Tuesday 17 March 2015

Interview Questions

So I have been preparing my interview questions and feel I'm quite close to being set. So thought I would share with you how I came to these questions and my process.

As this is my main data gathering tool I really need to be sure I am able to gather all the relevant information needed. Here are pictures of my notes so you can grasp some of my thoughts. I began with my inquiry questions and explored them further, adding sub-questions in order to gain a deeper understanding and evidence of what I am looking into:


The first two parts to my interview are semi structured questions with room for flexibility yet specific to the areas I want answered. The third part of my interview is a lot more open and as you can see I have noted subject topics that I wish to explore. I feel the semi-structured questions would not work as well for this section as the areas I explore will be based on what my interviewee is expressing.



I would be really grateful for your feedback and input on my questions. Are there any changes you would make?
I plan to use the voice recorder on my phone to record the interviews and there may a possibility for me to film them.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Emma
    I like how you have shown the process of your thoughts, makes it more clear where it is going and what you want to investigate. Would just like to suggest maybe to make the first main question more clear…do you mean what they think the intentions are for a ballet show to be produced?
    Good luck with your interviews!
    Gaby x

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment Gabby.
      Yes I have asked this question to try and get behind the personal thinking and intentions of the director when creating the show. So for example do they believe it is to entertain an audience, or to highlight a theme/issue or to evolve and progress ballet itself. I will take on board and adapt the question to make it more clear that this is what I am wanting to know.
      I also had the idea to slightly adapt the questions to the second director in order to compare them to the answers of my first director.
      Emma x

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    2. In my original consent forms I had also asked for permission to use my interviewees names and those they referenced however I am now thinking not to. It is not vital that their names are used as I can give a brief description of their job titles instead. As they have been made aware that my analysis on the data given can be publicly accessed, publishing their names may affect their answers. I don't want them to be hesitant during the interview. What are your thoughts?
      Thanks, Emma x

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  2. Thanks Emma and nice talking to you the other day - your questions are related to the participant observations your have done - and agree keeping flexibility with creative professionals will be useful for your interviews. There is the role and there is the process of working on choreography and stage direction - so interesting to capture both.

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  3. Hi Emma,

    Not sure how far you are with your interviews but I hope they are going well. I also used a mind map to figure out my questions but separated from my inquiry topic into the various aspects of it I wish to ask about. This depends on how open your topic is. How have you found the interviews to go in terms of the interviewee's openness? By the looks of things I would say you are going for a formal approach to your interviews? I was really nervous about the interviewee feeling uncomfortable and in my research I found this useful article:

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/shelisrael/2012/04/14/8-tips-on-conducting-great-interviews/

    This gave me a few tips on how to conduct my interviews, although your setting may be formal, the interviewee feeling comfortable about sharing there opinions with you will hopefully lead to more honest answers. I would recommend, as it does in this article, to begin with maybe a more personal question? Maybe like what inspired or motivated them to become a director? I've found in my interviews so far this to be a good "ice breaker".

    Good luck!

    Bernie

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