Chapter 8 Collecting Interview Data Mc Graw-Hill Irwin

Chapter 8 Collecting Interview Data Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2004 by The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Data Collection Agency Pros and Cons Advantages • • • Disadvantages Less Costly Time Savings Greater Expertise Special Facilities No Special Staffing No Special Training • Lack of Direct Control • Uncertain Quality 2

Agency Data Collection Process 1. Initial Contact and Cost Estimate 2. Selection, Notification, and Alert 3. Delivery and Acknowledgment of Receipt 4. Training, Instruction and Initiation 5. Monitoring, Control, and Supervision 6. Receipt, Verification, and Payment 3

Agency Interviewer Training Procedure 1. Train both supervisors and interviewers 2. Provide an overview of the whole project 3. Distribute copies of all materials 4. Do a "walk-through" describing each element 5. Do a "trial run" with a mock interview 6. Answer questions and solve problems 7. Question them to be sure they understand 8. Distribute complete sets of materials to each 4

Disadvantages of Using In-House Interviewers • Usually Much More Costly and Certainly More Timeconsuming • Requires Larger Research Staff With Greater Experience and Expertise • Difficult to Recruit Quality Interviewers for Temporary, Part-time Work • Interviewers Must Be Trained in Both Interviewing and in This Particular Project • Ordinarily Feasible for Individual Surveys If They Are of Very Limited Scope 5

In-House Interviewer Management Process • • • Recruitment Selection Training Supervision Compensation Release 6

In-House Interviewers Must Know How To. . . • • Locate Identify Contact Greet Qualify Interrogate Record Terminate 7

Interviewer Recruitment • Recruit those similar to respondents • Recruit many more than will be needed • Have them visit to complete an application • Check former employment and references • Look for responsibility and honesty first • Seek outgoing, gregarious personalities • Experience is good only if they're flexible 8

Supervising Interviewers 1. Monitor both the process and the results 2. The supervisor should be there for the first few interviews 3. The supervisors should visit periodically and unexpectedly 4. Use covert monitoring but advise interviewers so initially 5. Have completed work submitted daily and personally 6. Check, count, and record finished work in the daylog 9

Supervising Interviewers 7. Check the daylog against the schedule daily 8. Supervisors must sight-edit forms in interviewers presence 9. Provide coaching and direction when forms are submitted 10. Treat errors as routine — don't blame or scold interviewers 11. Use lavish praise to enhance confidence and motivation 10

Compensating In-house Interviewers • Pay Them for Direct Expenses • May Be Paid by the Interview • Tasks Must Be Roughly Equal • From Interview to Interview • Among Interviewers • May Result in Problems • Might Encourage Cheating • May Hurry Respondents • May Avoid Slow or Difficult Interviews • May Be Paid by the Hour • Requires More Supervision • May Take More Time to Complete 11

Types of Interviewing Error • Instruction Error • Deviating from the way instructions are written • Interrogation Error • Expressing questions differently from one person to the next • Response Option Error • Reading options when they shouldn’t be read or vice versa 12

Types of Interviewing Error • Scale Interpretation Error • Recording the wrong code for rating card scale categories • Recording Error • Recording verbatim responses incorrectly or incompletely • Interpretation Error • Making incorrect interpretations of unstructured responses 13

Controlling Interviewer Error • Monitor the interview process to detect instruction, interrogation, and response option error • List both the scale card numbers and the words on the questionnaire to avoid scale interpretation error • Use structured questions and avoid recording verbatim answers to control recording error • Don't require interviewers to select response options based on verbatim answers to avoid interpretation error 14

Personal Interviewing Locations • • • In-Home Interviews Job Site Interviews In-Store Interviews Traffic Intercepts Mall Intercepts Stationary Groups 15

Personal Interviewing Greetings • Keep it very brief and simple • Ask a question very quickly • Never ask for permission • Ask qualification questions • Anyone has the right to refuse • Once started they rarely quit 16

Independent Quotas • There must be a certain number of each type of respondent for each variable, regardless of their status on any other quota variable 17

Interdependent Quotas • A certain number of each type of respondent for each variable, of whom there must be a certain number of each type for the next quota variable, etc. 18

Possible Call Results 1. Call answered by a qualified respondent 2. Call answered by an unqualified person 3. Number is the wrong location or subscriber 4. Call isn't answered after six to ten rings 5. Busy signal is received for the number called 6. Call answered by an answering service or device 7. Call answered by a fax or computer modem 8. Number has changed and new number is listed 9. Number not in service, no new number is listed 19

Telephone Interviewer Options • Interview respondent and place next call • Ask if a qualified respondent is present • Terminate and place call to next number • Terminate and call back in a few minutes 20

End of Chapter 8 Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin © 2004 by The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.