bedguide10e

Interviewing

For more on interviewing, see Ch. 6.

Interviews — conversations with a purpose — may be your main source of field material. Whenever possible, interview an expert in the field or, if you are researching a group, someone representative or typical. Prepare carefully.

TIPS FOR INTERVIEWING

Be sure your prospect is willing to be quoted in writing.
Make an appointment for a day when the person will have enough time — an hour if possible — to have a thorough talk with you.
Arrive promptly, with carefully thought-out questions to ask.
Come ready to take notes, including key points, quotations, and descriptive detail. If you also want to record, ask permission.
Really listen. Let the person open up.
Be flexible, and allow the interview to move in unanticipated directions.
If a question draws no response, don’t persist; go on to the next one.
At the end of the interview, thank your interviewee, and arrange for an opportunity to clarify comments and confirm direct quotations.
Make additional notes right after the interview to preserve anything you didn’t have time to record during the interview.

If you can’t talk in person, try a telephone or online interview. Make an appointment for a convenient time, write out questions before you dial, and take notes. Federal regulations, by the way, forbid recording a phone interview without notifying the person talking that you are doing so.