Generating Primary Sources: Interviews and Surveys

• Prepare questions for the interview in advance of the interview date.
• Word questions carefully:
  • Avoid vague questions, those that don’t give the person being interviewed enough to go on. Vague questions waste the interviewee’s time and reflect the interviewer’s lack of preparation.
  • Avoid leading questions, those that encourage, if not force, a certain response and reflect the interviewer’s bias (e.g., “Like most of us, are you going to support candidate X?”). Likewise, avoid loaded questions, those that are phrased to reinforce the interviewer’s agenda or that have a hostile intent (e.g., “Isn’t it true that you’ve never supported school programs?”).
  • Aim to create neutral questions, those that don’t lead the interviewee to a desired response. Usually, this will consist of a mix of open, closed, primary, and secondary questions (see Chapter 6).
• Begin by establishing a spirit of collaboration:
  • Acknowledge the interviewee and express respect for his or her expertise.
  • Briefly summarize your topic and informational needs.
  • State a (reasonable) goal—what you would like to accomplish in the interview—and reach agreement on it.
  • Establish a time limit for the interview and stick to it.
• Use active listening strategies. Listen to what the subject is saying, not just to what you want to hear:
  • Don’t break in when the subject is speaking or interject with leading comments.
  • Paraphrase the interviewee’s answers where appropriate in order to establish understanding.
  • Ask for clarification and elaboration when necessary.
• End the interview by rechecking and confirming:
  • Check that you have covered all the topics (e.g., “Does this cover everything?”).
  • Briefly offer a positive summary of important things you learned in the interview.
  • Offer to send the interviewee the results of the interview.