Getting to grips with interviews

Interview techniques and conducting interviews is something that I have never had to think about, and until now, I have only experienced them in the form of a job interview.  Job interviews to me have never been a joyful experience and I often don't remember them at all upon walking out of the room. It all turns into a blur and a fraction of self doubt. "Why did I say that?", "did I answer their questions fully?", "could I have done better?". Conducting an interview feels very surreal sitting on the other side of the table in the manner of having to prompt questions and lead the session. 

For my inquiry I have chosen to carry out my interviews and focus groups in semi-structured format. These types of interviews are exactly what the title says, they are not rigid and dictated completely in the form of closed questions in search for a yes/no answer. The interviewer maintains structure by taking into the interview pre-set open ended questions to keep the journey topical, but the fluidity of the interview and open questions allow the interviewer to “probe further information or discuss issues that arise during the interview situation” (Markula & Silk, 2011). They are often used to bring forward opinions and experiences, which is exactly what I am wanting from my inquiry.

To test these out before starting my inquiry, I rounded up a few of my friends to avoid any disasters when carrying out the real deal. This process of a test trial was the best decision I made. It helped me develop the questions that I want to cover in my interviews, it aided with my nerves as the more I did the more confident I felt, and this process also helped me realise the gaps in my inquiry and topics that I haven't considered. It also gave me reassurance that I have chosen a valuable source of data collection for my inquiry and this hopefully will show within the collaboration of my final research.

For any module 1 students, I would highly recommend trialing out your data collection tools to aid the process. The purpose isn't to deliver the perfect interview, it is to improve on what you have and to develop your skills. All interviews will be different and some will feel like a complete fail, but it is all part of the process. By saying the word 'fail' is totally wrong. Adesola reminded us in a recent Skype that we should describe it as 'absence as data' not 'absence in data'. Meaning that when the interview doesn't draw out the information that you assumed it would there is still data, you will always take something away from it. You can questions what didn't go to plan, search what topical areas were explored and extract data that you weren't expecting to come from the session. There is data, just not the data you expected to be there.