Be less curious about people and more curious

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas. ” Marie Curie

Business and Management BAM 201 Research Skills Session 3 Interviewing skills

Agenda • Your questions/comments about the repertory grid technique • Interviewing

Repertory grid technique • Suggestions for possible uses for the BAM 201 assessed research work • Suggestions for making effective use of the technique

Repertory grid technique • Notice that you did not ask your interviewee directly what you wanted to find out • There is a difference between investigative questions and the questions you ask your research participants

Interviewing UNSTRUCTURED Listening to other people’s conversations STRUCTURED Using ‘natural conversation to ask questions Semistructured interviews, open & closed questions ‘Open-ended’ interviews; just a few key questions Based on Gillham (2000) Structured questionnaire: simple, specific, closed questions… … in effect verbally administered questionnaires

Successful interviewers • Knowledgeable • Provides structure • Clear • Gentle • Sensitive • Open • • • Steers Critical Remembering Interpreting Balanced Ethically sensitive Bryman & Bell (2003)

Types of question • Introducing questions Ø Tell me about X… Have you ever felt unhappy about X…? • Follow-up questions Ø Could you say a bit more about…? • Structuring questions Ø I would like to move on by asking about… Based on Bryman & Bell (2003)

Types of question • Direct questions Ø Were you happy with that role? • Indirect questions Ø What do most people here feel about…? • Specifying questions Ø What does that company policy state? Based on Bryman & Bell (2003)

Types of question • Checking questions Ø So is it fair to say that you don’t think pay is a problem? • Probing questions Ø Do you ever worry about money? • Silence Ø Pauses signal that you want the interviewee to think and say more Based on Bryman & Bell (2003)

Organising and managing the research interview • Setting up the interview • Basic information about the project. • Why the interviewee has been asked to participate. • Practicalities - probable length, when and where interview will take place, etc.

• Opening stages of the interview – Explain the purpose of the interview and research. – Explain that you wish to record the interview. • The core of the interview – Have your questions and prompts in front of you. – Mix open and closed questions, but more open ones. – Use closed questions only for prompts and impromptu follow-ups

• Bringing the interview to a close – Signal the end, eg ‘now the last thing I have to ask is. . . ’ – Show appreciation, eg ‘You’ve given me a lot of useful information there and I’m very grateful’ – Clarify what happens next. Do what you promise, eg give them a copy of your report.

You should use prompts and probes • Prompt an interviewee to steer them in the direction of your research questions • Probe to expand on responses – By seeking clarification – By asking for justification – By giving an example – Seeking to extend the narrative (interviewee offers a story)

Interviewing • The interviewer is an authority figure • The interviewee will want to please the interviewer • The interviewer is responsible for what happens in the interview!

Make some notes What have you learnt about your interviewing skills? What could (should) you do to develop them?

Inter-session tasks 1. Read chapters 5 and 15 of Bryman & Bell (2003) or chapter 6 of Collis & Hussey (2003), or Gillham’s book The Research Interview 2. Practise your interviewing skills (using your own interview schedules) 3. Do some thinking about the kinds of issues you could address using interviews for the BAM 201 assessment