Interview Data Structure

							       Conducting Research
          via Interviews
• Collecting & analyzing interview data
  – Sekaran & Saks Texts
• Example of structured interview
  – Rudermann et al article
   Why conduct interviews
• To form OR test hypotheses
  – To identify samples needed for
    hypothesis-testing research
• To gather more detailed info
  – Before vs. after data collection
         Issues to consider
•   Interview Participants
•   Methods of interviewing
•   How to increase interviewee motivation
•   Structure of interviews
•   Avoiding Bias
•   Questioning Techniques
     Interview Participants
• Opportunity vs. Representative samples
  – Benefits to generalization
• Benefits to having formal/informal group
  Leaders in org/market research
  – Source of ‘rich’ data
  – Adding credibility to study
      Interview Methods
• Face-Face
• Telephone
        Interview Methods
• Face to face
  – Direct observation
    • Non-verbal body cues, work context, response
      to physical/visual stimuli
  – Cost
    • Time, geographic constraints, more personnel,
      safety
        Interview Methods
• Telephone
  – Response rate issues
    • Relatively higher than face-face interview
  – Completion rate issues
  – Restricts complexity & length of interview
    Interviewee motivation
• Interviewees perceptions of the value
  of research
• Providing information about Sponsor
• Rapport
  – Interviewer’s Listening skills & empathy
• Topic & format
• Setting
  – Work vs. non-work
      Interview Structure
• Unstructured
• Structured
       Interview Structure
• Unstructured
  – Uncover preliminary issues to identify
    variables needing further study
  – Broad, open questions
    • Job-level and work type
  – Monosyllabic answers
  – Positive vs. negative responses
  – Non-cooperative interviewees
  – Supervisory vs. non-supervisory employees
                                      Sekaran
       Interview Structure
• Structured Interviews
  – Qs focus on relevant factors
  – Each P asked same qs
    • Sometimes deviate from interview protocol to
      uncover new factors
  – Use of Visual aids & physical stimuli
    • Marketing, children, issues that are hard to
      articulate
  – Advantages over questionnaire
  – Terminating data collection
                                           Sekaran, Saks
           Avoiding Bias
• Sources of Interviewer bias
  – Lack of trust & rapport
  – Mis-interpretation/distortion responses
  – Encouraging or discouraging certain types
    of responses via gestures/facial
    expressions
  – Not Listening attentively
  – Not Paraphrasing answers
  – Not Repeating/clarifying questions
  – Not Being tactful
                                     Sekaran
           Avoiding Bias
• Sources of Interviewee Bias
  – Not revealing true opinions/experiences
  – Interviewee says what s/he thinks
    interviewer wants to hear
  – Not understanding questions
  – Not liking interviewer
  – Giving ‘socially desirable’ responses


                                     Sekaran
            Avoiding Bias
• Situational bias
  – Reasons for non-participation
    • Unwillingness, inability
  – Different levels of rapport/trust across
    different participants/interviewers
  – Physical setting
    • Degree to which it inhibits honesty




                                            Sekaran
   Questioning Techniques
• Funnel technique
  – Sequence & Level of specificity of
    questions
  – Familiarity w/interviewee’s understanding
  – Contamination of responses
  – Perceived spontaneity, decreased self-
    consciousness, rapport
  – Probes & follow-up qs

                                    Sekaran, Saks
   Questioning Techniques
• Unbiased questioning
  – Loaded/leading questions
• Clarifying Issues
  – Re-stating/rephrasing
• Helping respondent think through
  issues
  – Rephrase depending on verbalization
    ability

                                    Sekaran
   Questioning Techniques
        Note Taking
• Intrusiveness
  – Focus on summarizing
  – Focus on behavior
• Effect on self-consciousness
• Effect on rapport
• Permission for taping
  – Effects on interviewee inhibition
• Take notes (or tape) after interview
                                    Saks
       Conducting Research
          via Interviews
• Collecting & analyzing interview data
  – Sekaran & Saks Texts
• Example of structured interview
  – Rudermann et al article
    Rudermann et al Study
• Benefits of non-job roles for managerial
  women
  – Hypothesis: Experiences in personal roles
    enrich managerial skills
    • What percentage of women mention this
      hypothesis in their interviews?
    • What percentage of all responses to interviews
      support this hypothesis?
           Participants
• 74% of women participating in a
  women-only leadership devel’t prg
• Avg. Age=40 (range=26-57)
• 92% White
• Avg. Salary =~78K (SD= ~32k)
              Participants
• Rank
    – Middle =49%,
    – Upper middle =34%   Figure?
    – Exec=17%
•   51% had post-graduate education
•   50% had children under 18 yrs
•   71% in committed relationships
•   84% in Fortune 500 corporations
             Procedure
• Faxed qs to participants a few days
  before interview
• Pilot tested interview qs on 28 women
  managers
• Tape-recorded and transcribed each
  interview
              Measures
• Open-ended questions on
  – Different types of roles managers held
  – Challenges faced in roles
• Are there any dimensions/aspects of
  personal life that enhance your
  professional life?
• Use of follow up qs and probes to
  obtain details on roles
           Data Analysis
• Applied grounded theory (Glaser &
  Strauss, 1967)
• Coding techniques Boyatzis (1998)
  – Developed initial hypotheses during
    interviews with pilot and study 1
    participants
        Interview Coding
• 2 raters read 30 interviews many times
• Developed excerpts of each P’s answer
• Summarized excerpts
• Organized summaries & sample quotes
• Compared & contrasted quotes and
  summaries for each case to id 13
  patterns & themes
• Examined remaining interviews for
  add’l themes
         Interview Coding
• 13 themes reduced to 6 categories
• Reviewed all excerpts to confirm
  categorization
• Developed codebook explaining 6
  themes
  – 66.7% to 90.9% inter-rater agreement on
    coding of themes
    • Not good according to Boyatzis, 1998
                 Results
Non-work roles      % of      % Rater
provide…            Sample    Agree-
                    Stating   ment
Opportunities to    42        90.2
enhance inter-
personal skills
Psychological       23        75.9
benefits

Emotional support   19        90.9
& advice
            Discussion
• Tentative support for hypothesis
• Alternative ways of presenting data to
  support hypothesis