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Expert Interview for College/University Students

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Expert interviews are qualitative methods of data collection with the primary objective of gathering information about a particular issue or field of action. This post will deliver more insights on expert interviews and everything college/university students need to know about the research method.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 Expert Interview - FAQs
• 2 Definition: Expert Interview
• 3 What are the different steps?
• 4 Example questions for an expert interview
• 5 Tips for conducting an expert interview
• 6 In a Nutshell

Expert Interview - FAQs

What is an expert interview.

This refers to when the interviewee has expertise in their respective study area. They can be one on one or conducted by a big group. They can either be formal or informal and can be held by email, in person or over the phone.

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When do you need an expert interview?

Expert interviews are mostly needed when the interviewer wants to get in-depth information about a particular case study.

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What are the types of interviews?

There are three types of interviews: Structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews:

• Structured interviews: This kind of interview strictly follow an interview protocol for the researcher to be guided. It is a more rigid style of interview whereby only questions found in the interview protocol are asked. This means that there are no opportunities to probe and explore topics further.
• Semi-structured interviews: This kind of interview follows the interview protocol to guide the researcher throughout the process. They can incorporate conversational aspects and, in most cases, it’s a guided conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee. It provides the interviewer with a chance to probe the interviewee further.
• Unstructured interviews: These kinds of interviews do not include any interview questions, or if any, very few interview questions. They often go the way normal conversations go but mostly concern the research topic. It is actually a formless interview-style mostly used by researchers to build a rapport with the experts.

How many expert interviews are enough?

Some experts who do qualitative research tend to avoid the question of ‘how many’ interviews are considered enough. There is no exact number for the minimum expert numbers that will be considered to be enough. Most articles and book chapters recommend from 5 to 50 participants as the adequate number or if you feel you have gotten enough information after interviewing a few people, then that is enough.

How do you interview an expert?

You have to have a good plan and follow the right procedure while coming up with a plan. Below are some of the steps you can follow when coming up with a plan on how to interview an expert:

• Plan your piece
• Make contact
• Do research
• Conduct the interview
• Always record the interview
• Always listen to the expert and don’t always hurry to ask the next question
• Learn to accept silence

Definition: Expert Interview

An interview is basically a conversation involving two or more people. Mostly between the interviewer and the interviewee and the interviewer asks questions while the interviewee replies to them.

Expert interviews refer to the expert being the interviewee and having expertise in a certain area of study. They can be done formally or informally and be done over the phone or by email.

Conducting expert interviews helps the researcher get specific information about a specific study area. As a researcher, you need to identify who is an expert in your area of study. You can do this by looking out for their credibility and credentials. Experts need to have vast knowledge, ability and experience in their area of study.

What are the different steps?

Before beginning your interview , you need to do a few preparations:

• Define your purpose: Come up with a clear purpose of what the interview is all about.
• Write a list of questions: Compile a list of questions that will help you get the necessary information concerning your purpose. Select three of four questions from the list and discuss them with the interviewee in advance.
• Dress appropriately: The best suggestion for a dress code is business attire as it shows a high level of professionalism.
• Organise your materials: Have your notepad and tape recorder ready for the interview. Ensure you are equipped with the necessities such as pens with enough ink, charged batteries and enough paper.
• Double check: Go over everything that you have planned for ahead of the interview.

Beginning the interview

Once you have a laid down plan for your interview and its time for the interview, begin the interview with a polite greeting such as “How are you”, thank the interviewee for creating time to meet you, make sure the interviewee is comfortable and make the interview interesting.

Ending the interview

While conducting an expert interview, how you begin and end the interview matters greatly. When ending an interview, there are a few things that you can do:

• Sincerely thank the interviewee for creating time to come for the interview.
• Ask the expert if you can include their responses in your research in the future.
• Ask them if they will be willing to allow you to share some of their work on your case study.

Consolidating your findings

Expert interviews can be carried out individually or by a group. While conducting individual expert interviews, the main focus is usually to get important information concerning the case study. You might want to interview more than two people to get the full effectiveness of the interviews.

This is the best way to take if you are less familiar with the interview topic. The right way to take is by interviewing more people that can help you understand the topic more.

Example questions for an expert interview

Below are some of the questions you can ask a marketing expert in the salon sector:

• Who are the most regular customers in a salon? (gender/age)
• What time do most people go to the salon?
• How can I keep track of my customers?

Tips for conducting an expert interview

The guidelines below can help you conduct an expert interview.

• Be early: Always keep time. You do not want to keep the interviewee waiting.
• Be polite: Make a brief introduction of yourself to the interviewee. State your name and the reason for being there.
• Be thankful: After the interview, thank the interviewee for agreeing to meet you.

In a Nutshell

Expert interviews are mostly conducted when trying to gather information about a case study. It’s important to prepare well and do enough research on the expert and know what to ask and what not to ask. College students can therefore utilise expert interviews as a way of carrying out their research.

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Using an interview in a research paper

Consultant contributor: Viviane Ugalde

Using an interview can be an effective primary source for some papers and research projects. Finding an expert in the field or some other person who has knowledge of your topic can allow for you to gather unique information not available elsewhere.

There are four steps to using an interview as a source for your research.

• Know where and how to start.
• Know how to write a good question.
• Know how to conduct an interview.
• Know how to incorporate the interview into your document or project.

Step one: Where to start

First, you should determine your goals and ask yourself these questions:

• Who are the local experts on topic?
• How can I contact these people?
• Does anyone know them to help me setup the interviews?
• Are their phone numbers in the phone book or can I find them on the Internet?

Once you answer these questions and pick your interviewee, get their basic information such as their name, title, and other general details. If you reach out and your interview does not participate, don’t be discouraged. Keep looking for other interview contacts.

Step two: How to write a good question

When you have confirmed an interview, it is not time to come up with questions.

• Learning as much as you can about the person before the interview can help you create questions specific to your interview subject.
• Doing research about your interviewee’s past experience in your topic, or any texts that they have written would be great background research.

When you start to think of questions, write down more questions than you think you’ll need, and prioritize them as you go. Any good questions will answer the 5W and H questions. Asking Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions that you need answered for your paper, will help you form a question to ask your interviewee.

When writing a good question, try thinking of something that will help your argument.

• Is your interviewee an advocate for you position?
• Are they in any programs that are related to your research?
• How much experience do they have?

From broad questions like these, you can begin to narrow down to more specific and open-ended questions.

Step three: The interview

If at all possible, arrange to conduct the interview at the subject’s workplace. It will make them more comfortable, and you can write about their surroundings.

• Begin the interview with some small talk in order to give both of you the chance to get comfortable with one another
• Develop rapport that will make the interview easier for both of you.
• Ask open-ended questions
• Keep the conversation moving
• Stay on topic
• The more silence in the room, the more honest the answer.
• If an interesting subject comes up that is related to your research, ask a follow-up or an additional question about it.
• Ask if you can stay in contact with your interview subject in case there are any additional questions you have.

Step four: Incorporating the interview

When picking the material out of your interview, remember that people rarely speak perfectly. There will be many slang words and pauses that you can take out, as long as it does not change the meaning of the material you are using.

As you introduce your interview in the paper, start with a transition such as “according to” or other attributions. You should also be specific to the type of interview you are working with. This way, you will build a stronger ethos in your paper .

The body of your essay should clearly set up the quote or paraphrase you use from the interview responses,. Be careful not to stick a quote from the interview into the body of your essay because it sounds good. When deciding what to quote in your paper, think about what dialogue from the interview would add the most color to your interview. Quotes that illustrate what your interviewer sounded like, or what their personality is are always the best quotes to choose from.

Once you have done that, proofread your essay. Make sure the quotes you used don’t make up the majority of your paper. The interview quotes are supposed to support your argument; you are not supposed to support the interview.

For example, let’s say that you are arguing that free education is better than not. For your argument, you interview a local politician who is on your side of the argument. Rather than using a large quote that explains the stance of both sides, and why the politician chose this side, your quote is there to support the information you’ve already given. Whatever the politician says should prove what you argue, and not give new information.

Step five: Examples of citing your interviews 

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2018.

(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2018).

Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 3, 2018).

Reference list

Daly, C. & Leighton W. (2017). Interviewing a Source: Tips. Journalists Resource.

Driscoll, D. (2018 ). Interviewing. Purdue University

Hayden, K. (2012). How to Conduct an Interview to Write a Paper . Bright Hub Education, Bright Hub Inc.

Hose, C. (2017). How to Incorporate Interviews into Essays. Leaf Group Education.

Magnesi, J. (2017). How to Interview Someone for an Article or Research Paper. Career Trend, Leaf group Media.