Interviews are an important an important tool for gathering information about:

• What the worker does
• Why the worker does it
• How the worker does it
• Problems & concerns about the job
• Possible improvements

Interview formats

• Face-to-face
• Remote questionnaires
• Formal/informal
• One-on-One
• gGoups
  • Group dynamics -- one response often stimulates another
  • Collective wisdom -- or bias
  • Require moderation & guidance to keep group on track
  • There is a style for every need and budget

General guidelines for interviews

• The interviewer should explain the purpose of the interview.
• The interviewer should include a list of all topics to be included in the interview.
• The interviewer should be careful not to ask leading questions. For example, rather than ask, “Isn’t it hard to use this tool?” the user might be asked “What do you like and dislike about the tool?”
• It is often helpful to summarize what the interviewee has said.
• It may be necessary to steer the interview to keep the interviewee focused on the reason for the interview.
• The interviewee’s confidentiality should be preserved.
• Recording devices are often helpful, but need to be used carefully.
• Refs:
  1. McCormick E. Job and Task Analysis, Ch 2.4, in Salvendy G. Handbook of Industrial Engineering, New York: John Wiley (1982), pp. 2.4.4-2.4.6

  2. S Boslaugh S, Watters P. Statistics in a nutshell . Sebastopol, CA: OReilly Media, 2008, p. 17)
  3. Fontana A, Frey JH. The interview. The Sage handbook of qualitative research. 2005;3:695-727.

Quantifying interviews

• Rankings v. Ratings
• Rank: A>B
• Rating: A= 9/10; B=1/10
• Likert scale
• Visual Analogue Scale

Confidentiality of interview data

• Release of information obtained from interview could have adverse consequences for interview.
• Information should be released only in aggregated from in which individuals cannot be identified.
• Essential to obtaining interviewees' trust and obtaining useful information.
• Must be made clear before beginning interview.