Interviewing Stakeholders: Evaluating Support for Policy Change in Your Community

Objectives 1. Identify different types of interviewing techniques & know when to use 2. Describe ‘basic rules’ of successful interviewing 3. Demonstrate skill in interviewing that you will be able to apply in your policy evaluations

Your Facilitators Lynn Hrabik, NE Region Jennifer Leahy, Program Assistant Edward Minter, SE Region Bonita Westover, S & W Region

Interviews At the most basic level, are conversations. That, attempt to understand points of view, unfold the meaning of experiences, uncover changes in individuals, groups and communities.

Why Interview Be personal and unobtrusive Obtain direct feedback Seek understanding “dig deeper” Observe behaviors and reactions Obtain rich, detailed data To be flexible

Types of Interviews 1. Informal Conversation 2. Guided Interview 3. Structured Interview Adapted from M. Patton, 1990

Types of Interviews Informal Conversation May happen spontaneously in the course of field work, and respondent may not even know that an “interview” is taking place. Questions emerge from the immediate context of the conversation and are often not predetermined.

Informal Conversation When to Use When the interviewer has:  Solid knowledge and experience with the subject matter  Strong interpersonal skills to maintain the conversation  The situation presents the opportunity  Ability to record data quickly

Informal Conversation Situations  Social gathering  School event  Before/after a public meeting  Whenever you have their attention and can engage the conversation

Types of Interviews Guided Interview Widely used. Interviewer has an established outline of topics/questions to be covered. Wording and order of questions can vary to an extent.

Guided Interview When to Use When you have:  Solid knowledge and experience with the subject matter – you know what to ask  A set of questions you want everyone to answer  Questions that you want to compare or summarize across individuals

Guided Interview Situations  Series of scheduled individual meetings with local politicians

Types of Interviews Structured Interviews Adheres to a strict script with no variation in the wording or order of the questions. Useful when interviewer does not have experience or knowledge of the subject. The structure helps reduce interviewer bias.

Structured Interviews When to Use  To compare responses of different respondents  You or other volunteers have limited knowledge of the topic

Structured Interviews Situations  Multiple volunteer interviewers are used

Conducting Interviews

1. Establish Purpose Why are you conducting the interview What do you want to know Who are you interviewing

Conducting Interviews 2. Develop Questions: Related specifically to purpose Pilot them, are they clearly understood by others’

Conducting Interviews 3. Collect the data Who will conduct the interview(s)? Do the interviewers need training? When will interviews be conducted? Where will interviews be conducted? How will you record the interviews? Questionnaire Notes Tape recorder

Conducting Interviews 4. Analysis and reporting What will you do with the data? How will you analyze it? Who will you share the results with? How will it be shared? When will you share the results?

Interviewing Basic Rules Keep the purpose of the interview in mind…always Be yourself Be cordial, appreciative and show respect Dress appropriately for the setting

Interviewing Basic Rules Conduct the interview in a comfortable place Do not be afraid to probe Demonstrate that you are listening Be sensitive to cultural nuances Practice, practice, practice…

Interview Role-Play Instructions 1. Read the scenarios. 2. Create ONE more question. The question must relate to the purpose of the interview. 3. Identify interviewee and interviewer(s). 4. Conduct interview with interviewer(s) documenting responses 5. Review and briefly analyze documented responses

Interview Role-Play After conducting the interview, discuss within your group the following: The type of interview introduced in the scenario A potential location for the interview Ethical standards considered Probing technique(s) used Brief summary of the data collected Did the interview meet the intended purpose

Disadvantages May be time consuming and costly Training - practice is necessary Interviewer error and/or bias can creep in Analysis can be difficult Interviewing takes skill

Advantages Direct feedback from respondent Yields rich, detailed data and new insights Probing is possible Personal interaction with respondent Flexible Opportunity to explain or clarify

Questions…

Informal Conversation Advantages 1. Highly individualized 2. Relevant to the individual 3. May produce information or insights not originally anticipated Disadvantages 1. It is not a systematic method 2. Different information may be collected from different people 3. Analysis can become difficult and time-consuming

Guided Interview Advantages 1. Data are more systematic and comprehensive 2. Tone of the interview is conversational, informal Disadvantages 1. Sticking too much to the outline may prevent other topics from being explored 2. Analysis can become difficult and time-consuming

Structured Interviews Advantages 1. Useful when interviewer does not have experience or knowledge of the subject 2. May be best choice when you must rely on volunteers 3. Structure makes analysis easier than other interview techniques Disadvantages 1. Interviewer has little flexibility within the actual interview 2. If questions are not clearly linked to the purpose, there is no guarantee the questions tap into the issues that are most relevant to the respondent

Who are you? We would like to get to know you by knowing… Your name Where you work or who you are representing