Chapter 6 The Survey Interview Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

6-2 Chapter Summary Purpose and Research Structuring the Interview Survey Questions Selecting Interviewees Selecting and Training Interviewers Conducting Survey Interviews Coding, Tabulation, and Analysis The Respondent in Survey Interviews Summary

6-3 Purpose and Research Determining Purpose ▫What types of information do you need? ▫How soon must you complete the survey and compile the results? ▫How much time will you have for each interview? ▫How will you use the information obtained? ▫What are your short- and long-range goals? ▫What are your resources?

6-4 Purpose and Research Conducting Research ▫Don’t assume adequate knowledge of a topic. ▫Don’t waste time learning what you already know.

6-5 Structuring the Interview Interview Guide and Schedule ▫A detailed guide is easily transformed into a scheduled format. ▫Standardization is essential for surveys.

6-6 Structuring the Interview The Opening ▫There are no ice-breaker questions or small talk in surveys. ▫Surveys must be structured so that each interviewee goes through an identical interview process. ▫Write out the opening and require each interviewer to recite it verbatim.

6-7 Structuring the Interview The Closing ▫The closing is usually brief and expresses appreciation for the time and effort expended by the interviewee. ▫Do not get defensive or bad-mouth the survey.

6-8 Survey Questions Planning Survey Questions Interviewers cannot make on-the-spot adjustments.

6-9 Survey Questions Phrasing Questions ▫Every word in every question may influence results. ▫Adapt phrasing to all members of a target population. ▫Be wary of negatively phrased questions.

6-10 Survey Questions Sample Question Development ▫Keep recording of answers in mind when phrasing questions. ▫Build in secondary questions for reasons, knowledge level, and qualifiers.

6-11 Survey Questions Question Strategies ▫Filter Strategy ▫Repeat Strategy ▫Leaning Question Strategy ▫Shuffle Strategy ▫Chain or Contingency Strategy

6-12 Survey Questions Question Scales ▫Interval Scales  Evaluative  Frequency  Numerical ▫Nominal Scales ▫Ordinal Scales ▫Bogardus Social Distance Scale

6-13 Survey Questions Question Sequences Question sequences complement question strategies.

6-14 Selecting Interviewees Defining the Population ▫ Sampling Principles  A population is the targeted group of respondents.  A sample is a miniature version of the whole.  Margin of error determines the worth of a survey.  A sample is the actual number of persons interviewed.

6-15 Selecting Interviewees Sampling Techniques ▫Random Sampling ▫Table of Random Numbers ▫Skip Interval or Random Digit ▫Stratified Random Sample ▫Sample Point ▫Self-Selection

6-16 Selecting and Training Interviewers Number Needed ▫You will most often need several interviewers. ▫Overburdening interviewers will damage the quality of interviews and the data received.

6-17 Selecting and Training Interviewers Qualifications ▫Interviewers must follow the rules. ▫If a survey requires probing and adaptation to different interviewees, professionally trained interviewers tend to be more efficient.

6-18 Selecting and Training Interviewers Personal Characteristics ▫Interviewer Credibility ▫Interviewee Skepticism ▫Similarity of Interviewer and Interviewee

6-19 Selecting and Training Interviewers Training Interviewers ▫Preparing for an Interview ▫Conducting the Interview ▫Opening the Interview ▫Asking Questions ▫Receiving and Recording Answers ▫Closing the Interview

6-20 Conducting Survey Interviews Pretesting the Interview ▫Lack of pretesting invites disaster. ▫Leave nothing unquestioned.

6-21 Conducting Survey Interviews Interviewing Face-to-Face ▫The interviewer can establish credibility through physical appearance, dress, voice, eye contact, and presentation of credentials. ▫Respondents will take part in longer interviews. ▫Interviewers can ask more complex questions on complex issues. ▫Interviewers can focus on in-depth attitudes and information by probing into answers. ▫Respondents are more likely to provide self-generated answers. ▫Respondents may provide more accurate answers because of the “naturalness” of the interview. ▫Interviewers can observe attitudes and reactions through face, eye contact, gestures, and posture. ▫Interviewers can interview specific respondents, in specific places, and at specific times. ▫Interviewers can reach and obtain respondents from “marginalized populations.

6-22 Conducting Survey Interviews Interviewing by Telephone ▫Telephone interviews are less expensive and provide faster results, literally overnight in many instances. ▫There are fewer interviewer effects, including interviewer bias. ▫Respondents provide fewer socially acceptable answers. ▫There is increased interviewer uniformity in manner, delivery, and standardization of the interview. ▫Interviewers feel safer on the telephone than venturing into dangerous neighborhoods, particularly at night. ▫Respondents prefer the anonymity of the telephone when answering controversial and personal questions. ▫Respondents prefer the safety of the telephone that does not require them to admit strangers to their homes or places of business.

6-23 Conducting Survey Interviews Interviewing Through the Internet ▫Advantages  High response rate  Easier to establish credibility  Longer interviews are tolerated  Able to target specific audiences ▫Disadvantages  Costly  Time-consuming  Representativeness not guaranteed

6-24 Conducting Survey Interviews Interviewing Through the Internet ▫Advantages  Less expensive  Faster  Target audiences can be narrowly defined  More honest answers  More detailed answers ▫Disadvantages  Limited nonverbal information  Reduced response rates  Interactional spontaneity lost  Possible sample problems

6-25 Coding, Tabulation, and Analysis Coding and Tabulation ▫Begin the final phase of the survey by coding all answers that were not pre-coded, usually the open-ended questions. ▫Record answers to open-ended questions with great care.

6-26 Coding, Tabulation, and Analysis Analysis ▫Analysis is making sense of your data. ▫Know the limitations of your survey. ▫Be careful in using survey results.

6-27 The Respondent in Survey Interviews The Opening Understand what a survey is all about before participating.

6-28 The Respondent in Survey Interviews The Question Phase ▫Listen perceptively. ▫Think before answering.

6-29 Summary The survey interview is the most meticulously planned and executed of interviews. The purpose of the survey interview is to establish a solid basis of fact from which to draw conclusions. Survey respondents must determine the nature of the survey and its purposes before taking part.