Conducting an Interview
Purpose
This tutorial introduces you to basic interviewing skills. Interviewing is a common way to collect a rich set of data and take advantage of the knowledge and expertise of others. Employment interviewers certainly hope to do this when they talk with candidates for a position. Journalists also do this when they interview people for a story. Academic researchers also commonly use interviews to collect their data. 
When you conduct an interview, you gain practical experience with gathering data from a primary source. This kind of research demands a considerable amount of preparation and planning. You must also establish an atmosphere of trust, exchange information, give and receive feedback, and sometimes perform a follow-up interview. Interviews incorporate critical thinking and problem identification, as well as make use of many interpersonal skills such as active listening and note taking.
Goals and Objectives
The main goal of this tutorial is to introduce you to some common interviewing techniques. Upon completion of this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Describe a good interview atmosphere
- Explain why preparation and planning are important
- Demonstrate an understanding of types of interview questions
- Analyze and evaluate an interview experience
- Conduct an interview to gather information
- List the parts of an interview
- Identify strategies for conducting each part of an interview
Activities
To learn more about how to conduct a successful interview, read the information and complete the activities.
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