Influence of the social characteristics of the interviewer

In many societies, the social characteristics of the interviewer have to be matched to those of the respondents. This is particularly true for gender and may apply in certain situations to age as well. In some societies, interviews will be limited by local norms to persons of the same gender as respondents: male interviewers with male respondents and female interviewers with female respondents.   The age of the interviewer may also become a limiting condition. In some villages, for example, village leaders and some older men may not be willing to talk freely with younger interviewers. Requirements to match age and gender between respondents and interviewers is even greater when interviews get into sensitive, personal topics, such as family planning, use of contraceptives, or other personal matters.

As you consider interviewing, you will have to decide whether your gender and age may be in factors in the cultural setting in which you will be interviewing.

Sources of error

Box 11.3 summarizes sources of error that can occur in conducting surveys based on interviewing. Careful attention during interviewing can prevent or minimize these errors.

Box 11.3. Main sources of error in survey research A poorly constructed questionnaire: for example, respondents are confused by the order of questions. Poorly worded items - items are not clear, respondents do not understand them or are unwilling to answer them. Questions are asked in different ways with different respondents. The interviewer fails to identify and correct inappropriate or inconsistent responses. The interviewer makes mistakes or omits crucial parts of open-ended responses. The interviewer makes mistakes in recording responses to closed items. Poor post review of responses at the end of each interview and during the post-interview editing of responses.

Personal interviews are well suited for use in developing countries. This technique can be used with persons who are not literate or who have limited reading skills. Personal interviewing also fits well with the preference for verbal communication among people in many developing countries. Interviewers are able to ask a wide range of questions; make sure that all questions are answered; clarify responses that seem contradictory or are not clear; and use probes to get more complete responses. Being on the scene, interviewers can also record additional data unobtrusively. For example, information about the construction of the home or other indicators of socio-economic status can be noted without asking any questions.

Limitations

Personal interviewing also has some serious limitations. Conducting face-to-face interviews is costly and time consuming. Beginning researchers who plan to do their own interviewing have to be prepared for weeks or months of daily interviewing. Completing a one hour interview, with even a small sample of 50 to 60 respondents, can take weeks or even months of work. Travel costs may be involved as well, which can limit the size of the sample used.

The greatest limitation, however, is the ever-present possibility of bias. Bias can be introduced inadvertently by the interviewer's tone of voice, body language, way of asking questions, poor use of probes, and in many other ways. Also, even though the respondent is assured of confidentiality, knowing that the interviewer is hearing and recording what the respondents says can cause some respondents to give replies they think are more socially correct than accurate.

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