Sometimes interviewing an expert will be the only way to get information you need for a research paper or other project. To ensure a successful interview, you will need to prepare for it.
When you call or write to request the interview, (1) explain who you are, (2) briefly describe the purpose and proposed length of the interview (request no more of your interviewee's time than absolutely necessary), and (3) ask when would be a convenient time for the interview (keep your own deadline in mind, too).
In preparation for the interview, learn as much as possible about the interviewee and the topic, and prepare a list of specific questions, Never try to improvise an interview, and never use it to gather information that is readily available elsewhere.
When you arrive for the interview, be prepared to guide it pleasantly but purposefully. The following points should help you.
• Use the list of questions you have prepared, but if some answers prompt additional questions, ask them.
• Let the interviewee do the talking. Don't try to impress him or her with your knowledge or opinions of the subject.
• If the interview drifts off track, be ready to steer it back with a specific question.
• Take only memory-jogging notes during the interview. Do not ask the interviewee to slow down so that you can take detailed notes.
Some interviewers like to use a tape recorder. Its advantage is allowing you to concentrate on asking questions and listening to answers rather than on taking notes. The two main disadvantages are that it may make the interviewee nervous and it may lure you into simply recording whatever the interviewee says rather than directing the interview with specific questions.
5. Immediately after leaving the interview, make detailed notes from your interview
notes. Do not postpone this step. No matter how good your memory is, you will forget some important pointsand your tape recording may fade occasionally into mumbles, too.
If you include information from the interview in a paper, use the proper style to document your source both within your text and in the list of works cited. (See the Research Paper.)
