Coalition Building: Assessing Community Needs and Resources

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Conducting Interviews

What is an interview?

It's a conversation with a purpose.

Interviews are not the best option when:

• It's large-scale

• You need numeric data

• There are too many traps

• Interviewee has an agenda
  

Decide carefully whom you should interview

Types of interviews

• Face-to-face

• Telephone

• Focus groups
  

Conducting an interview

• Practice

• Small-talk

• Be natural

• Look sharp

• Listen

• Keep your goals in mind

• Don't take "yes/no"

• Respect
  

Problems with questions:

• Intimidating questions

• Two-in-one question

• Complex questions

• Question order
  

Summary:

• Determine what you want

• Discuss possible questions

• Draft questions

• Decide on interviewee

• Train your interviewers

• Contact interviewees

• Make appointments

• Analyze the data