HOME J. André Paradis, B.Comm John R. Allen, MBA Robert D. Power, PhD. Performance Indicators Serving the Customer Feedback

Steps to Carry Out Interviews Identify Individuals to be Interviewed During the initial interview, the primary client should be asked for a list of "key informants" who should be interviewed. Officials closely involved with the program can include program planners and designers, project director, project staff, evaluation sponsor, members of advisory committee, outside stakeholders involved with the program, and experts in the field. Prepare and Pre-test Protocol for the Interviews Prior to the interviews, we design an interview protocol, which consists of a series of carefully worded and arranged questions designed to ensure thorough and systematic interviews. It is the evaluator's job to decide what questions to ask, how to word the questions, and how long to make the interviews. The first draft of the protocol is based entirely on the evaluation issues. Unlike surveys, closed-ended questions are of little use in interviews. The object is to get the interviewees to talk about their experiences, feelings, opinions and knowledge. In common with surveys, are rules for writing good interview questions: clear, short, good grammar, one thought, and so on. Contact the Interviewees The next step is to contact individuals by phone to introduce the study, ask for their co-operation, and arrange a convenient time for the interview. Following the telephone call, a letter is faxed confirming the respondent's agreement to participate and reiterating the date and time of the interview. A copy of the interview protocol (without probes intended for the interviewer) should be included with the letter of confirmation to allow the respondent time to reflect on the issues and to gather any necessary information. Conduct the Interviews The interview can take place in person or by phone: which to choose depends on the available budget, time, location of the interviewees, and sometimes politics (some clients feel important people deserve to be interviewed in person). At the start of the interview, the general purpose of the research study is explained once again as well as the role and importance of the interview. Interviewers should ensure that all questions contained in the protocol are addressed adequately. They must listen carefully to the response, noting the highlights. Even though the interview is recorded (or should be), if the response is not attended to, the interviewer won't know if the respondent understood the question and supplied the needed information. Summarize the Findings Immediately after the interview, the interviewer should fill out the notes where necessary and check to make sure the recording is intelligible. Later the interview should be transcribed. The transcript should show each question (in order) and the person's response, using his/her words to the greatest extent possible. When all interviews are done, conduct an overall analysis of the results with a close eye on the evaluation issues. Home

André Paradis Tel: (905) 335-0307 Fax: (905) 335-0080 andre@measureresults.com Webmaster