Interviewing Workshop

Directions:

This workshop is different from the other course workshop in that it includes a tutorial that is contained on another website in addition to specific tips and rules on the wiki page. Follow the link below. You must submit the required materials here AND participate in the physical class workshop for credit.

This tutorial was created as part of the CSU Information Competence Work Group project and covers the informational interview. While you should review the entire tutorial, you do not have to complete any of tutorials tests or assigned tasks (but it couldn't hurt...).

Review the materials below, download the app, then Go here for the tutorial: http://www.roguecom.com/interview/

Link Links to an external site.This is about 18 minutes but worth watching. 1-3:30 overview, then examples of poor interview practices and an analysis followed by an example of good interview practices and analysis.

After a short introduction looking at Steinar Kvale's 10 criteria of a good interviewer, this video examines two interviews: one a short and rather poor attempt, the other a longer and much improved version. It is designed to help anyone learning how to undertake research interviews in the social sciences.

ALL INTERVIEWEES FOR YOUR PROJECTS MUST SIGN CONSENT FORMS. SIGNED FORMS MUST BE SUBMITTED (scanned or clearly photographed and converted to PDF) TO GET CREDIT FOR THOSE METHODS (for your project, NOT this workshop).  Note: there are iPhone and Android apps that allow you to convert a photo to a pdf.

Copy of consent form: Interviewee_ConsentForm_151i.doc Download Interviewee_ConsentForm_151i.doc

Here are a few apps to convert pics to pdfs for easy consent form uploading!

Genius Scan

Available for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phones and it is FREE!

Get all versions at http://thegrizzlylabs.com/ Links to an external site.

Handyscanner

Handy Scanner Free turns your phone or tablet into a powerful document scanner. Use to submit signed consent forms. You can also scan multipage documents, whiteboards, business cards and so much more. The post-processing filters give you the greatest quality with the lowest background noise. Then, just share them to GMail, Dropbox or any other application. Better yet, use instant uploading to Dropbox! Produces both PDF and JPEG images!

Android (free)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.halfmobile.scannerfree&hl=en Links to an external site.

iPhone .99 cents

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/handy-scanner/id419484423?mt=8

Interviewing Exercise: to probe or not to probe, there is no question!

For this workshop you will conduct two short interviews with two different people at two different times.

1. Create and execute comparative interviews on the types of human communication behaviors people exhibit when choosing how to interact via an electronic device and WHY. For example, what types of communication are appropriate for texting as opposed to voice or a Facebook post? What are people's personal communication "rules" and habits?
2. Create a plan on how you can discover people's personal communication "rules" and habits for using electronic devices. Keep in mind, simply asking them what their rules are is not very productive. Remember, people often do not know what they know when it comes to everyday activities. Think: how can you help them grasp the concepts?
3. Create a set of interview questions (5 minimum) with only primary open-ended questions (that is, NO yes/no or multiple choice – this is not a quiz). You MUST use the following question as one of your five>>>: “What was the topic and the person you called on the last voice call you made on your mobile?”
4. Conduct an 8-10 minute interview.
5. Take that set of interview questions you used for the first interview (do not change them) with primary open-ended questions and add two probing questions to each primary question. You MUST use the following question and probes as one of your five:

“What was the topic and the person you called on the last voice call you made on your mobile?”

“Why did you choose to use a voice call versus a text or other electronic communication?”

“Take me through your process of deciding whether or not make a voice call versus a text or other electronic communication?”

6. Conduct another 8 to 10 minute interview with a different person.
7. For interview #2, you MUST audio record and take careful notes so you can practice coding your data.
8. Compare and contrast the amount and nature of the information you obtained from each interview (150 - 250 words).
9. For the question above, carefully look at the answer your interviewee gave. In thinking about the human communication behavior (deciding what mode to use) how would you organize that information considering you might ask multiple people the same question?
10. To earn credit for this assignment you must: complete the tasks above in their current order and submit via Canvas by the workshop due date, all in one document. Just submit the questions and probes, not the answers to the questions (you do not need consent forms for this workshop or to submit your recording); your analysis, and you first attempt at organizing and categorizing your data.
11. In class, we will make our first run at "coding" the data you collected from the questions and probes provided in your second interview.

Link Links to an external site.Qualitative analysis of interview data: A step-by-step guide

 Cardinal Rules of Interviewing

1. Do not waste the interviewees time.

The interviewer must be fully prepared for the interview. This includes having an interview schedule (written out questions and follow-ups); be punctual, and avoid obvious or common questions which leads to...

2. Only ask questions whose answer cannot be discovered in any other way.

The interviewer needs to do his/her homework. This means doing background research both on the topic and the individual. For example, if you are interviewing someone about their experiences in Iraq, you will need to know background information on the war, military and Iraqi culture, and anything else that will give you the knowledge to ask informed and insightful questions.  The only exception is to clarify information gained from another source or that was unclear. It is also helpful to talk to "cultural informants" or people who are familiar with the same scene/culture/experience as the interviewee. To use the same example, you could talk with someone who had served in the military or in Iraq to gain insights and fine-tune your questions. By illustrating that you did your homework, you signal to the interviewee that you respect them and care about their experiences.

3. Always get informed consent.

An interviewee must know exactly what you are going to do with the information you gather from him/her. This should be explicitly laid out for them. There should always be a consent form that the interviewee should sign that indicates they know how this information is to be used and that they agree to be recorded. The interviewee should get a copy (Interviewee_Consent Form:

4. Always record your interview.

Sometimes this is impossible, but not having a recording is a serious set-back to collecting good data. You will always take notes, but recording will allow you to engage more directly with the interviewee and will capture many things you will miss that could prove important. Most laptops will record voice without an external microphone. Garage Band is particularly effective. There are also smart phone functions and apps that record. Always test your gear and make sure the interview knows you will be recording. Do not set your up laptop between you, set it off to the side where you alone can see the screen.

Types of Questions

There are many different types of questions. A primary question is a question that makes sense out of context. For example, "How did you become interested in politics. For qualitative interviews, you should concentrate on open-ended questions. You want people to feel free to talk and provide in-depth responses. There are several types of open-ended primary questions.

Highly open-ended questions

These types of questions give the broadest latitude for interviewees to answer. For example, "Tell me about your trip to Haiti?" or "What do you remember about the accident?"

Moderately open-ended questions

These types of questions give a degree of latitude for interviewees to answer. For example, "What were living conditions like in Haiti?" or 'What were your first thoughts after you crawled out of your car?"

Probing or follow-up questions

Probes or follow-up questions seek to get further details and clarifications from interviewees. Probing questions cannot stand alone and only make sense in the context of other questions. There are many types of probing questions, here are a few useful ones to think about.

Silent probes

Silent probes use silence or non-verbal cues such a a smile to give interviewees a chance to respond. Generally people do not like silence and will seek to fill the void. Whatever you do, DO NOT simply stare at the interview in silence! Take notes, take  drink of water, etc.

Nudging Probe

Nudging probes are short verbal nudges to get interviewees to respond. For example, "I see." or "Go on." or "And?" can all be effective nudges.

Clearinghouse Probes

Clearing House Probes are good for discovering if your other questions have been effective and to get an additional information that may be out there. It is a good way to end a section and proceed to the nest topic. For example, "What else did Officer Jones say to the suspect?" or "is there anything else you would like to add about your experience with technology in the classroom?"

Informational Probes

Informational Probes are great for getting past superficial answers. For example, "Why do you think she said that?" or "When you say it bothered you a little, what do mean by 'a little?'"