Interviewing Stakeholders:Evaluating Support for Policy Change

in Your Community

Objectives

1. Identify different types of interviewing techniques & know when to use

2. Describe ‘basic rules’ of successful interviewing

3. Demonstrate skill in interviewing that you will be able to apply in your policy evaluations

Your Facilitators

Lynn Hrabik, NE Region

Jennifer Leahy, Program Assistant

Edward Minter, SE Region

Bonita Westover, S & W Region

Interviews

At the most basic level, are conversations.

That, attempt to understand points of view, unfold the meaning of experiences, uncover changes in individuals, groups and

communities.

Why Interview Be personal and

unobtrusive Obtain direct feedback Seek understanding

“dig deeper”

Observe behaviors and reactions

Obtain rich, detailed data To be flexible

Types of Interviews

1. Informal Conversation

2. Guided Interview

3. Structured Interview

Adapted from M. Patton, 1990

Types of Interviews

Informal Conversation May happen spontaneously in the course of field work, and respondent may not even know that an “interview” is taking place.

Questions emerge from the immediate context of the conversation and are often not predetermined.

Informal Conversation

When to UseWhen the interviewer has: Solid knowledge and experience with the

subject matter

Strong interpersonal skills to maintain the conversation

The situation presents the opportunity

Ability to record data quickly

Informal Conversation

Situations Social gathering

School event

Before/after a public meeting

Whenever you have their attention and can engage the conversation

Types of Interviews

Guided Interview Widely used. Interviewer has an established outline of topics/questions to be covered.

Wording and order of questions can vary to an extent.

Guided Interview

When to UseWhen you have: Solid knowledge and experience with the

subject matter – you know what to ask

A set of questions you want everyone to answer

Questions that you want to compare or summarize across individuals

Guided Interview

Situations

Series of scheduled individual meetings with local politicians

Types of Interviews

Structured InterviewsAdheres to a strict script with no variation in the wording or order of the questions.

Useful when interviewer does not have experience or knowledge of the subject.

The structure helps reduce interviewer bias.

Structured Interviews

When to Use To compare responses of different

respondents

You or other volunteers have limited knowledge of the topic

Structured Interviews

Situations

Multiple volunteer interviewers are used

Conducting Interviews

Conducting Interviews

1. Establish Purpose Why are you conducting the interview

What do you want to know

Who are you interviewing

Conducting Interviews

2. Develop Questions:Related specifically to purpose

Pilot them, are they clearly understood by others’

Conducting Interviews3. Collect the data

Who will conduct the interview(s)?

Do the interviewers need training?

When will interviews be conducted?

Where will interviews be conducted?

How will you record the interviews?Questionnaire

Notes

Tape recorder

Conducting Interviews4. Analysis and reporting

What will you do with the data?

How will you analyze it?

Who will you share the results with?

How will it be shared?

When will you share the results?

Interviewing Basic Rules

Keep the purpose of the interview in mind…always

Be yourself

Be cordial, appreciative and show respect

Dress appropriately for the setting

Interviewing Basic Rules

Conduct the interview in a comfortable place

Do not be afraid to probe

Demonstrate that you are listening

Be sensitive to cultural nuances

Practice, practice, practice…

Interview Role-PlayInstructions

1. Read the scenarios.

2. Create ONE more question. The question must relate to the purpose of the interview.

3. Identify interviewee and interviewer(s).

4. Conduct interview with interviewer(s) documenting responses

5. Review and briefly analyze documented responses

Interview Role-PlayAfter conducting the interview, discuss within your

group the following:

The type of interview introduced in the scenario

A potential location for the interview

Ethical standards considered

Probing technique(s) used

Brief summary of the data collected

Did the interview meet the intended purpose

Disadvantages

May be time consuming and costlyTraining - practice is necessary Interviewer error and/or bias can

creep inAnalysis can be difficultInterviewing takes skill

Advantages

Direct feedback from respondentYields rich, detailed data and new

insightsProbing is possible Personal interaction with respondentFlexibleOpportunity to explain or clarify

Questions…

Informal ConversationAdvantages

1. Highly individualized

2. Relevant to the individual

3. May produce information or insights not originally anticipated

Disadvantages1. It is not a systematic

method

2. Different information may be collected from different people

3. Analysis can become difficult and time-consuming

Guided InterviewAdvantages

1. Data are more systematic and comprehensive

2. Tone of the interview is conversational, informal

Disadvantages1. Sticking too much to

the outline may prevent other topics from being explored

2. Analysis can become difficult and time-consuming

Structured InterviewsAdvantages

1. Useful when interviewer does not have experience or knowledge of the subject

2. May be best choice when you must rely on volunteers

3. Structure makes analysis easier than other interview techniques

Disadvantages1. Interviewer has little

flexibility within the actual interview

2. If questions are not clearly linked to the purpose, there is no guarantee the questions tap into the issues that are most relevant to the respondent

Who are you?

We would like to get to know you

by knowing…

Your name

Where you work or who you are representing