'i'he Research Irlte~-~-ie~\.
Silcnce has a cui-10~spotency - actors use it as a forin of
emphasis: of what they have j~lstsaid or are about to say. It
can also signal a change of direction. You don't let it go on
for cvcr, but often all that is necessary to move things on is a
simple prompt ~:'l\'hatdo you think?' etc.j or an interroga-
ti\-cmovement of the head.
So it is more than just cuttiilg back on your contribution:
there is technique to it. In fact, if you talk less and listen more
YOU %\.illhe able to 'steer' the interx7iewn-101-eeffectively-?in
the right direction and at the right pace - because )-ou won't
l ~ edoing all the m-ork.Not doing most of the talking signals to
intrr\:iewccs that that's theii.job, that rlq are the focus of the
intcrviexv.
Organizing and Managing the
Interview
The topics and questions that ) ou are clarifjfing and devel-
oping ha\.e to be inserted in some o\ era11 structure. Tills
doesn't 11ai e to be elaborate (better not) but you do need a
clear idea of the framebvork you are using - on nhich the
detail rests.
Initially j ou can think of it in terms of four main stage<:
0 the introductory phase:
the opening dei elopinent of the Inter\ ie~i,
6 the central core of the interview;
a bringing the inter\iew to a close, both soclall~and ~n
teims of content.
Ei~enin a short inter\:iew the first and last of these are
impoi-tant, but often neglected because the)- are not c~nt~alb,
what the interview is all about. But attention to them helps
to get tlie interview content into shape, and this is particu-
larly true of the introductory phase where you explain the
purpose to the inter\;iexvee. 'Closure' - hringiilg the inter-
\-iew to a close - includes an element of ~ei,ieic:ingw-hat has
been co\-ered: and important additional inaterial may
emerge even at this point.

The introductory phase
This isn't just a matter of whar you say in an 'introductor~'
~\.a)iat the beginning of tbe intervie~v.It starts in adxrance of
the actual interview.
Brj5~01.tthe)- come io the inter\-ietv the people concerned
need to have:
0 a clear idea of ~'\-h!-ti701 have been asked;
basic illformation about the purpose of the intel~iexvand
the research project of ~vhichit is a part;
sollze idea of the p~-ol~ablelength of the interview and tlzat
)-OLI I\-oulcllike to record it (explaining wig);
a clear idea of where and when the inten,ie~\-
\\-ill take place.
h,iuch of this is first dealt with in person (although perhaps
over tllc telephone,, but pozt col$rnz eoe<~lt/zi~zgin ariting.
Particular carc has to he taken olTerthe last?practical part
if the lzzeetiiig place is not familiar to the interviewee. You
s l ~ o ~ ~ l dinclude: a photocopied section of a street or campus
map; precise instructions as to the locatioii of the room if the
building is a large one; details of hot^ to get in touch with >-ou
if there are queries or changes or things go svrong.
This 'efficient)-` aspect is partly so that valuable time
isn't \\.asted (and possible confusion is avoided'). But it is
izlucll inore than that. The fact that you ha\-e taken the
trouble to coilsult and inform people carries its own
mcssagc: tlzat you are taking the interview seriously; that
you appreciate their cooperation: that the occasioi~ is
important to 5 . 0 ~ ;that you respect their rights and feelings
in the mattcr. These factors (or the ob\.erse) will have a
nlarlicd effect on the attitude of interviewees? and their
mental preparation for tlie interview.
It is the same thing ~vitlithe setting and its arraiigement.
JVllat messagcs do they con\-ey?ilre the room and tlie chairs
you m:ill be using reaso~lablycomfortable3 Does tlie room
Organlzlng and Manag~ngthe Inter1ieTz
look 'organized' and prepared? Do )-ouhave refreshments to
offer !the interviewee may ha\-e had to travel')? .\re T;OU
prepared in all practical respects? These details are not
trivial: and in combination they add to (or detract ficm 1
the 'message'.
7'Yhat does your appearance convey? It is not a matter of
whether T~OLI are formally dressecl (though a marked1)-
'informal' appearance may suggest a carelessness of attitude')
but if you are dressed with a bit of care that con\-e!-s
something positive.
If you are going to record the intervie~vit is necessary to
make sure that you are entirel_j!familiar with the machine and
that inposition it records conversation well (but)-ou will need
to check this again at tlie start of the intervie~v1. If !-ou aren't
prepared in this respect it is easy to get flustered: this is liot
impressive and it can lead to mistakes.
Make sure _1!021 czre in the iizterz'iex' i.oon2 zell illzend of tile
il~)ointmenttime. This is common courtesy. and it can be a
source of co~zf~~sionif you are late, another 'message' co11-
velred.
This pre-interview stage has been spelt out at some length
because it is important and because it is often entirel>-missed
out in books dealing with intervie~ving'technique'. Tech-
nique is only half the picture.
The introduction (like 'closure') has its 'social' compo-
nents: a liandshake~a question about their journe!-. an offer
of refreshment. Introduce yourself by name: but not by title
(alack of taste: which makes things appear more formal than
necessary: 'I'm Janet Jones'). If the interviewee chooses to
address );ou by your first name then that cues you to do the
same; but don't assume that all people are ~villingto accept
that from a stranger xvithout that 'guide'.
Your manner initially should be lo\\--key- not too friend1)-.
certainly nor too familiar. An undiscriininating 'kiendliness'
can be very off-putting because it is percei-\;edas false. It can
also be seen as insufficiently respectf~~l- especially important

Orgailizirig and hlanag-ii~gtlie Intervic~xv
The interview itselE opening development and
substantive content
:It t h i s point Ice havrn't started the actual intervie~v:but in a .
sense it call clearly be seen that n-eIl~li,e:that the tenor of the
\I-liolrthing is partly cletermined.
Ecgin 12) explaining not just the purpose of the inter\-ie~v:
I ~ u tthe purpose of rlie 1-esearch. You \\-ill have mentioned
this in \-ourletter or on the telephone but you need to expand
on chat a littlc ancl also ask the intervie\\-eeif he or she has
an!- cjucstio~lsabout it.
Explain \I-11)- 7 . o ~prefer to record the interview: ho1.1-you
\\.ill ti-aiiscril~cand anal>-se it, ancl deal with the issue of
coilfidcntiality. If tlie); are comfortable about being recorded
cxplaiil that J.OLI nerd to douhle-check that the machine is
i-ccoi-clingancl pla>-irigback satisfactorily.
You should ha\-e!-our questions (and simple 'prompts' for
topics the iiitcrvie\vee might oillit to mer~tion)on one or two
sheets on a clipboard in f ~ ~ l l\:ieI\; in fi-ont ofyou. You can say,
.I'\.c got my list of clurstiorls here to remind me. Cali I start
11y asking you . . . ?' This 'openness' \tiill encourage tlie
inter\-iext-ce to be corresponc1ing;l)- open in response; if you
lluq your clipboard to you that conveys the sense that what is
on it is sometl-iing 'sccret'.
-4 sample schedule is given on p. 29 and you can see how
sirnple it call he. This is to your benefit: an elaborate
scheclulc u-it11 too man)- cluestions can easily cause \-ou to
lose !-our ~t-a!-.Note that the questions in the example git-en.
st.hile all 'on the topic'. are all distinctively different. Ela-
l~orationwithin them c,onles from how you handle the
intervien-ee's responses, i.e. steering them but allowing them
to lrc~d\-ou.
For some interx7ie~usyou liill need to supplement the basic
factual inforination !which )-ou should l-ia\.e obtained before
the intervien-' - such things as the 'history' of l ~ o ~ \ -the
iiztervie~veehas reached the present point in their profey-
sional or personal life. Such questions are 'closed', i.?.
specified, by tlieir very liature. But you need to move on
from this before a 'question-and-answer' st!-le is esrablisheci.
i.e. where the interviewee just answers your specific questions
iiistead of ~espotzdirzgto the topics you raise.
111a semi-struc~urediizter\-iexz- the main questions are
'open' - \\.here YOU are raising the topic and indicating the
kindof answer but where tlie actual ansvers are entirely up T O
the inter\.ie~.\-ee.
Q ~ ~ e s t i o norder should display some sort of logic ;chroizolo-
gical, thematic) so that one question could be seen as
'following on' from tlie previous one - ~vhichis some le~-elof
preparation for it. One of the things J-ouwill disco\-erin your
progressive question-trialling is that you are izot getting the
order right.
The other point >-ouhave to ~vatclzis that >-ourquestioils
aregm~linei~;open, i.e. that they don't signal the desirability or
the expectation of a particular anslver. Tone of voice can do
this, even when the xvords don't, e.g, the \cay ).ou might say,
'JC-hat do you think of recent 9-oxre1-ninentlegislation on this?'
If you start with a beginning questioii u-hich is vide open,
that sets the tone for the style of response 1-ouare expecting.
For example, 'How did >-oufirst come into nursing?' One can
see how that question could be a starting point for the
examination of the intervie~vee'spresent feelings and atti-
tudes about the profession - reflecting hack on his or her
initial expectatioi~s.
The logic of the order of substantive questioils in an
inter\-iew is difficult to specifv because the T-ariet!- of inter-
views is so T-ast- as man)- as its precise purposes. But later
questions can take a more p~.ospecticeform, e.g. '7'\-lzat are
your views on the f~itureof the profession?'

Eeca~lseinterview developmellt - ~vhichmeans the del-el-
oprncnt of the intervie\\-ee's responses - is a major topic in its
~ T I - T Iright, and not ,just a matter of organization, it is not
clcalt \\-it11hert., but in the next chapter. The essential point!
lloxt-e\,ei-. is that the interviewer's task is to ask initial
questions that allow the inter~ie~veeto determine the
iulswcrs. and to follo~j?up the responses which focus the
inter\.ic-c\-ecand encourage him or her to elaborate xz;here
11ecessar)-,or cover aspects of the answer that have been
oinittccl.
Closure
Like preparation, rhis is an easily neglected phase of the
interl.ie~t-.It is easy to give interviewees the impression that
you have got ~\lllatyou wanted and just u7antto burr)- them
off thc premises. Carelessness here can undo much of the
previous good s\-ork,common courtesy quite apart.
There are two main elements to closure: pulling together
tlic content ;c,ognitive) and the more obvious 'social' ele-
n1cnt. 170usignal this phase in various ways so that the ~1-11ole
thing has a kind of shape: topics or questions that indicate
that they are the 'last chapter'. And you can follo~vthis up
siinp1)-b ~ -saying 'No~vthe last thing I want to ask you about
is . . .'! or some such phrase.
Sometimes it is usef~~lto summni.ize \\,hat you think you
l-ia\.elearnt from the interviewee so that he or she can gil-e
)-oufeedback on your summary impression. And this can call
forth material that emerged nowhere else; occasionally of
major significai~cetincidentally a common experience in
tllcrapeutic intervie~rs\.
And xvhcn the respoilse has run its course, s\vitcl?ingoff the
recorder indicates that the substantive phase is done. Son~e
appi-eciati\.ecomment is needed here: 'You've given me a lot
of usefill inaterial there - I'm very gratef~~l'endorses the
Organizing and llanaging the Inter\-ie~j-
value you place on the session. If >-ougo on to explaill thar
J-ou u-ill be preparing a summary report (of the two-page
variet).) andjor doing a presentation - and indicate M-hen-
you call offer to send the interl.iewee a copy or invite him or
her to the presentation. People often haxre the experience of
contributing to research and then hearing nothing about it.
The offer you make here as part of the intervie\$-closure
should be followed up by a letter that repeats the offer as xt-ell
as your thanks. To some extent the impact of your research is
going to depend on the observation of sucll courtesies -
particularly if you are aiming at a primarily local effect.
So there is a little work to be done? el-en when tile
interview is over; which may take only a few minutes but
~vhichwill leave either a good or a bad impression.