Interview

Last updated May 05, 2024

An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.^[1] In common parlance, the word "interview" refers to a one-on-one conversation between an interviewer and an interviewee. The interviewer asks questions to which the interviewee responds, usually providing information. That information may be used or provided to other audiences immediately or later. This feature is common to many types of interviews – a job interview or interview with a witness to an event may have no other audience present at the time, but the answers will be later provided to others in the employment or investigative process. An interview may also transfer information in both directions.

Interviews usually take place face-to-face, in person, but the parties may instead be separated geographically, as in videoconferencing or telephone interviews. Interviews almost always involve a spoken conversation between two or more parties, but can also happen between two persons who type their questions and answers.

Interviews can be unstructured, free-wheeling, and open-ended conversations without a predetermined plan or prearranged questions.^[2] One form of unstructured interview is a focused interview in which the interviewer consciously and consistently guides the conversation so that the interviewee's responses do not stray from the main research topic or idea.^[3] Interviews can also be highly structured conversations in which specific questions occur in a specified order.^[4] They can follow diverse formats; for example, in a ladder interview, a respondent's answers typically guide subsequent interviews, with the object being to explore a respondent's subconscious motives.^[5]^[6] Typically the interviewer has some way of recording the information that is gleaned from the interviewee, often by keeping notes with a pencil and paper, or with a video or audio recorder.

The traditionally two-person interview format, sometimes called a one-on-one interview, permits direct questions and follow-ups, which enables an interviewer to better gauge the accuracy and relevance of responses. It is a flexible arrangement in the sense that subsequent questions can be tailored to clarify earlier answers. Further, it eliminates possible distortion due to other parties being present. Interviews have taken on an even more significant role, offering opportunities to showcase not just expertise, but adaptability and strategic thinking.

Contexts

Interviews can happen in a wide variety of contexts:

Employment. A job interview is a formal consultation for evaluating the qualifications of the interviewee for a specific position.^[7]^[8] One type of job interview is a case interview in which the applicant is presented with a question or task or challenge, and asked to resolve the situation.^[9] Candidates may be treated to a mock interview as a training exercise to prepare the respondent to handle questions in the subsequent 'real' interview. A series of interviews may be arranged, with the first interview sometimes being a short screening interview, followed by more in-depth interviews, usually by company personnel who can ultimately hire the applicant. Technology has enabled new possibilities for interviewing; for example, video telephony has enabled interviewing applicants from afar which is becoming increasingly popular.
Psychology. Psychologists use a variety of interviewing methods and techniques to try to understand and help their patients. In a psychiatric interview, a psychiatrist or psychologist or nurse asks a battery of questions to complete what is called a psychiatric assessment. Sometimes two people are interviewed by an interviewer, with one format being called couple interviews.^[10] Criminologists and detectives sometimes use cognitive interviews on eyewitnesses and victims to try to ascertain what can be recalled specifically from a crime scene, hopefully before the specific memories begin to fade in the mind.^[11]^[12]
Marketing and Academic. In marketing research and academic research, interviews are used in a wide variety of ways as a method to do extensive personality tests. Interviews are the most used form of data collection in qualitative research.^[3] Interviews are used in marketing research as a tool that a firm may utilize to gain an understanding of how consumers think, or as a tool in the form of cognitive interviewing (or cognitive pretesting) for improving questionnaire design.^[13]^[14] Consumer research firms sometimes use computer-assisted telephone interviewing to randomly dial phone numbers to conduct highly structured telephone interviews, with scripted questions and responses entered directly into the computer.^[15]
Journalism and other media. Typically, reporters covering a story in journalism conduct interviews over the phone and in person to gain information for subsequent publication. Reporters also interview government officials and political candidates for broadcast.^[16] In a talk show, a radio or television host interviews one or more people, with the topic usually chosen by the host, sometimes for entertainment, sometimes for informational purposes. Such interviews are often recorded.
Other situations. Sometimes college representatives or alumni conduct college interviews with prospective students as a way of assessing a student's suitability while offering the student a chance to learn more about a college.^[17] Some services specialize in coaching people for interviews.^[17] Embassy officials may conduct interviews with applicants for student visas before approving their visa applications. Interviewing in legal contexts is often called interrogation. Debriefing is another kind of interview.

Blind interview

In a blind interview the identity of the interviewee is concealed to reduce interviewer bias. Blind interviews are sometimes used in the software industry and are standard in orchestral auditions. Blind interviews have been shown in some cases to increase the hiring of minorities and women.^[18]

Interviewer bias

The relationship between the interviewer and interviewee in research settings can have both positive and negative consequences.^[19] Their relationship can bring deeper understanding of the information being collected, however this creates a risk that the interviewer will be unable to be unbiased in their collection and interpretation of information.^[19] Bias can be created from the interviewer's perception of the interviewee, or the interviewee's perception of the interviewer.^[19] Additionally, a researcher can bring biases to the table based on the researcher's mental state, their preparedness for conducting the research, and the researcher conducting inappropriate interviews.^[20] Interviewers can use various practices known in qualitative research to mitigate interviewer bias. These practices include subjectivity, objectivity, and reflexivity. Each of these practices allows the interviewer, or researcher, the opportunity to use their bias to enhance their work by gaining a deeper understanding of the problem they are studying.^[21]

Related Research Articles

Concept testing is the process of using surveys to evaluate consumer acceptance of a new product idea prior to the introduction of a product to the market. It is important not to confuse concept testing with advertising testing, brand testing and packaging testing, as is sometimes done. Concept testing focuses on the basic product idea, without the embellishments and puffery inherent in advertising.

Questionnaire construction refers to the design of a questionnaire to gather statistically useful information about a given topic. When properly constructed and responsibly administered, questionnaires can provide valuable data about any given subject.

Survey methodology is "the study of survey methods". As a field of applied statistics concentrating on human-research surveys, survey methodology studies the sampling of individual units from a population and associated techniques of survey data collection, such as questionnaire construction and methods for improving the number and accuracy of responses to surveys. Survey methodology targets instruments or procedures that ask one or more questions that may or may not be answered.

Qualitative marketing research involves a natural or observational examination of the philosophies that govern consumer behavior. The direction and framework of the research is often revised as new information is gained, allowing the researcher to evaluate issues and subjects in an in-depth manner. The quality of the research produced is heavily dependent on the skills of the researcher and is influenced by researcher bias.

A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions for the purpose of gathering information from respondents through survey or statistical study. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of close-ended questions and open-ended questions. Open-ended, long-term questions offer the respondent the ability to elaborate on their thoughts. The Research questionnaire was developed by the Statistical Society of London in 1838.

Response bias is a general term for a wide range of tendencies for participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to questions. These biases are prevalent in research involving participant self-report, such as structured interviews or surveys. Response biases can have a large impact on the validity of questionnaires or surveys.

Personnel selection is the methodical process used to hire individuals. Although the term can apply to all aspects of the process the most common meaning focuses on the selection of workers. In this respect, selected prospects are separated from rejected applicants with the intention of choosing the person who will be the most successful and make the most valuable contributions to the organization. Its effect on the group is discerned when the selected accomplish their desired impact to the group, through achievement or tenure. The procedure of selection takes after strategy to gather data around a person so as to figure out whether that individual ought to be utilized. The strategies used must be in compliance with the various laws in respect to work force selection.

A job interview is an interview consisting of a conversation between a job applicant and a representative of an employer which is conducted to assess whether the applicant should be hired. Interviews are one of the most common methods of employee selection. Interviews vary in the extent to which the questions are structured, from an unstructured and informal conversation to a structured interview in which an applicant is asked a predetermined list of questions in a specified order; structured interviews are usually more accurate predictors of which applicants will make suitable employees, according to research studies.

Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) is an interviewing technique in which the respondent or interviewer uses an electronic device to answer the questions. It is similar to computer-assisted telephone interviewing, except that the interview takes place in person instead of over the telephone. This method is usually preferred over a telephone interview when the questionnaire is long and complex. It has been classified as a personal interviewing technique because an interviewer is usually present to serve as a host and to guide the respondent. If no interviewer is present, the term Computer-Assisted Self Interviewing (CASI) may be used. An example of a situation in which CAPI is used as the method of data collection is the British Crime Survey.

A structured interview is a quantitative research method commonly employed in survey research. The aim of this approach is to ensure that each interview is presented with exactly the same questions in the same order. This ensures that answers can be reliably aggregated and that comparisons can be made with confidence between sample sub groups or between different survey periods.

A self-report study is a type of survey, questionnaire, or poll in which respondents read the question and select a response by themselves without any outside interference. A self-report is any method which involves asking a participant about their feelings, attitudes, beliefs and so on. Examples of self-reports are questionnaires and interviews; self-reports are often used as a way of gaining participants' responses in observational studies and experiments.

Cognitive pretesting, or cognitive interviewing, is a field research method where data is collected on how the subject answers interview questions. It is the evaluation of a test or questionnaire before it's administered. It allows survey researchers to collect feedback regarding survey responses and is used in evaluating whether the question is measuring the construct the researcher intends. The data collected is then used to adjust problematic questions in the questionnaire before fielding the survey to the full sample of people.

Acquiescence bias, also known as agreement bias, is a category of response bias common to survey research in which respondents have a tendency to select a positive response option or indicate a positive connotation disproportionately more frequently. Respondents do so without considering the content of the question or their 'true' preference. Acquiescence is sometimes referred to as "yea-saying" and is the tendency of a respondent to agree with a statement when in doubt. Questions affected by acquiescence bias take the following format: a stimulus in the form of a statement is presented, followed by 'agree/disagree,' 'yes/no' or 'true/false' response options. For example, a respondent might be presented with the statement "gardening makes me feel happy," and would then be expected to select either 'agree' or 'disagree.' Such question formats are favoured by both survey designers and respondents because they are straightforward to produce and respond to. The bias is particularly prevalent in the case of surveys or questionnaires that employ truisms as the stimuli, such as: "It is better to give than to receive" or "Never a lender nor a borrower be". Acquiescence bias can introduce systematic errors that affect the validity of research by confounding attitudes and behaviours with the general tendency to agree, which can result in misguided inference. Research suggests that the proportion of respondents who carry out this behaviour is between 10% and 20%.

A semi-structured interview is a method of research used most often in the social sciences. While a structured interview has a rigorous set of questions which does not allow one to divert, a semi-structured interview is open, allowing new ideas to be brought up during the interview as a result of what the interviewee says. The interviewer in a semi-structured interview generally has a framework of themes to be explored.

Computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) is an Internet surveying technique in which the interviewee follows a script provided in a website. The questionnaires are made in a program for creating web interviews. The program allows for the questionnaire to contain pictures, audio and video clips, links to different web pages, etc. The website is able to customize the flow of the questionnaire based on the answers provided, as well as information already known about the participant. It is considered to be a cheaper way of surveying since one doesn't need to use people to hold surveys unlike computer-assisted telephone interviewing. With the increasing use of the Internet, online questionnaires have become a popular way of collecting information. The design of an online questionnaire has a dramatic effect on the quality of data gathered. There are many factors in designing an online questionnaire; guidelines, available question formats, administration, quality and ethic issues should be reviewed. Online questionnaires should be seen as a sub-set of a wider-range of online research methods.

An unstructured interview or non-directive interview is an interview in which questions are not prearranged. These non-directive interviews are considered to be the opposite of a structured interview which offers a set amount of standardized questions. The form of the unstructured interview varies widely, with some questions being prepared in advance in relation to a topic that the researcher or interviewer wishes to cover. They tend to be more informal and free flowing than a structured interview, much like an everyday conversation. Probing is seen to be the part of the research process that differentiates the in-depth, unstructured interview from an everyday conversation. This nature of conversation allows for spontaneity and for questions to develop during the course of the interview, which are based on the interviewees' responses. The chief feature of the unstructured interview is the idea of probe questions that are designed to be as open as possible. It is a qualitative research method and accordingly prioritizes validity and the depth of the interviewees' answers. One of the potential drawbacks is the loss of reliability, thereby making it more difficult to draw patterns among interviewees' responses in comparison to structured interviews. Unstructured interviews are used in a variety of fields and circumstances, ranging from research in social sciences, such as sociology, to college and job interviews. Fontana and Frey have identified three types of in depth, ethnographic, unstructured interviews - oral history, creative interviews, and post-modern interviews.

The marketing research process is a six-step process involving the definition of the problem being studied upon, determining what approach to take, formulation of research design, field work entailed, data preparation and analysis, and the generation of reports, how to present these reports, and overall, how the task can be accomplished.

An online interview is an online research method conducted using computer-mediated communication (CMC), such as instant messaging, email, or video. Online interviews require different ethical considerations, sampling and rapport than practices found in traditional face-to-face (F2F) interviews. Online interviews are separated into synchronous online interviews, for example via online chat which happen in 'real time' online and asynchronous online interviews, for example via email conducted in non-real time. Some authors discuss online interviews in relation to online focus groups whereas others look at online interviews as separate research methods. This article will only discuss online interviews.

With the application of probability sampling in the 1930s, surveys became a standard tool for empirical research in social sciences, marketing, and official statistics. The methods involved in survey data collection are any of a number of ways in which data can be collected for a statistical survey. These are methods that are used to collect information from a sample of individuals in a systematic way. First there was the change from traditional paper-and-pencil interviewing (PAPI) to computer-assisted interviewing (CAI). Now, face-to-face surveys (CAPI), telephone surveys (CATI), and mail surveys are increasingly replaced by web surveys. In addition, remote interviewers could possibly keep the respondent engaged while reducing cost as compared to in-person interviewers.

An interview in qualitative research is a conversation where questions are asked to elicit information. The interviewer is usually a professional or paid researcher, sometimes trained, who poses questions to the interviewee, in an alternating series of usually brief questions and answers. They can be contrasted with focus groups in which an interviewer questions a group of people and observes the resulting conversation between interviewees, or surveys which are more anonymous and limit respondents to a range of predetermined answer choices. In addition, there are special considerations when interviewing children. In phenomenological or ethnographic research, interviews are used to uncover the meanings of central themes in the life world of the subjects from their own point of view.

References

↑ Merriam Webster Dictionary, Interview, Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016
↑ Rogers, Carl R. (1945). Frontier Thinking in Guidance. University of California: Science research associates. pp. 105–112. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
1 2 Jamshed, Shazia (September 2014). "Qualitative research method-interviewing and observation". Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy. 5 (4): 87–88. doi: 10.4103/0976-0105.141942 . ISSN 0976-0105. PMC 4194943 . PMID 25316987.
↑ Kvale & Brinkman. 2008. InterViews, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. ISBN 978-0-7619-2542-2
↑ 2009, Uxmatters, Laddering: A research interview technique for uncovering core values
↑ "15 Tips on How to Nail a Face-to-Face Interview". blog.pluralsight.com. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
↑ Dipboye, R. L., Macan, T., & Shahani-Denning, C. (2012). The selection interview from the interviewer and applicant perspectives: Can't have one without the other. In N. Schmitt (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of personnel assessment and selection (pp. 323–352). New York City: Oxford University.
↑ "The Value or Importance of a Job Interview". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved 2014-01-17.
↑ Maggie Lu, The Harvard Business School Guide to Careers in Management Consulting, 2002, page 21, ISBN 978-1-57851-581-3
↑ Polak, L; Green, J (2015). "Using Joint Interviews to Add Analytic Value". Qualitative Health Research . 26 (12): 1638–48. doi:10.1177/1049732315580103. PMID 25850721. S2CID 4442342.
↑ Memon, A., Cronin, O., Eaves, R., Bull, R. (1995). An empirical test of mnemonic components of the cognitive interview. In G. Davies, S. Lloyd-Bostock, M. McMurran, C. Wilson (Eds.), Psychology, Law, and Criminal Justice (pp. 135–145). Berlin: Walter de Gruyer.
↑ Rand Corporation. (1975) The criminal investigation process (Vol. 1–3). Rand Corporation Technical Report R-1776-DOJ, R-1777-DOJ, Santa Monica, CA
↑ Willis, Gordon (2005). Cognitive interviewing: A tool for improving questionnaire design. Sage. p. 146. ISBN 9780761928041.
↑ Park, Hyunjoo; Sha, M. Mandy (2014-11-02). "Investigating validity and effectiveness of cognitive interviewing as a pretesting method for non-English questionnaires: Findings from Korean cognitive interviews". International Journal of Social Research Methodology. 17 (6): 643–658. doi:10.1080/13645579.2013.823002. ISSN 1364-5579. S2CID 144039294.
↑ "BLS Information". Glossary. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Information Services. February 28, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
↑ Beaman, Jim (2011-04-14). Interviewing for Radio. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-85007-3.
1 2 Sanjay Salomon (January 30, 2015). "Can a Failure Resume Help You Succeed?". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
↑ Miller, Claire Cain (25 February 2016). "Is Blind Hiring the Best Hiring?". The New York Times.
1 2 3 Watson, Lucas (2018). Qualitative research design : an interactive approach. New Orleans. ISBN 978-1-68469-560-7. OCLC 1124999541.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Chenail, Ronald (2011-01-01). "Interviewing the Investigator: Strategies for Addressing Instrumentation and Researcher Bias Concerns in Qualitative Research". The Qualitative Report. 16 (1): 255–262. ISSN 1052-0147.
↑ Roulston, Kathryn; Shelton, Stephanie Anne (2015-02-17). "Reconceptualizing Bias in Teaching Qualitative Research Methods". Qualitative Inquiry. 21 (4): 332–342. doi:10.1177/1077800414563803. ISSN 1077-8004. S2CID 143839439.

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[twsMerriam-1] Merriam Webster Dictionary, Interview, Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016

[2] Rogers, Carl R. (1945). Frontier Thinking in Guidance. University of California: Science research associates. pp. 105–112. Retrieved March 18, 2015.

[Jamshed_87–88-3] 1 2 Jamshed, Shazia (September 2014). "Qualitative research method-interviewing and observation". Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy. 5 (4): 87–88. doi: 10.4103/0976-0105.141942 . ISSN 0976-0105. PMC 4194943 . PMID 25316987.

[4] Kvale & Brinkman. 2008. InterViews, 2nd Edition. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. ISBN 978-0-7619-2542-2

[5] 2009, Uxmatters, Laddering: A research interview technique for uncovering core values

[6] "15 Tips on How to Nail a Face-to-Face Interview". blog.pluralsight.com. Retrieved 2015-11-05.

[Dipboye_et_al-7] Dipboye, R. L., Macan, T., & Shahani-Denning, C. (2012). The selection interview from the interviewer and applicant perspectives: Can't have one without the other. In N. Schmitt (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of personnel assessment and selection (pp. 323–352). New York City: Oxford University.

[Chron-8] "The Value or Importance of a Job Interview". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved 2014-01-17.

[9] Maggie Lu, The Harvard Business School Guide to Careers in Management Consulting, 2002, page 21, ISBN 978-1-57851-581-3

[P-G-2015-10] Polak, L; Green, J (2015). "Using Joint Interviews to Add Analytic Value". Qualitative Health Research . 26 (12): 1638–48. doi:10.1177/1049732315580103. PMID 25850721. S2CID 4442342.

[Memon,Cronin,Eaves,Bull-11] Memon, A., Cronin, O., Eaves, R., Bull, R. (1995). An empirical test of mnemonic components of the cognitive interview. In G. Davies, S. Lloyd-Bostock, M. McMurran, C. Wilson (Eds.), Psychology, Law, and Criminal Justice (pp. 135–145). Berlin: Walter de Gruyer.

[12] Rand Corporation. (1975) The criminal investigation process (Vol. 1–3). Rand Corporation Technical Report R-1776-DOJ, R-1777-DOJ, Santa Monica, CA

[:4-13] Willis, Gordon (2005). Cognitive interviewing: A tool for improving questionnaire design. Sage. p. 146. ISBN 9780761928041.

[14] Park, Hyunjoo; Sha, M. Mandy (2014-11-02). "Investigating validity and effectiveness of cognitive interviewing as a pretesting method for non-English questionnaires: Findings from Korean cognitive interviews". International Journal of Social Research Methodology. 17 (6): 643–658. doi:10.1080/13645579.2013.823002. ISSN 1364-5579. S2CID 144039294.

[uslabor-15] "BLS Information". Glossary. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Information Services. February 28, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-05.

[16] Beaman, Jim (2011-04-14). Interviewing for Radio. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-85007-3.

[twsBostonGlobe4-17] 1 2 Sanjay Salomon (January 30, 2015). "Can a Failure Resume Help You Succeed?". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 31, 2016.

[18] Miller, Claire Cain (25 February 2016). "Is Blind Hiring the Best Hiring?". The New York Times.

[:0-19] 1 2 3 Watson, Lucas (2018). Qualitative research design : an interactive approach. New Orleans. ISBN 978-1-68469-560-7. OCLC 1124999541.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[20] Chenail, Ronald (2011-01-01). "Interviewing the Investigator: Strategies for Addressing Instrumentation and Researcher Bias Concerns in Qualitative Research". The Qualitative Report. 16 (1): 255–262. ISSN 1052-0147.

[21] Roulston, Kathryn; Shelton, Stephanie Anne (2015-02-17). "Reconceptualizing Bias in Teaching Qualitative Research Methods". Qualitative Inquiry. 21 (4): 332–342. doi:10.1177/1077800414563803. ISSN 1077-8004. S2CID 143839439.

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