Research Blog Post #4

In the short reading “The Interview: Learning how to Ask,” I learned several things that I feel will help me in the long run. It starts off by giving several examples of open and closed questions, while also informing you why/when you should use each type. Typically closed questions can end up turning someone off during the interview and ending it sooner than you may like. Open questions give you a chance to really listen to your informant and gain information that you may have missed otherwise.

The 2nd part of the reading was “The Interview: Learning how to Listen.” It mentioned that the key to obtaining a great interview was following three simple steps; using open questions, background research and having a genuine interest in your informant. It also stressed keeping your informant at the forefront of the conversation. You want to constantly be gaining new information by asking questions and using positive body language to show that you are very interested. If you let your eyes wander or twiddle your thumbs, your subject may become as disinterested in the interview as you are appearing to be. You should also look for opportunities to get the informants to reveal themselves to you.

The “Interviewing Part 1” module showed an example interview with some things that were done correctly and some that were not. It did show very well how closed questions lead to short and concise answers. They did not contribute to any back and forth dialogue. Also building rapport was something that didn’t happen. Without this, you will not be able to find all of the opportunities to get the subject to open up without really asking them to directly.

The five main strategies that I will end up following were mostly described above. I will use mostly open-ended questions and only use closed questions when I am trying to get a simple or short answer from the subject. I will also try very hard to listen to everything they say. I am going to try and get a cheap recorder before my first interview, so that way I can take shorter notes and fill in the rest later. This should give more opportunity to converse back and forth. I will also focus on my body language as this is something that I know will make or break an interview. I will also have a set number of basic questions before I do the interview. This will allow me to progress through the interview, but also leave me room to go off on other tangents that are brought up. The final thing I will use has been stressed throughout each reading we have read so far, which is paying attention to as much detail as you possibly can.

I do not have a potential interview subject yet, but will have one ideally tomorrow or the next time I do a site visit (before Thursday).