Informant Interviews I Learning Objectives

1. Informant Interviews ILearning Objectives • recount interviewing techniques, be familiar with the write up process, and be able to identify cultural domains in interview texts • review the use of key informants in the qualitative research process • observe an interview in class and write it up

2. Exercise 1 University concerns re • Liability from student activities • Subjects give consent • No identifiers

3. Exercise 2 due Tuesday Don't sweat coding but make a start BERNARD Has good section on coding

4. INFORMANT INTERVIEWINGOARS Open ended Affirmative Reflective Summarizing

5. Successful interview like an intimate and personal sharing of confidence with trusted friend

6. Types of interviews: • Unstructured interactive interview • Informal conversational interview • Semi-structured interview

7. Toolbox of qualitative research People Language Equipment : notebook, audio recorder, camera, microcomputer, Field guide (one page)

8. Settings for interviews Let informant select where, especially when starting out Setting should have: • Privacy • little opportunity for interruption • comfortable chairs at right angles, or at a table, • whatever the norm in culture of informant • Quiet (UNPLUG PHONE, TURN OFF CELL)

9. social niceties

10. Characteristics of a good interviewer fits in to the setting listens intently, doesn’t appear disinterested calm, nervousness concealed, appears to have done this many times able to prompt and help the interviewee get on, if had lost train of thought accepts silence on part of participant, avoid trade jargon,

11. Interviewing techniques: Types of Questions, Grand tour question (typical day) How to discover questions: "If I wanted to find out how she negotiated condom use with her clients, what would I say?" Descriptive questions: "Can you tell me what happened when the woman came with her sick infant?" Structural questions: "What are all the different illnesses teenagers have here?" Contrast questions: "What is the difference between ghaano and mutu kanne?"

12. Main techniques of interviewing iteration "I …….." "Tell me about …….." probing

13. PROBE: a stimulus to get more info need culturally appropriate behavior silence "what else" repetition directive probes (“tell me more” or “describe”), avoid “why” questions, or those answered “yes” or “no” (often get NO for an answer)

14. Leading | Interrupting • “you’re not still breast feeding your baby are you”

15. leading

16. Rephrase/Rethink questions that don’t seem to be working

17. Identify sensitive questions (may not be in your culture)

18. Identify sensitive questions (may not be in your culture) People don't like to use the word poor in the US (low income is better) INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXAMPLES?

19. Using informant responses • train self to be a good listener • problem usually is of interviewer, not informant • common mistakes are leading or supplying answers

20. Responses “I don’t know” “it’s the custom" “Gods will” “you’re the doctor, you tell me” watch body language, take notes on it

21. Speak in 5 different ways: • Body • Face • Eyes • Tone of voice • What we actually say (~20% of communication)

22. Ending the interview Duration 30 to 90 minutes, ends when informant is getting tired Last Question Ask if can contact again if have further questions

23. Key informant Rather than calling it an interview, consider it as a "conversation" Develop a social relationship of communication Health worker sometimes chosen, but may not be good for emic perceptions Current member of cultural group of interest Native speaker: ideally should talk to you in their own language & dialect

24. Good key informant Knowledgeable about topic (an expert) Thoroughly enculturated Currently involved in domain/activity of interest or recently experienced Contemplative individual, makes comparisons, can explain discrepancies, but not someone who tries to make an analysis Someone staying around for a while, not a migrant

26. Locating & selecting potential key informants Discuss with community leaders, others inc. people in power Use informal/social networks Consensus analysis (using pile sorts & computer analysis on a series of respondents/informants, get estimate of those who give more majority response) Key informant relationship built over time

27. Use of key informant Repeated, iterative interviews Worked with over lifetime of project Language teacher Cultural liaison, introduction to other people Identify key elements in study community, including important subgroups, when & where to observe

28. Use of key informant Pretest of structured data collection instruments Judges your work Sometimes becomes data collector / research assistant Sometimes paid for their time Relationship often continues after you leave the field

29. Homeless youth in SF Part Obs: June-Sept. 1997, Castro District, San Francisco Led to finding key informant explained terms, clarified observed social interactions, site tours Phase I Exploratory Interviews -unstructured ("what's it like") -written notes immediately afterwards -preliminary analysis (entering street life, exiting, and surviving on street)-> natural history model Phase II Semi-structured interviews

30. Class Exercise I will interview Tony • take notes in as much detail as possible

31. Look for Different types of interviewer questions Probes Cultural domains, cover terms, included terms, etc. IF PRESENT (often not)

32. After interview: what techniques were used? types of questions? probes? leading? non-verbal aspects, body language? salient quotes? how was it to take notes? possible cultural domains

33. Summary • Open-ended interview techniques can gain different perspectives than questioner driven methods

34. Each student bring in one question that they plan to ask in their interview. We put 5-10 questions up on the boards then we comment as a group on how to make the question more broad, less leading. NEXT CLASS