This document is a short guide to help you make interviews in 8 easy steps. On the last page, you will find a checklist for preparing and conducting interviews.
Interviews are a way to gather knowledge about the experiences, attitudes, opinions and preferences of people, in their own words. Depending on your need, you can conduct an interview using a predefined set of questions (structured interview) that will be presented to all interviewees. Alternatively, you can have a more open set of questions (semi-structured interview) that can vary according to how each interviewee responds. Unstructured interview (asking as few questions as possible and letting the interviewee speak) can potentially bring up unexpected views and ideas. This type of interview, however, is the most time consuming and difficult to manage.
Instructions: The steps1. Do your homework
Figure out what you are trying to learn and develop a clear image of the research objectives. This will help you develop the interview guide and select whom to interview.
2. Develop the interview guide
The interview guide is a list of the questions you want ask (stuctured interview) or themes/topics you want to pursue.
Start by making a list of the questions you need to answer (you can use your checklist from What do you know about your target group?). For every question, try to make sure that people can respond sensibly to these questions. An interview might not, for example, be the right way to find out how much people’s appliances consume. But you can ask them what appliances they have and whether they remember when they purchased them. Nonetheless, interviews are better for getting at people’s opinions than for gathering very specific data (see field observations).
Convert your list into questions that people can understand. They should be short and to the point. Make it clear whether you are asking for people’s opinions or for facts. Avoid special terms.
Think about how much time your interviewees can spend. Don’t include too many questions. For a structured interview, about 20-30 questions is the maximum that people can respond to sensibly (of course, depending on how complicated they are). For an unstructured interview, about 5-7 topics is the maximum. Prioritize!
Start your list of questions with a warm-up: something easy and clear, which at the same time helps you to get to know your interviewee, e.g.;
-For how long have you worked/lived here?
-Do you like working/living here?
3. Select the interviewees
Because you probably don’t have the time to conduct an unlimited number of interviews, you should select your interviewees carefully. Use your list of questions as a guide. Try to select people whom you would expect to represent a diversity of views, e.g.:
-people of different ages, men and women
-people in different positions in the organization
-people living in different types of houses
4. Contact the interviewees
In some cases, it is not difficult to find interviewees. For example, in an organization, you can ask the manager who you are in contact with to suggest suitable people who meet your criteria. But make sure your interviewees are informed beforehand of when and why they are being interviewed.
In the case of households, it might be more work to find people to interview. Here are some suggestions for how to find people to interview-:
-Get contacts via residents’ associations or centrally located people like maintenance staff
-Get to know people at events, like residents’ meetings or yard-cleaning events. You can then ask them if it is OK for you to contact them later for an interview.
-Once you have found one person to interview, you can ask them for suggestions for – or even introductions to – others to interview (try to still keep to your diversity criteria).
When contacting people, make sure you can present your project and the reasons why you want to interview them clearly. If possible, please send or hand your interviewees some written material about your project.
5. Prepare for the interviews
When setting out to do your interviews, make sure you have at hand:
-A short presentation of your project – e.g. a leaftlet or a short spoken introduction so you can remind them what it is about.
-Your questions, clearly written
-Recording equipment: notepaper, pens or tape recorder (you need to ask permission to record)
-Business card or contact information: how they can get in touch with you later if they have questions or further comments
It is best if you can make the interviews together with the colleague, especially if you can’t use a tape recorder. In that case, one person can ask the questions and the other can make notes.
6. Conduct the interviews
Before starting the interview, briefly (re)introduce your project and the purpose of the interview, and give a short overview of what your questions are about. Make it clear to your interviewees how you intend to use the information and make sure they agree. Tell them how long the interview will last, and make sure they have sufficient time.
If using a tape recorder, ask permission to record. If you are not recording the interviews, remember to make notes as well as you can.
Establish a good relationship with interviewee. Start with easy questions that help to introduce you to their world (see point 2: Develop the interview guide).
Keep your questions short and simple. Try not to ‘lead’ the interviewee, but leave the answering to them. If people are too quiet, you can ask additional questions like “Could you say a little more about this?” If you are not sure what they are saying, rephrase and ask if this is what they meant.
7. Conclude the interview
Make sure you have addressed all the questions on your list. Ask your interviewee if they have anything they would like to add.
Remember to thank the interviewees for their time. Tell them how to get in touch with you if they have any questions and leave them your contact information. Tell them what your next steps will be and how you will use the information they have given you.
After the interview, write up your notes as soon as you can, and add to your notes any other points that you noticed during the interview.
8. Analyse your findings
Make a summary of the findings from your interviews as soon as you can. Then you should devote some time to analysing what you found and making conclusions about how you can use it in your project
When analysing your interviews, remember not to take everything that people say at face value:
-As concerns facts, be aware that people may not know or remember the answer to the question you are asking, but may still want to give you information. It is best if you can check from other sources as well.
-As concerns opinions, people may be polite or want to make a good impression on you. In the interview, they may appear more eager and interested in energy issues than they usually are.
-People may also have their own agendas, and thus ‘overemphasize’ things that are important for them.
To help you in your work, it is best if you summarize your findings according to the questions you need answered. You can, for example, use tables with heading like “Major concerns”, “Barriers to energy saving”, “People need help with”. If there was diversity in the interviewees’ viewpoints, make a note of which kinds of people voiced different concerns, barriers, or needs.
In order to keep in mind what you found in the interviews, you can make a poster of the key points to keep on your office wall. But make sure your interviewees cannot be identified by outsiders visiting your office – no names.
Discuss your findings with your colleagues: What are the implications for your project design? What opportunities arise from your findings, what constraints do they suggest on your plans?
Interview checklist
Remember to prepare the following:
Short clear presentation of your project and the aims of your interview
Your list of questions and interview topics
A notepad with sufficient paper for taking notes during the entire interview
Recording equipment: a tape recorder, extra tapes, extra batteries (if you can tape record)
Your card or contact information so the interviewee can get in touch with you if they have questions
Remember to dothe following:
Arrive in time and well-prepared
Introduce yourself and explain the aims and length of the interview.
Explain briefly how information collected will be used and toward what goal
Make sure the interviewees have sufficient time.
Ensure interviewees that the information will be used anonymously and kept safe
Remember to keep your questions short.
Ask clarifying questions if necessary.
Listen closely and make notes.
At the end of the interview, give the participants the a contact information in case of questions.
Write up your notes right after the interview.
When recording, make sure that tapes are labelled appropriately.
Analyse your interviews and use them to improve your project design.
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