Database Reference
In-Depth Information
You can now use this list as the basis of further questions during the interview.
Note
I refer to this entire procedure as the
Subject-Identification Technique
throughout
the remainder of the topic.
Verify that the nouns you've underlined are genuine subjects by reviewing the way they're
used in the response. For example, “account representative” is a subject suggested by a
noun in the first sentence, and you can assume that the subject identifies an
object
(person,
place, orthing)bythewaythenounisusedinthesentence. “Appointment” isanother sub-
jectsuggestedbyanouninthesecondsentence,andyoucanassumethissubjectrepresents
an
event
(something that occurs at a given point in time) by the way it is used in the sen-
tence.
Identifying Characteristics
Afteryou'veidentifiedthesubjectssuggestedwithintheresponse,pickaparticularsubject
andbegintoaskfollow-upquestionsrelatedtothatsubject.Youusethislineofquestioning
to obtain as much detailed information as possible about the subject you've selected. Make
sure your follow-up questions are more specific as you progress through this part of the
discussion. The nature of your follow-up questions will depend on the responses you re-
ceive from the participant. Based onoursample response, forexample, youcould continue
the discussion by asking more specific questions about sales orders or you could begin an
entirely new line of questioning regarding clients. Assume, for now, that you ask the fol-
lowing question to learn more about sales orders:
“Let's discuss sales orders for a moment. What does it take to
complete a sales order for a client?”
Note that this question begins with a statement directing the interview participant to focus
on a particular subject. This is a technique you should use to guide your conversation after
