Interview Method

The interview method of collecting data involves presentation of oral-verbal stimuli and reply in terms of oral-verbal responses. This method can be used through personal interviews and, if possible, through telephone interviews.

Personal interviews:

Personal interview method requires a person known as the interviewer asking questions generally in a face-to-face contact to the other person or persons. This sort of interview may be in the form of direct personal investigation or it may be indirect oral investigation.
This method is particularly suitable for intensive investigations. But in certain cases it may not be possible or worthwhile to contact directly the persons concerned or on account of the extensive scope of enquiry, the direct personal investigation technique may not be used.
The method of collecting information through personal interviews is usually carried out in a structured way. As such we call the interviews as structured interviews. Such interviews involve the use of a set of predetermined questions and of highly standardized techniques of recording.
Thus, the interviewer in a structured interview follows a rigid procedure laid down, asking questions in a form and order prescribed.

As against it, the unstructured interviews are characterized by a flexibility of approach to questioning. Unstructured interviews do not follow a system of pre-determined questions and standardized techniques of recording information. Some types of personal interview are-
Focussed interview is meant to focus attention on the given experience of the respondent and its effects.
Clinical interview is concerned with broad underlying feelings or motivations or with the course of individual’s life experience. The method of eliciting information under it is generally left to the interviewer’s discretion.
Pre-requisites and basic tenets of interviewing: For successful implementation of the interview method, interviewers should be carefully selected, trained and briefed. They should be honest, sincere, hardworking, impartial and must possess the technical competence and necessary practical experience.

Telephone interviews: This method of collecting information consists in contacting respondents on telephone itself. It is not a very widely used method, but plays important part in industrial surveys, particularly in developed regions.

Advantage;
The chief merits of such a system are:
1. It is more flexible in comparison to mailing method.
2. It is faster than other methods i.e., a quick way of obtaining information.
3. It is cheaper than personal interviewing method; here the cost per response is relatively low.
4. Recall is easy; callbacks are simple and economical.
5. There is a higher rate of response than what we have in mailing method; the non-response is generally very low.
6. Replies can be recorded without causing embarrassment to respondents.
7. Interviewer can explain requirements more easily.
8. At times, access can be gained to respondents who otherwise cannot be contacted for one reason or the other.
9. No field staff is required.
10. Representative and wider distribution of sample is possible.

Disadvantage;
1. Little time is given to respondents for considered answers; interview period is not likely to exceed five minutes in most cases.
2. Surveys are restricted to respondents who have telephone facilities.
3. Extensive geographical coverage may get restricted by cost considerations.
4. It is not suitable for intensive surveys where comprehensive answers are required to various questions.
5. Possibility of the bias of the interviewer is relatively more.
6. Questions have to be short and to the point; probes are difficult to handle.