What is interview? Discuss the types of interview and their advantages and disadvantages
Interview may be defined as an effective, informal, verbal and non-verbal conversation, initiated for specific purposes and focused on certain planned content areas. Interviewing is not a simple two-way conservation between the interviewer and the interviewee, but involves eliciting of information pertaining to a wide range of data.
Anthropologist Benjamin D. Paul sees the aims of the interview as gathering and relating two sets of data.
A description of the situation as the field-worker sees it, looking from the outside in, and a description of a situation as he sees it, looking from the inside out. The former is the collective frame of reference, and the Iatter is the subjective frame of reference. Based on the respective roles assumed by the interviewer and the interviewee, the interviews can be classified as follows.
i. Non-direction. Uncontrolled/Unguided/Unstructured Interview: In this type, the interviewers do not follow a list of predetermined questions, and the interviewees are encouraged to relate their concrete experience with no or little direction from the interviewer , and reveal their attitudes and opinions as they see it.
il. Directed/Controlled/Guided/Stractured Interview: This uses a highly standardised technique and a set of predetermined questions. Hence this requires a pilot study beforehand. The directive interview often takes the form of a scheduled. It is often criticized as it imposes selection of topics controlling the content or response; as it prescribes length of responses and thus inhibits full revealing of information; as it indicates from of response thereby hampering informants in their attempt to relate situations as they see them. Further, the use of this interview method requires a fairly through knowledge of local cultural patterns and social groupings, as otherwise the pertinent questions cannot be put forth to the interviewees in the form they understand.
iii.Focused Interview: The focused interview is regarded as semi-standardised and obviates some of the limitations of both the highly directive interview with its structured battery of questions, and the non-directive free-flowing clinical type of interview which is time-consuming and non-standardised.
This type of focused interview takes place when persons are known to have been involved in an observed social situation that has been analysed prior, and proceeds on the basis of an interview guide, which outlines the major areas of the inquiry and the hypothesis, which locate pertinence of data to be secured in the interview and focused on the subjective experiences.
IV. Repeated Interview: This is particularly useful in attempts to trace the specific development of a social or psychological process he., the progressive actions, factors or attitudes which determine a given behaviour pattern or social situation.
This is expensive in time, energy and money, and money, but it offers the advantages of studying the progressive actions and events ad they actually occur or of studying attitudes in the process of formation.
V. In-denth Interview: The in-depth interview aims to elicit unconscious as well as others types of materials relating especially to* personality dynamics and motivations. The in-depth interview can reveal important aspects of psycho-social situations which are otherwise not readily available.
Some Techniques of interviewing:
Interviewing requires some preparatory thinking. It is with an open mind without preoccupation that the interviewer must approach the interviewee. A proper introduction to the interviewee, through either direct personal contact or a mediator or a mediator at the right place and times is required It is ‘ crucial to establish a proper rapport with the interviewee. The best way to achieve this result is to be a warm , sympathetic, respectful and patient listener. However, this is not enough, because the goal is to obtain the facts and so friendly but firm directions have to be given . The listener must steadily reflect on the significance of the account given from the standpoint of (a) facts (b) feeling, tone and (c) impact of the account on the informant. Thus the interviewer must be an analytic listener:
The interview guide, which is a prepared guide, when judiciously used as a suggest reference has several advantages that frequently outweigh the disadvantages in any predetermined outline. A guide may aid in:
1 Focusing attention on salient points in the study.
2. Securing comparable data in different interviews by the same or by various interviews.
3 . Gathering the same range of items essential in the analyses of data or in testing the hypotheses formulated.
4. Accumulating specific concrete details as a basis tor quantitative studies of life histories. The guide is mostly used to indicate topics for further conversation when the interviewer or interviewee seem to have exhausted them.
In a field situation , say a tribe, interview is carried out which certain persons, who appear to be most knowledgeable in tribal lore and who show a willingness to depart with information. Such persons are called ‘Informants’, and those few (or even single) persons who are interviewed consistently and constantly during the period of field-work are termed as ‘Key Informants’. Such person or persons often enter(s) into a more or less personal relationship with the investigator.
Advantages of the Interview Technique:
The research interview is not a separate and independent tool in social exploration. It is supplementary to other techniques. A combination of interviewing, observation, and other techniques often yields the best
results , but the balances of emphasis shifts with the frame of reference and the objectives of the study.
The interview is a highly flexible tool in the hands of skillful interviewers . Questions not readily grasped by interviewees can be rephrased or repeated with proper emphasis and explanation when necessary. Also the interviewer has greater opportunity to appraise the accuracy and validity’ of replies. Contradictory statements can be followed up and possible reasons for contradiction can be learned. The interviewer might also be able to differentiate on the spot between fact and fiction supplied by informants, their hearsay and impressions, convictions and opinions. In the presence of competent interviewers, interviewees often feel free to express their fears, complexes, and emotionally laden situations than when filling out a questionnaire.
Disadvantages and Limitations of the Interview Techniques:
1. Interviewers may suffer from “double dose of subjectivity’ .
2. Interviewers may interject unwarranted interpretations, guesses and impressions into their data.
3. Interviewees may suffer from faulty perceptions, faulty memory, lack of insight and inability to articulate. Therefore many gaps and distortions may occur in the research data.
4. The interview bias (prepared set of expectations etc.) and a Priori thinking may distort and invalidate the results of the whole interview.