Field Research:

Conducting an Interview

Dr. Janak Singh Meena

Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur
Email:[email protected]
Contact : 9672751940
Field research or fieldwork is the collection of information outside a
laboratory, library or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used
in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who
conduct field research may simply observe animals interacting with their
environments, whereas social scientists conducting field research may
interview or observe people in their natural environments to learn their
languages, folklore, and social structures.

Field research involves a range of well-defined, although variable,

methods: informal interviews, direct observation, participation in the life
of the group, collective discussions, analyses of personal documents
produced within the group, self-analysis, results from activities undertaken
off- or on-line, and life-histories. Although the method generally is
characterized as qualitative research, it may (and often does) include
quantitative dimensions
Conducting Field Research

The quality of results obtained from field research depends on the data gathered
in the field. The data in turn, depend upon the field worker, his or her level of
involvement, and ability to see and visualize things that other individuals visiting
the area of study may fail to notice. The more open researchers are to new ideas,
concepts, and things which they may not have seen in their own culture, the better
will be the absorption of those ideas. Better grasping of such material means
better understanding of the forces of culture operating in the area and the ways
they modify the lives of the people under study. Social scientists (i.e.
anthropologists, social psychologists, etc.) have always been taught to be free
from ethnocentrism (i.e. the belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group),
when conducting any type of field research.

When humans themselves are the subject of study, protocols must be devised to
reduce the risk of observer bias and the acquisition of too theoretical or idealized
explanations of the workings of a culture. Participant observation, data collection,
and survey research are examples of field research methods, in contrast to what is
often called experimental or lab research.
Field notes
When conducting field research, keeping an ethnographic record is essential to
the process. Field notes are a key part of the ethnographic record. The process of
field notes begin as the researcher participates in local scenes and experiences in
order to make observations that will later be written up. The field researcher tries
first to take mental notes of certain details in order that they be written down
later.

Kinds of field notes

Types of Field Notes Brief Description

Key words or phrases are written down while in the

Jot Notes
field.
A description of the physical context and the people
Field Notes Proper involved, including their behavior and nonverbal
communication.
New ideas that the researcher has on how to carry
Methodological Notes
out the research project.
These notes record the ethnographer's personal
Journals and Diaries reactions, frustrations, and assessments of life and
work in the field.
 Collection of Data
Importance of Collection of Data

•Base of Research
•Discovery of Cause and Effect Relationship
•Perception of Reality
•Helpful in Problem Solving
•Helpful in Comparative Studies
•Helpful in the study of Change
•Importance in Administration
•Essential in Planning
 Types of Data
Forms or Types of Data

1.Primary Data
2. Secondary Data
Sources of Data

1.Primary of Field Sources : Direct Sources –(i) Observation (Unpublished)

(ii) Oral Inquiry- Question Schedule & Interview
Indirect Sources – Questionnaire, Opinion Letter, Radio

2. Secondary or Document Sources :

(i)Personal Documents – Life History , Diaries, Letters, Memories
(ii)Public documents- Published- Reports, International Organizations, Commissions , Councils,
Research Institutes, Books, Newspapers, Gazettes, Journals etc
Unpublished- Government Record, Research Reports etc.
 Techniques of Data Collection

(i) Questionnaire
(ii) Schedule
(iii)Interview
(iv)Observation
 Outline : How to Conduct an
Interview

Topics Covered:
• Setting up the interview
• Preparing for the interview
• Coming up with Questions
• Meeting with your interviewee
• Following up on your interview
Set-up Etiquette:
1. Contact the potential interviewee in advance

2. Arrange a specific time and place, and let the

interviewee know how much time it will take

3. Identify the topic you will be discussing

Before the Interview:
1. Prepare a list of questions
2. Find background information about the
interviewee
3. Prioritize your questions and ask the most
important first
4. Decide your goals for the interview
• Ask yourself: “What do I need to know?”
• Write a list of things you want to find out
• Write questions that will help your interviewee discuss
this information

• Do not ask biased questions: “Don’t you think we could

improve campus parking by building another parking
garage?”

• Check carefully to see if your wording could be offensive

How to ask good Questions?
• Ask leading questions rather than asking yes or no
questions

 “Do you think there is a parking problem on campus?”

(Yes or no question)
 “What is your view about the parking situation on
campus?” (leading question)

• Responses to leading questions will give you more detail to

support your research
FEED BACK UNDERSTANDING

During the interview, summarize answers back to the

interviewee to make sure you understand his/her answer

Q: What is your view about the parking

situation on campus?
A: I think it is a problem, because there
are more cars than parking spaces.
Paraphrase response: So you believe there are not enough
parking spaces for the cars on campus?
 Meeting the Interviewee

• Always bring a stiff-backed notebook and several

trustworthy writing instruments
• If you wish to tape-record your interview, always ask
before doing so
• Keep notes on the interview, but make sure that you are
still talking to the interviewee, not just scribbling
 Meeting the Interviewee

• Bring your prepared list of questions

• Try to stick to the topic, but be flexible
if your interviewee brings up
unexpected but valuable information
 Online Interviewing

• If you need to interview via email, remember to

ask for permission first
• Establish the scope and time period of the
interview
• Remember that the same rules of courtesy still
apply
 Following up after the Interview

Follow-up Etiquette:
• Always be sure to thank your interviewee, in person
and in writing
• Write-up your results soon after the interview while
they are still fresh in your mind
• Let your interviewee review your findings in order
to confirm that you have represented him/her
accurately
 Conducting the Interview

Conducting a successful interview involves attention

to the following steps:

1. Making contact to setup the interview

2. Preparing for the interview
3. Meeting the interviewee
4. Following up on the interview
Step 1: Select a Field Site
· Search for a site that will allow you to study your topic
· Identify potential collaborating organizations or key informants
· Visit several sites and choose carefully

Step 2: Enter the Field and Establish Connections with Members

· Spend time with your organization or community
· Get to know people, learn about your organization or community
· Look for other organizations as secondary sources

Step 3: Establish a Role, Observe, Make Friends

· Find an identifiable identity in the community
· Participate! Talk to people, tell people what you are doing

Step 4: Watch, Listen, Collect Data

· Observe activities, events, ordinary interactions
· Keep detailed notes of everything you observe
· Review your notes and think about what you observe – what is this a case of?

Step 5: Analyze Data and Generate Working Hypotheses

· Establish patterns in your data
· Generate working hypotheses that tie your case to a theoretical perspective
Step 6: Focus on Aspects of Interest, Connect with Theory
· Focus your activities on specific events that address your hypotheses
· Think in terms of grouping or organizing information into theoretical categories
Step 7: Conduct Interviews, Focus Groups, or other Targeted Data Collection
Techniques
· Develop a series of open-ended questions that will help you understand your
subjects and subject matter
· Administer the questions to selected subjects or focus groups; choose
subjects purposefully, using “snowball” sampling or advice of key informants
· Record your interviews (with permission)

Step 8: Disengage and Leave the Setting

· Prepare your collaborating organization and key subjects for your departure
· Dedicate time to your departure; allow subjects to “see you off”

Step 9: Complete your Analysis and Write your Report

· Finalize your typology or theory
· Prepare your results; Write inductively
· Verify your results with your subjects
· Present your results to colleagues
The End