1. Interviewing

2. Types of Interviews Structured Depth Semistructured
Usually with a structured questionnaire
For example, interviewees might be asked: How would you rate the usefulness of KMS in your company: excellent, good, fair, or poor?
Depth
One or two issues covered in great detail
What’s it like working here? Further questions from the interviewer would be based on what the interviewee said and would consist mostly of clarification and probing for details
Semistructured
Open ended questions

3. Semi-Structured Interviews
Use open ended questions that define the area to be explored
the interviewer or interviewee may diverge in order to pursue an idea in more detail.
What do you think good health is? How do you consider your own health?, and so on.

4. Types of Questions Behavior or experience Opinion or belief Feelings
Knowledge
Sensory
Background or demographic

5. Developing Questions Brainstorm your questions
Put down as many as occur to you
Then review and reorganize them
Put questions together that are essentially the same (? redundancy)
Group them into the topics they seem to relate to
Can use sub-questions that might provide more detail in area of interest if respondent does not cover
Identify the narrative sequence – how questions and topics lead one into the other.

6. Covering all Topic Areas
Think about what information you need the respondent to discuss in order to complete your assignment
May want to develop check list and associated questions for all topics that need to be covered.
Example:
One of your areas covered in your assignment is assess the fit of KM system with the Nonaka Knowledge Creation Cycle.
Question: I’d like you to describe a recent successful knowledge management initiative. What were expected benefits of the system? Can you describe the different components and how they were used?
Person will describe system
If they do not cover part of system that includes phases of model, then you need to ask questions to check for this information
If they cover in description, then you can check off and do not need to ask question

7. Developing Questions
How ‘sayable’ is this question? Does it sound natural?
If it is hard to say, then it is likely to be hard work for the interviewee to understand.
Clarity is often linked to economy of words: the shortest questions work best
sometimes just one word: why?
Any question of more than a dozen words is almost certainly too long.

8. Questions to Avoid Biased questions
questions that encourage respondent to answer in a certain way
Don’t you agree that knowledge management systems are hard to implement?
Revised: Have you been involved with implementation of a KMS that was not successful?

9. Questions to Avoid Two-in-one Questions
A question that has more than one question embedded within it.
Participants may answer one but not both, or may disagree with part or all of the question.
Do you agree that campus parking is a problem and that the administration should be working diligently on a solution?
Revised: Is campus parking a problem? (If the participant responds yes): Should the administration be responsible for solving this problem

10. Conduct a pilot Are you trying to cram too much into one interview?
what seems to make questions work – productive and stimulating (or the reverse); the ‘feel’ of the interviewing process, particularly important if you are inexperienced; a sense of those elements which give an interview its characteristic tone and set the direction.

11. Conducting the Interview
Initial contact, Actual Interview
Set the stage
Explain who you are
Give your names and brief background
Establish rapport
Explain what your goals are
What information are you interested in, what will be done with it
This provides focus for interviewee
Explain interview strategy, next steps
Example: Jane will ask questions, others may ask follow ups, Matt and Damon will be taking notes

12. Recording the Interview
Various ways of capturing interview content:
Notes written at the time
Notes written afterwards (as soon as possible)
Audio taping
MUST get permission at start of interview
Make notes of your impressions after interview is completed

13. Probing
Probing is about getting the respondent to tell you more about something where you sense there is more to be told
Some techniques
Clarifying
Accuracy
Reflecting

14. Clarifying People often think they are being clear when they are not
They know what they mean and assume they will be understood
There may be more to it than even they fully realize.
‘Clarification’ leads to reflection, exploration and expansion.
How to ask for clarification?
Use the words and phrases that are natural for you. Saying something simple like: ‘I’m not sure I’ve quite got that’ puts the interviewee in the situation of having to help you – quite different from being interrogated

15. Accuracy
Factual recall may be a problem in itself even when the facts have a major significance
People are usually better with the order of things than about when they happened
Order may be important to an understanding of what they are telling you
You can repeat events as you understand them
‘Let’s see if I’ve got things in the right order: First xxx and then . . .’
This helps the respondent to understand and account for things as well as helps you to check understanding

16. Reflecting
Reflecting is offering back, essentially in the interviewee’s own words, the key substance of what they have just said.
However, the technique should only be attempted – and then in its simpler forms – once you feel confident about managing an interview
Reflecting builds on what the interviewee is saying
It shows awareness on the part of the interviewer of the significance of what has been said and steers the interviewee in a direction which is self determined (but interviewer guided)

17. Ending the Interview Thank them for their time
Ask if they have any questions
Give next steps
2nd interview - you may want to set up a time now
Give yourself time to digest this interview and develop 2nd set of questions
Send thank you note when interviews are concluded

18. Exercise
Form pairs
Take on role of knowledge journalist (interviewer) or subject matter expert (interviewee) and then switch
Topic: Deciding on an undergraduate major
Possible questions: How did you decide on what to do for your undergraduate degree? Whose advice did you seek? How would you advise someone to make this decision?
Use probing techniques
Try to identify at least one best practice or lessons learned
Think about interviewing process - what was natural for you, what made you uncomfortable?

19. Reference
Gillham, Bill Research Interviewing : The Range of Techniques. Berkshire, , GBR: McGraw-Hill Education, 2005.