Final answer:
Interviews benefit from well-planned questions that elicit detailed, qualitative responses with a blend of open-ended and closed questions. Notetaking should focus on key ideas using shorthand, and non-verbal cues offer additional insights.
Step-by-step explanation:
A successful interview typically begins with a well-structured script, incorporating both open-ended and closed questions.
Open-ended questions pave the way for a wealth of qualitative data by soliciting detailed, personal responses, while closed questions provide concise factual information.
Preparation is crucial, and creating working interview questions ahead of time is highly recommended.
Questions should be designed to elicit meaningful responses and facilitate a natural flow of conversation, enabling the interviewer to gather a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data.
In constructing your questionnaire, it's vital to focus on open questions, such as 'How do you plan to use your college education?' These questions, which require more than a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer, encourage subjects to share their thoughts in a way that is unachievable with tick boxes or single-word responses.
This strategy garners a diverse range of insights and often yields surprising revelations.
Attention should also be paid to non-verbal cues or body language during interviews, as these can provide additional context to the subject's verbal responses.
Paying careful attention to the formulation of questions will significantly enhance the chances of obtaining valuable interview material.
This involves crafting questions that are sufficiently open, unbiased, and allow for free expression of views.
Additionally, note-taking strategies are important: capturing key ideas, distinctive language, and maintaining a shorthand system for efficiency could prove essential.
Consideration of silence as a tool and the readiness to ask follow-up questions for clarification are also pertinent skills for an interviewer.