{"id":6041,"date":"2014-08-04T12:16:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-04T10:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.7sens.es\/?p=6041"},"modified":"2014-08-04T12:16:00","modified_gmt":"2014-08-04T10:16:00","slug":"how-to-avoid-these-10-interviewing-bloopers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seven-senses.nu\/nl\/how-to-avoid-these-10-interviewing-bloopers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to avoid these 10 interviewing bloopers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine, someone knocks on the door. It\u2019s a person you have never seen before. Different skin colour, different clothes, different hair, funny accent\u2026 He says he wants to interview you about your daily life, for some sort of research. Kind and welcoming as you are, you let him in, offer him a chair and a drink. The interview starts. \u201cWhat\u2019s your opinion about organisation x and project y?\u201d Confused as you are about this sudden difficult question about an organisation and project you hardly know, you decide not to look stupid and just answer, stuttering \u201cI.. I.. I think it\u2019s good\u201d. The following questions make you as nervous as a child during her first test at school. By the time he leaves you feel confused and intruded, not knowing what he will do with the information you just gave\u2026\u00a0 When conducting interviews we are often focused on our own goals of getting information. Especially in Participatory Action Research this is detrimental. This blog is about how to do an interview and to avoid bloopers, with a special focus on Participatory Action Research.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interviewing in\u00a0Participatory Action Research<\/h4>\n

Conducting high quality, in-depth interviews for Participatory Action Research -and other types of research- can be of tremendous value for policy recommendations and development projects. The information that the respondents provide, helps to (co-)create the right solutions for the right problems. However, the way we formulate our questions determines to a large extent the answer that we get. The line between getting the answer which is socially acceptable and the answer that represents reality is extremely thin, especially when you\u2019re a newcomer to the community. Yet many people tend to underestimate the complexity of interviewing and conduct their interviews without knowing how to properly formulate questions, ending up in very awkward situations with the respondent\u2026<\/p>\n

Types of interviewing questions you want to avoid<\/h4>\n

Recently I gave interview training to my SevenSenses Challenge trainees, who currently conduct research about sanitation (\u201cTwekembe Water Challenge\u201d) and arts (\u201cStreet Angels Challenge\u201d) in the slums of Kampala, Uganda. During that training, I gave them 10 types of questions that can ruin your interviews and consequently your research results. We practiced how to do an interview of good quality. I thought it would be valuable not only for them but for all (action) researchers in the field, so here they are!<\/p>\n

Note: The lines written in italics are thoughts, not quotes, to show you what respondents could think, but don\u2019t say.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Disrespectful questions.<\/strong> \u201cHow do you survive as a poor farmer?\u201d What the interviewer can merely see as a compliment (\u2018you must be so tough to be able to survive here!<\/em>\u2019), the respondent could see as disrespectful (\u2018a POOR farmer?! Me?! YOU are the one that is \u2018poor\u2019, all you probably have is money and nothing more than that!<\/em>\u2019).
\n2. Giving a false feeling of responsibility.<\/strong> In our exploration of chains of causality, we tend to ask why and why and why. For example: \u201cWhy do you never boil your water?\u201d \u2018Oh.. Sorry, are you going to take me to jail for this or what??<\/em>\u2019 Try to avoid the word \u2018why\u2019 in these cases to make sure the interviewee doesn\u2019t feel like they are being accused of a crime. That does not mean you may never ask \u2018why\u2019 again. Just know when it is appropriate.
\n3. Putting words in someone\u2019s mouth.<\/strong> It is very hard to let go of your own assumptions and opinions during an interview. Often, while asking questions, we already have some kind of \u2018solution\u2019 in mind. That\u2019s how we sometimes tend to ask questions like: \u201cDon\u2019t you think it would be a good idea to organize a workshop?\u201d, or \u201cThe solution should be building an orphanage, right?\u201d Basically, you are asking for a socially acceptable answer, forcing a stuttering \u201cyes\u201d instead of the truth. Ask your question in a neutral way to let the participant speak freely, such as: \u201cWhat do you think could be a solution to\u2026\u201d
\n4. Unnecessarily difficult questions.<\/strong> Since we are very into the research matter, we tend to forget that others are not so familiar with the subject. Even simple questions are sometimes made unnecessarily difficult or confusing, like for example very long questions, or double negatives: \u201cSo in the morning, you don\u2019t make no breakfast?\u201d. Keep it simple!
\n5. Taking your assumptions for granted.<\/strong> \u201cHow often are your children playing in the waste?\u201d \u2018Oh. Are they? Well, let me just say\u2026 five times?<\/em>\u2019 Think about each question you ask: are there any (false) assumptions behind it?
\n6. Too open or too closed questions.<\/strong> Recognise those awkward moments of silence, insecure body posture, questioning faces? Yup. High chances your question was too open or too close. Try to adapt the openness of your questions to the type of information you are looking for and to the ease with which people talk to you.
\n7. Giving the feeling something he\/she did was wrong.<\/strong> Interviewers have emotions too (yes, really). When we feel compassion for someone who shares a highly emotional story, we tend to share what we would have done or how the situation could have been prevented. \u201cCouldn\u2019t you just scream for help when they robbed you?\u201d. Seriously, don\u2019t. The respondent has probably thought over and over what could have prevented the situation.
\n8. Coming up with unwanted advice.<\/strong> When people tell us about their problems and daily challenges, we tend to give them advice, often unwanted. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you just save some money every month so that you can have surgery in a year?\u201d
\n9. Leading questions.<\/strong> One of the most useless things to do in research is trying to make your data \u2018fit\u2019. In doing so, we tend to ask leading questions so that we get the answers we want. For example: \u201cDo you think diarrhoea is caused by drinking dirty water?\u201d \u2018Uhhh yes\u2026\u2019Instead you could ask: \u201cWhat do you think could be a cause of diarrhoea?\u201d
\n10. Creating false hope.<\/strong> \u201cWhat do you think we can do to\u2026\u201d Note the word \u2018we\u2019. \u2018Oh? So you are going to solve my problems?? Nice!<\/em>\u2019 The answer you (especially as a foreigner from \u2018the west\u2019) will get to this question is probably one that costs a lot of money -and seriously, you can\u2019t blame them.<\/p>\n

For all (potential) interviewers out there: I hope this blog will be of use to you when you go out into the field! Remember: asking the right questions in an appropriate manner is crucial; without the true answers your research is useless. And useless research means no funding for your intervention project. Practice your interviewing skills and prepare yourself well!<\/p>\n

At SevenSenses we offer customized interview training<\/a>. Check out the possibilities!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine, someone knocks on the door. It\u2019s a person you have never seen before. Different skin colour, different clothes, different hair, funny accent\u2026 He says he wants to interview you about your daily life, for some sort of research. Kind and welcoming as you are, you let him in, offer him a chair and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[14,10],"class_list":["post-6041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-interviewing","tag-participatory-action-research"],"yoast_head":"\n10 interviewing bloopers \u2013 and tips how to do it right!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Interviewing bloopers: description 10 types of questions that can ruin your interviews and consequently your research results. 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