Interview

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1. INTERVIEW Suresh Kumar, Ph.D. Research Scholar, Aryabhatta Knowledge University, Patna

2. “If we want to know how people feel what they experience and what they remember, what their emotions and motives are alike, and the reasons for acting as they do – why not ask them” -G.W.Allport

3. According to witles “face to face conversation” According to Bingham and Moore (1924) “A conversation with a purpose”

4. According to Lindzey Gardner (1968) A two-person conversation initiated by the interviewer for the specific purpose of obtaining research-relevant information and focused by him on the content specified by the research objective of description and explanation.

5. Function of interview Description provides insight into the nature of social reality. due to spending time with the respondents, interviewer understand their feelings and attitude more clearly. Exploration provides insight into unexplored dimension of the problem. Effective exploratory device for identifying new variables can prove to be .

6. Characteristic of interview According to black and Champion : Personal communication: face to face contact, conversational exchange and verbal interaction. Equal status Question are asked and responses received verbally. Information is recorded by the interviewer The relationship between them is transitory The interview is not necessarily limited to two persons. Flexibility in the format of the interview.

7. Types of interview

8. Unstructured v/s structured interview

9. Unstructured interview The nature of question is their in the mind of the interviewer and it is ask in unsystematically order. It is Flexible in nature ,being presented in the form of guide.

10. The interviewer has : Only general nature of the questions in mind Has no prior indication of the specific issue On which the questions are to be asked Has not ordered questions Has no time limit

11. Advantages Interview conducted in the form of natural conversation Great possibility of exploring in an unrestricted manner Interview can focus his attention on respondents area of interest.

12. limitations The data obtained from different respondents cannot be compared with each other Reliability of the data becomes doubtful The obtained data cannot be quantified Time wasted Some aspects may be left out in discussions

13. Structured interview The questions as well as their sequence is fixed It allows little freedom to make adjustments to any of its elements The interviewer is expected to act in a neutral manner This form is employed in quantitative research

14. In this interview following dimensions are regulated: Specifying the setting of the interview Regulating questions and the range of responses Controlling interviewer-interviewee characteristic Limiting the facets of the problem

15. Standardized v/s unstandardized interview

16. Standardised interview In standardized interviews, answer to each question is standardised as it is determined by a set of response categories given one of the given for this purpose Mainly used in quantitative research

17. Unstandardised interview In Unstandardised interview responses are left open to the respondent. Mainly used for qualitative research.

18. Individual v/s group interviews

19. In individual interview the interviewer interviews only one respondent at a time In group interview ,more than one respondant are interviewed simultaneously.

20. Self –administered v/s other- administered interview

21. Self-administered interview The respondent is supplied a list of questions along with instructions for writing answers in the appropriate place on the interview form.

22. Other – Administered interview The interviewer himself writes answers to questions on the response sheet

23. Unique v/s panel interview

24. Unique interview the interviewer collects entire information in one interview. He not barred for approaching the interview for the second time for seeking additional information.

25. Panel interview The interviewer collects information from the same group of respondents two or more times at regular intervals.

26. Soft v/s hard interview

27. Soft interview Interviewer holds a secondary position in the process of data collection but he guides the respondants without putting any pressure on them.

28. Hard interview The interviewer question the validity and the completeness of the answer obtained, often warning the respondent not to lie . This type of interview appears more in quantitative than in qualitative form.

29. Personal v/s Non-personal interviews

30. Personal interview There is a face to face contact between the interviewer and the interviewee. Non-personal interview No face to face relationship but information is collected through telephone , computer or some other medium.

31. Other types

32. Focused interview It is focused on a specific topic . In this all respondents are subjected to same experience . Similar to semi-structured interview

33. According to Sarantakos (1998) it has following advantages The respondants gets relatively more freedom of responding to questions Interviewer’s role is mild Information is more specific Opportunities for increased information are greater

34. Telephone interview More common in western societies, but it is now being used in urban areas. News papers, radio and T.V personnel use this method more to asses public opinion on important issues

35. advantages It is fast Can be recorded on machine It is cheep as not many investigators need to be appointed .It cost one –fourth or one –fifth of the cost of personal interview Respondants can be contacted at their convient time even in the evening Respondants remain more anonymous than in the personal interview

36. Disadvantages Each selected respondant in the sample may not own the telephone (i.e. he may be talking on family telephone) and therefore may not feel free in answering . Respondants are often less motivated over the telephone because the respondant can terminate the interview at his will.

37. Sometimes, the respondants can be distrustful, particularly when they believe that the interviewer is playing prank on them. Since respondant has to give quick answers on telephone, he may not be able to think much on his answers.

38. In India this method cannot be much vogue Number of telephone is very small . The cost is comparatively high . Inclusion of poor people in sample is prevented. Information received is not adequate. The response rate for telephone survey is very much lower that achieved in personal interview.

39. Computer interview This interview is conducted with the help of computers. In India this method is not popular.

40. Condition for a successful interview Gardner (1956) has pointed out three condition, for successful interviewing… Accessibility For giving information important that the respondant understands what is required of him and he is also willing to provide information he possesses.

41. Understanding The respondant sometimes is not able to understand what is expected of him. Unless he understands the significance of the research/survey the extent of interview demands, the concepts and the terms used , the nature of answers which the interviewer expects from him, his answers might be off the point.

42. Motivation The respondant needs to be motivated not only for giving information but also for giving accurate information. The fear of consequences, embarrassment at ignorance, being suspicious about the interviewer, and dislike of the subject are some of the factors which decrease the level of respondent's motivation .The interviewer, therefore, has to try to reduce the effect of these factors.

43. Merits of interview Gordon (1969)has listed five major advantages of the interview technique as under Quick information Proper interpretation: respondants interprete the questions properly. Flexibility Checking validity Control: exercising control on the context of questions and answers is possible.

44. ………Besides this The response rate is high In-depth probing is possible respondent's confidence can be sought through personal rapport Interviewer can explain difficult terms and remove confusion and misunderstandings

45. Administration is easy because respondants are not required to be educated or handle long questionnaires Interviewer gets opportunity to observe respondants’ non-verbal behaviour Identity of the respondant is known and Since all questions asked by the interviewers are answered by the respondants, completeness of the interview is guaranteed.

46. limitations Limitations The interviewees can hide information or give wrong information because of fear of identity. Interviews are more costly and time-consuming than questionnaires. The nature and extent of responses demands upon interviewee’s mood. If he is tired, he will be distracted. If he is in hurry, he will try to dispose off the interviewer quickly.

47. There could be variability in responses with different interviewers, particularly when interview is unstructured. The interviewer may record the responses differently, depending upon his own interpretations sometimes. It offers less anonymity than other methods. It is less effective for sensitive questions.