EVIDENCE COLLECTION TECHNIQUES (Interview)

Lesson Objectives Getting information on interview, which is the most popular evidence collection technique. 25.02.2019 Interview

Evidence Collection Techniques Interview Focus group Survey Document examination Observation Benchmarking 25.02.2019 Interview

Interview Most commonly used method. Reveals the information and experiences which are unwritten and hidden in people. 25.02.2019 Interview

Interview Interview is the most known method of oral evidence collection. In performance audit works, certain types of interview are used to collect data identify facts. To be successful, interviews must be structured and prepared in advance. Individual interviews are very useful in cases that require asking open-ended questions and obtaining detailed explanations, impressions and opinions. Structured interviews are different than individual interviews because data obtained from them can be collected or measured. However, it is important to identify the right people that will provide and verify oral information. 25.02.2019 Interview

For a successful interview, attention must be paid to the following factors: Making plans in advance and giving information to the interviewee about interview purpose. Approaching the interviewee with a positive and collaborative approach and developing empathy. Preparing a question list from the general to the specific; pursuing various interest points or being ready to ask monitoring questions to find answers. Listening to the interviewee well, taking the necessary notes, summarizing what you hear and having them approved. Writing interview notes as soon as possible by using the interview form and preserving them in working papers. 25.02.2019 Interview

Question types and places of use: Open-ended and definitive questions : They start with how, why, where, when, who and what and they are especially useful for discovering wide infrastructure. For ex.: How do you perform the lakes protection planning and preparation works? What is the sanction power of the decisions made by the commission for preventing water pollution? Such questions must be limited in interviews because they provide qualitative answers that are hard to analyze and compare. 25.02.2019 Interview

Close-ended questions (Yes/No): Such questions are used to prove a certain fact or data. They have yes/no answers or contains answers defining people, time, place or number. For example: Is the amount of fire sewage system sufficient? Are all sewage systems in useable condition? What is the number of the staff used for controlling water usage? Close-ended questions aim at reaching a certain data. While they require maximum effort in planning stage, they are very useful for benchmarking because interviewees can answer them easily. 25.02.2019 Interview

Probing or evaluative questions: Such questions enable collecting specific data and checking in-depth information and experience. In addition, they complete the interviewer’s lack of information on the field or subject. For ex: What happens if the Water Protection Control project is ended? What can be done to increase the effectiveness of the activities for preventing water pollution? 25.02.2019 Interview

The following question types affect the success of the interview negatively. Multiple questions imply that the interviewer does not have enough information on the subject or does not know what he wants to find. Guiding/ recommending questions force the interviewee to give answers that the interviewer wants to hear and prevent the collection of proper evidence. Vague ( uncertain) questions indicate the indecisiveness of the interviewer about what he wants to obtain. Hypothetical questions lead only to hypothetical answers so they cannot be used as proper evidence. 25.02.2019 Interview

Strengths and weaknesses of interview Understanding the feelings of the interviewees Close learning the entity Deeply analysing the possible causes Weaknesses Must be supported with other evidence Requires good communication skills Wrong answers lead to mistakes 25.02.2019 Interview

Exercise-4 Role Play 25.02.2019 Interview Romanian terms and definitions for OBJECTIVE and INSTRUMENT Two groups do OBJECTIVE; two groups do INSTRUMENT. 15 minutes to come up with a definition in Romanian. It should be brief, but unambiguous. Start by electing a leader to present your conclusion to the rest of us. Try to come up with something each member of your group agrees on. Then members comment. Then we all vote on the best one. Flipcharts needed – probably two. 25.02.2019 Interview 12