Conducting and Evaluating an Interview

During the first week of class you conducted your first practice interview, and in week three you developed an Interview Guide. For this activity, you will be using your Interview Guide, the analysis of potential interview biases from LASA 1, and the feedback you have received from your instructor to conduct an interview with a volunteer.

Prior to the Interview

Locate an adult volunteer. Read the analysis requirements below and ENSURE you meet them within your interview. Make sure your interview includes: A minimum of 5 open and 5 closed ended questions (10 total). A minimum of 5 examples of paraphrasing, summaries, or reflections techniques (must have at least one of each paraphrase, summary, and reflection/5 total).

Gather Recording Equipment (video is preferred). You will need to record your interview. Also make sure you have a watch or a timer to keep track of the length of your interview. Make sure your interview is not less than 5 minutes long. The Interview

Needs to be at least 5 minutes long, but it should not be more than 10 minutes. Be prepared! Although it may not sound like it, 5 minutes is a long time in interviewing time. If you are having problems filling 5 minutes, go back to the interview skills you have learned about (e.g., probing, reflections, and summaries). After the Interview

Play back the recording of the interview. Transcribe or write out the interview completely. Be sure to write out everything said during the interview After you have written the transcript of the interview, provide a detailed analysis of the interview. On your transcript: Identify Questions Used: On your transcript identify at least 5 closed and 5 open ended questions that you used during the interview. Identify these on your transcript using all caps (10 questions total).

For example: Interviewer: How long have you been having headaches? CLOSED QUESTION

Evaluate the Questions: After you have identified examples of 5 open and 5 open questions in your transcript, write an evaluation of the effectiveness of your use of questions (Approximately one paragraph for this analysis). Explain whether or not your questions were effective. How did your client respond to your questions? How would you improve the effectiveness of your questions? Identify Techniques Used: Next, identify at least 5 examples of paraphrasing, summarizing, or reflections you used (must have at least one of each: paraphrase, summary, and reflection). Again, use all caps on your transcript to identify each technique.

For example: Interviewer: So it’s been several weeks since you’ve been able to sleep without problems? PARAPHRASE

Evaluate the Techniques: Evaluate the effectiveness of your interview technique (Approximately one paragraph for this entire section). How did your client respond to the techniques in the interview? How do you know if you were effective with these? Provide justification for your response. How could you improve your use of these?

Application: Analysis and Summary Explain how the information you gathered during the interview can aid in planning treatment for your client. How can treatment of this client be more informed or more targeted based on the information you gathered (Approximately 2-3 paragraphs). Identify at least two possible ethical issues that could arise during your interview (hint: go back to your Module 1 lecture for ideas about ethical issues in interviewing). Explain how an ethical interviewer should deal with each of these issues. (Approximately 2-3 paragraphs).