Database Reference
In-Depth Information
may exacerbate the problem further. In any case, this communication problem can
complicate and extend your interview and diffuse its results. Use your knowledge
of the organization to help you judge whether to keep the interviews separate. If
you need to conduct an interview with both groups at the same time, do so
inten-
tionally,
with a specific purpose in mind, and be prepared for distractions.
•
When you have to interview several groups of people, designate a group leader for
each group.
The group leader will help you ensure that the interview runs
smoothly. She will be responsible for preparing each member of her group for the
interview and for providing you with any new information she obtained from the
group outside of the interview. During the interview, the group leader can direct
your questions to the member best equipped to answer them.
You'll occasionally encounter a group leader who may want to dominate the inter-
view and answer every one of your questions. When this happens, diplomatically
and politely inform him that it is your job (and duty) to obtain feedback from all of
the participants so that you can make a complete assessment of the organization's
overall information requirements. If this doesn't rectify the problem, you have the
option of refraining from including him in future interviews or designating
someone else as the group leader.
•
Prepare your questions prior to the interview.
You can conduct an interview rather
easily if you have a set of prepared questions. (Coming up with questions off the
top of your head is rarely a good idea, even if you're an experienced interviewer
and are highly skilled at producing ad hoc questions.) Having a prepared list of
questions allows you to provide a focus and direction for the interview, and it
provides the participant with a continuity of thought. Your interview will flow
more smoothly and will be more productive when your questions move easily from
topic to topic.
As you prepare your list of interview questions, make sure you use open-ended
questions. For example, “Did you feel our service was (a) poor, (b) average, or (c)
good?” is a closed question. A closed question isn't particularly useful because it
supplies its own set of responses and does not allow an interviewee to provide an
objective opinion or elaborate answer. On the other hand, an open-ended question
such as “How do you feel about our service?” is far more useful because it allows
the interviewee to answer the question in a variety of ways. There are times when
you may need to use closed questions, but it's better to use them intentionally,
sparingly, and with a specific purpose in mind.
•
If you're not very good at taking notes, either assign that task to a dependable
transcriber for each interview or get the group's permission to use a digital (or
