get a high achieving situation in individual guidance
service.

Pretest:

Pretesting is the stage in survey research when survey questions and questionnaires are tested on members
of target population/study population, to evaluate the reliability and validity of the survey instruments
prior to their final distribution.