Interview resources

Tips for interviewing sources

Determining your purpose
The most important preparation for an interview is determining what you want to get out of it. What do you need to know? Why do you want to talk with this person? How will the information help you reach your larger goals? A clear sense of purpose will enable you to develop productive questions and to get the interview back on track if it veers off course.

Developing questions
Your questions should be as focused as possible in order to elicit the information you need. Don’t expect the interviewee to know exactly what you want. For example, if you ask about readers, don’t expect the interviewee to launch immediately into a description of their needs, attitudes, and knowledge. It’s your job to ask questions that will elicit the kinds of information this class has taught you to look for. Develop a range of questions:

• Grand tour questions. These questions produce extended responses that "tour," or cover all the parts of, your topic. They are a useful starting place because they often elicit lists of more specific topics that can be explored in later questions. You might ask, for example, "We are learning that documents are most effective when they are tailored to the people who will read them. Who do you think will read our annual report?" [Note: In general, you get a better response when you ask questions that include an explanation of why you need certain information.]
• "Tell me more about" questions. Once the interviewee has mentioned several topics that you want to explore further, you should ask him or her to expand on those topics. Think of the interview as creating an outline. The grand tour question gives you the top-level outline headings but then you need to fill in the details under each of those headings. So you might ask, for example, "You said you want the annual report to serve as a concise record to look back on. Could you tell me more about how it would be used in that way?" You may need to follow up with more specific questions such as "What would the staff members be looking for when they consult the report?"
  
• Fill-in questions. Before you go to the interview, you should have a list of quite specific things you need to know about each reader or resource, or about the Authority’s expectations. As the interviewee answers your more general questions, he or she will probably cover many of the specifics on your list. Keep track of what has been covered and ask about whatever remains. You might ask, for example, "Who should we see for permission to look at this database?"
  
• Verification questions. We have developed some hypotheses in class, using the materials supplied to us by CCSWA and using our imaginations. Asking about the truth of these hypotheses may help you demonstrate the type of information you are looking for, if you have trouble getting the interviewee to provide you with relevant information. For example, you might ask, "We thought you would probably want to include a section about plans for next year. We read that traffic on your entrance road may be a problem next year because of construction at Corning. Would you like to include a statement about your plans for dealing with that problem?" [Note: These questions elicit "yes" or "no" answers, but usually lead to a more extended answer as well. Unless you are asking a verification question, you should NOT ask a question that leads to a simple "yes" or "no" answer.]
  
• Contrast questions. These questions can help you make fine distinctions between two topics of discussion. You might ask, for example, "What is the difference between these two databases? In what circumstances would someone use this one rather than the other one?"
  
• Paraphrase questions. These questions help the interview move along smoothly. If the interviewee does not seem to understand your question, rephrase it. Or if you aren’t sure you understand what the interviewee has said, paraphrase his or her remarks and ask for clarification. For example, you might say, "As I understand it, you are saying that... Am I correct and can you explain that a bit more for me?"
  
• "Anything else" questions. When you have exhausted the original list of topics generated by your grand tour question, ask the grand tour question again. This time, however, ask if the interviewee can think of any more topics. You might ask, for example, "We’ve discussed several readers. What other readers can you think of?"

Conducting the interview
Naturally, you should arrive on time and demonstrate your professionalism throughout the interview. Begin the interview by reminding the interviewee of your purpose. During the interview, show your interest by using appropriate body language (nodding, making eye contact) and by occasionally paraphrasing the interviewee’s statements. At the end of the interview, thank the interviewee and ask if you may contact him or her again if you need to.

Tape record the interview if possible. Be sure to ask the interviewee if taping is ok.

Take thorough notes, especially if you are not taping the interview. Ask the interviewee to repeat information that you weren’t able to write down fast enough. Don’t let all the information elicited by your questions get away! If several group members attend the interview, you might want to delegate the primary responsibility for note-taking to one person.

Interviews sometimes veer off track. Keep your purpose in mind and notice if the interview moves away from it. Refocus the interview by asking a specific question.

Following up
As soon as possible after the interview, write up more detailed notes based on your notes from the interview. Send the interviewee a brief e-mail message thanking him or her, perhaps mentioning some information that was particularly useful, and informing him or her of your next step in this project.

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