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Interview: Detailed Presentation of The Tool
Interview: Detailed Presentation of The Tool
What are the reasons for using interviews? o What is the purpose of an interview? o Where does this tool come from? o Three types of interviews and their contribution to the evaluation When should the interview be used? o What kind of information does the interview collect? o Can the interview be combined with other collection tools? o How should the interview be conducted? o From whom does the interview collect information? At what stage of the evaluation should the interview be conducted? What are the advantages and the limitations of the interview? o The advantages o The limitations What are the pre-conditions for the use of the interview in evaluation? o The time span o Human resources o Financial resources
Semi-structured interviews
The evaluator modifies the interview guide's instructions with additional questions, in order to develop useful areas of inquiry during the interview. This type of interview is the most frequently used, particularly when the evaluator knows sufficient about the aims and the main questions to pose during the evaluation.
Structured interviews
The evaluator follows strictly the interview guide's instructions. He asks different interviewees the same set of questions, in the same order, and using the same words. The evaluator avoids generating and developing additional questions, and the interviewee is not given the opportunity to express himself/herself freely. Answers to each question tend to be short. Structured interviews are seldom used in evaluation, where the evaluator needs to adapt to the situation. However, they can be used to classify points of view and information about the impact of a project/programme by categories. Thereafter, the evaluator can use the results of these interviews to design a questionnaire, with a view to analysing the impact of the project/programme. Semi-structured interviews are the most commonly used tool in evaluation and are the subject of further guidance.
Facts and information for the verification of facts Opinions and perspectives Analyses Suggestions Reactions to the evaluator's hypotheses and conclusions
However, a series of interviews is not sufficient to quantify an event, because the answers are not standardised. This is the main difference between the interview and the questionnaire.
To test the main questions to address at the beginning of the evaluation with a view to preparing a series of focus groups.
To be the main observation tool, and be supported by a questionnaire (if the country's general context allows it) or, for example, a focus group of beneficiaries.
Partners and people in charge of the evaluated policy or programme Strategic institutional stakeholders Main operators and people in charge of the programme implementation Representatives of beneficiaries
It collects information on the programme's objectives and outcome from the people in charge of the programme, operators, stakeholders and beneficiaries.
It collects feedback from respondents. It gives in-depth information and reformulates old questions.
The interview is appropriate for project evaluation, as well as for more complex evaluations, such as sector evaluations and country/region evaluations, where it should be combined with other tools.
The limitations
WHAT ARE THE PRE-CONDITIONS FOR THE USE OF THE INTERVIEW IN EVALUATION?
The time span
The preparation for the interview does not take long.
One expert will not be able to conduct many interviews per day and, therefore, the number of interviews which can be carried out during the mission is limited. In practice, at the interviewee's request, the expert may conduct an interview with several respondents at the same time. Thus, this particular usage of the interview increases the opportunity for collecting the information required in a relatively short time.
Human resources
Interviews must be conducted by a trained professional. The necessary skills are:
Thorough knowledge of the major topics and issues addressed in the evaluation Excellent interviewing skills:
The ability to quickly understand the respondent's perspective (his/her interest in the interview, whether he/she has expressed himself freely, whether he/she has committed himself) in order to be interactive and, where appropriate, modify the questions
Financial resources
Costs depend on the number of interviews and their physical location in the country. However, apart from professional fees and transportation costs, the interview itself does not lead to substantial costs.
What are the tasks to be completed during the preparation for the interview?
o o
The hypotheses and questionnaire grid development The evaluator's tasks during this first stage
Distinguish between the different roles of officials from institutions Go beyond formal statements Balance the interviews between officials and beneficiaries
WHAT ARE THE TASKS TO BE COMPLETED DURING THE PREPARATION FOR THE INTERVIEW?
The hypotheses and questionnaire grid development
In country/region evaluation, the evaluator needs to define the strategic questions quickly, in order to be efficient during the information collection.
Questionnaire grids leading to the selection of respondents Interviews, testing and modifying the first hypotheses, as well as consequential changes to the questionnaire grids, which in turn may revise the selection of respondents
Organise the information to be collected on strategic questions between key and secondary interest Devise a methodology to limit the collection of documentation. As country/region evaluation covers so many diversified fields, the evaluator risks dissipating his efforts if this stage is neglected
See: How are respondents chosen in the particular context of country/region evaluation?
Thus, interviews should focus on particular categories of beneficiaries and/or precise questions dealing with various hypotheses.
To identify people who have benefited from the implemented policies To identify those who have played a strategic role in the programme To identify those who have played an intermediary role To identify those who could have been behind obstructions or unplanned effects (such as groups with diverging interests, intermediary groups intervening in the middle of the process, target groups of the policies / the programme, etc.) To analyse current strategies and the various rationales considered
How are the different categories of stakeholders defined during the preparation stage?
always relative and sometimes self-proclaimed. Several questions may help find the respondent's interest in the evaluation and his/her "representativeness":
To which group does the respondent belong? What is his/her professional background? What is his/her influence on the programme's strategy? Does he/she have direct or indirect interests in the programme? Are they explicit or implicit? What is his/her opinion about the policies / the programme? How did he/she become a representative (has he/she been elected, designated)? Is he/she representative of the entire group he/she stands for? How many respondents should be interviewed to collect representative information and perspectives?
Fix an order of importance for the collection of data and, after developing the first set of questions, select who should be interviewed See: What specific tasks have to be completed during the preparation of the interview in country/region evaluation? Identify quickly on-site informants and stakeholders. They often hold a position at the centre of many sources of information. Thus, they can advise the evaluator, and suggest "good" respondents, who will be able to give accurate answers. Identify respondents who would be better interviewed in a group Consider the possibility of interviewing people on the telephone, which could save time Avoid overestimating the number of interviewees that can be met during a short mission
Schedule in advance at least part of the interviews that he/she needs to conduct on-site Ensure that the evaluation's clients (for example, the European Commission Delegation or the national authorities), or the local consultants organise the first set of interviews on his/her arrival Make time available for unscheduled appointments made necessary because of new perspectives identified during his mission. As a consequence, the evaluator's hypotheses can be extended or modified.
Use the appointment making process as an opportunity to communicate to the respondents all the information they need to know: the purpose/ of the evaluation, what questions they should prepare for, and the interview/ duration. This is also the appropriate moment to check the respondent's profile against the planned content of the data collection. Distribute an interview guide prior to the interview. This is appreciated by all parties because it is time-saving and directs the respondent's information gathering to specific documentations.
Stage 1: list the categories of stakeholders and interviewees o Examples of stakeholders' groups o What are useful questions to bear in mind for the selection of interviewees? Stage 2: design the questionnaire grid Stage 3: schedule the interviews o Make the appointments o Send interview guides prior to the appointment o Conduct additional interviews
Agents in charge of the operational strategy / the implementation Actors specialised in a sector of intervention Operators working at a local level / at a national level Technical operators: representatives / on-site operators Public sector agents (working for the state, the administration, etc.) / private sector agents (working for the civil society, NGOs, etc.), Beneficiaries
The list of the stakeholder categories will evolve as the evaluation progresses. Thus, additional interviews should be anticipated. Some choices are obvious (for example, the agent in charge of the implementation of a nationwide programme), but others are more complex. Moreover, the evaluator must consider how he will meet the interviewee, which depends on:
The respondent's accessibility (will the evaluator meet him in person or only a representative) The respondent's availability
What are useful questions to bear in mind for the selection of interviewees?
Within the relevant institution, who knows the programme/the politics well? Who is in charge?
Who is in charge of implementation, of monitoring? Of which aspects of the programme is the respondent in charge? Who will be able to trace the programme's evolution, in the context of a rapid turnover of the implementation team?
During the interviewees' selection, the evaluator should be careful to distinguish between direct witness' testimonies and second-hand testimonies.
The questionnaire grid is an intermediary between the evaluation study's design and its implementation. Design of the interview guide
The evaluator should allow the interview to remain as close to an open discussion as possible and accept discursive answers, inconsistencies, pauses, hesitations, etc. The questions can be written in the questionnaire grid, or be asked spontaneously, in order to complete, to probe, to give new insights and to challenge the respondent's answers.
The risk of key officials being unavailable His/Her short mission span Travelling time Scheduling too many interviews, leading to the cancellations of appointments due to poor planning or unexpected events Respecting his/her appointment, such as the time, although conventions vary from one country to another Conducting the interview's introductory stage slowly, in order to establish rapport and respect traditions and customs Unplanned and additional interviews which have to be organised because a respondent has suggested an "interesting" informant who may be interviewed, or because a key interviewee is now available Tiredness: too many interviews conducted in a day may affect the capacity of the interviewer to listen
Scheduling 4 to 6 interviews a day seems to be a good compromise between the two visions.
Understand the topics on which he/she has to talk Collect all the necessary documentation Ask the evaluator whether the participation of other respondents during the interview is possible
It will save time for both the respondent and the evaluator, and help them feel at ease. Most of the time, the quality of the interview depends on this.
Quality control
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Implementation
Have the evaluators controlled and checked the information collected? Does the intended format designed for the debriefing highlight the differences between reliable information and opinions? Is the diversity of perspectives, expressed by the various categories of stakeholders, explicitly exposed?
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