2.  Who is  interviewing  whom?

Teacher-student
Student-student
Observer–student(s)
Observer-teacher

·        Purposes:  Why use interviews:  It’s a conversation about things you can’t observe. 

To collect diagnostic information about student learning
To study some aspect of teaching or classroom life in detail
To improve classroom life
To learn about topics people might not want to write about (due to lengthiness of response, sensitivity)
To see how another research intrument is working, e.g., survey questions or a learning task
To get a general idea of what the range of responses might be

·        Interview Skills and Tips

According to Merriam (p.75).  Interviewers can minimize distortion caused by their own preferences by “being neutral and nonjudgemental no matter how much  a respondent’s revelations violate the interviewers own standards” (or, how much they agree with them!)

A good interviewer:

• refrains from arguing
• is sensitive to the verbal and nonverbal messages being conveyed
• is a good reflective listener.
• Use phrases like, “So, what I’m hearing you say is. . .” or paraphrase or rephrase what the person has been saying.

Taylor and Bogdan (quoted in Merriam, p. 77) tell 5 issues to be addressed, either when recruiting respondents, or at  the outset of the interview.

• Purpose, motive and intention.  Why is the interviewer conducting the interview
• Protection of the respondent’s identity
• [and how the data will be used – if it will be presented in public forum like articles or research meetings]
• Payment (if any)
• and, if appropriate, logistics about when, where and how many interviews are to take place

More rarely for teacher researchers is the issue of who has final say over the study’s content.

It is also important to put the respondent at ease.  Letting them know that you are interested in their answers and their point of view is important.  Letting them know there are many ways of thinking about things or that there is no one correct answer (or no wrong answer) can also be important.

Remember to thank the people at the end of the interview.

 Here is how I (mw) think about the parts of an  interview

• Purpose of interview
• Disarm or put at ease
• Questions (save difficult ones for later in the interview, start with factual or descriptive questions)
• Closure
• Thanks

 

Advantages Based on Hopkins p68-69	Disadvantages
Teacher and student are in direct contact Focused on information teacher is seeking Allows a window into unobservables Can be done as part of lesson or outside of class Can identify patterns Can look in depth at issues hinted at with other techniques	Time consuming Data can be difficult to analyze Might want to use some audio or video recording tech at the same time, which can inhibit people Young children may have difficulty expressing thoughts and feelings.

 

Merriam, Sharan B.  Case Study Research  in Education: a qualitative approach.  SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988.

David Hopkins, A Teacher’s Guide to Classroom Research, Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1985.

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