Chapter 6The Survey Interview

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Chapter Summary

Purpose and Research Structuring the Interview Survey Questions Selecting Interviewees Selecting and Training Interviewers Conducting Survey Interviews Coding, Tabulation, and Analysis The Respondent in Survey Interviews Summary

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Purpose and Research

Determining Purpose What types of information do you need? How soon must you complete the survey and

compile the results? How much time will you have for each interview? How will you use the information obtained? What are your short- and long-range goals? What are your resources?

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Purpose and Research

Conducting Research Don’t assume adequate knowledge of a topic. Don’t waste time learning what you already know.

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Structuring the Interview

Interview Guide and Schedule A detailed guide is easily transformed into a

scheduled format. Standardization is essential for surveys.

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Structuring the Interview

The Opening There are no ice-breaker questions or small talk

in surveys. Surveys must be structured so that each

interviewee goes through an identical interview process.

Write out the opening and require each interviewer to recite it verbatim.

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Structuring the Interview

The Closing The closing is usually brief and expresses

appreciation for the time and effort expended by the interviewee.

Do not get defensive or bad-mouth the survey.

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Survey Questions

Planning Survey Questions

• Interviewers cannot make on-the-spot adjustments.

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Survey Questions

Phrasing Questions Every word in every question may influence

results. Adapt phrasing to all members of a target

population. Be wary of negatively phrased questions.

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Survey Questions

Sample Question Development Keep recording of answers in mind when phrasing

questions. Build in secondary questions for reasons,

knowledge level, and qualifiers.

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Survey Questions

Question Strategies Filter Strategy Repeat Strategy Leaning Question Strategy Shuffle Strategy Chain or Contingency Strategy

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Survey Questions

Question Scales Interval Scales

Evaluative Frequency Numerical

Nominal Scales Ordinal Scales Bogardus Social Distance Scale

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Survey Questions

Question Sequences

• Question sequences complement question strategies.

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Selecting Interviewees

Defining the Population Sampling Principles

A population is the targeted group of respondents. A sample is a miniature version of the whole. Margin of error determines the worth of a survey. A sample is the actual number of persons interviewed.

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Selecting Interviewees

Sampling Techniques Random Sampling Table of Random Numbers Skip Interval or Random Digit Stratified Random Sample Sample Point Self-Selection

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Selecting and Training Interviewers

Number Needed You will most often need several interviewers. Overburdening interviewers will damage the

quality of interviews and the data received.

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Selecting and Training Interviewers

Qualifications Interviewers must follow the rules. If a survey requires probing and adaptation to

different interviewees, professionally trained interviewers tend to be more efficient.

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Selecting and Training Interviewers

Personal Characteristics Interviewer Credibility Interviewee Skepticism Similarity of Interviewer and Interviewee

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Selecting and Training Interviewers

Training Interviewers Preparing for an Interview Conducting the Interview Asking Questions Receiving Answers Closing the Interview

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Conducting Survey Interviews

Pretesting the Interview Lack of pretesting invites disaster. Leave nothing unquestioned.

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Conducting Survey Interviews

Interviewing Through the Internet Advantages

High response rate Easier to establish credibility Longer interviews are tolerated Able to target specific audiences

Disadvantages Costly Time-consuming Representativeness not guaranteed

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Conducting Survey Interviews

Interviewing by Telephone Research on Using the Telephone

Telephone interviews may be inexpensive in money but costly in results.

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Conducting Survey Interviews

Interviewing by Telephone Advantages of the Telephone

The telephone permits interviews around the world without moving from an office or home, flying or driving long distances, or contracting with people far removed from any control.

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Conducting Survey Interviews

Interviewing by Telephone Opening the Telephone Interview

Opening the telephone interview is critical. The essential role of the voice is missing in Internet

interviews.

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Conducting Survey Interviews

Interviewing by Telephone How to Use the Telephone

Do nothing but ask and listen during telephone interviews.

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Conducting Survey Interviews

Interviewing Through the Internet Advantages

Less expensive Faster Target audiences can be narrowly defined More honest answers More detailed answers

Disadvantages Limited nonverbal information Reduced response rates Interactional spontaneity lost Possible sample problems

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Coding, Tabulation, and Analysis

Coding and Tabulation Begin the final phase of the survey by coding all

answers that were not pre-coded, usually the open-ended questions.

Record answers to open-ended questions with great care.

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Coding, Tabulation, and Analysis

Analysis Analysis is making sense of your data. Know the limitations of your survey. Be careful in using survey results.

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The Respondent in Survey Interviews

The Opening• Understand what a survey is all about before

participating.

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The Respondent in Survey Interviews

The Question Phase Listen perceptively. Think before answering.

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Summary

The survey interview is the most meticulously planned and executed of interviews.

The purpose of the survey interview is to establish a solid basis of fact from which to draw conclusions.

Survey respondents must determine the nature of the survey and its purposes before taking part.