FIELD RESEARCH AND FOCUS GROUP RESEARCH
The field interview is a “speech event,” closer
to a friendly conversation than the stimulus/
response model found in a survey research inter-
view. You are familiar with a friendly conversa-
tion, which has its own informal rules and the
following elements: (1) a greeting (“Hi, it’s good
to see you again”); (2) the absence of an explicit
goal or purpose (we don’t say, “Let’s now discuss
what we did last weekend”); (3) avoidance of
explicit repetition (we don’t say, “Could you clar-
ify what you said about.. .”); (4) question asking
(“Did you see the race yesterday?”); (5) expres-
sions of interest (“Really? I wish I could have been
there!”); (6) expressions of ignorance (“No, I
missed it. What happened?”); (7) turn taking so the
encounter is balanced (one person does not always
ask questions and the other only answer); (8)
abbreviations (“I missed the Derby, but I’m going
to the Indy,” not “I missed the Kentucky Derby
horse race but I will go to the Indianapolis 500
automotive race”); (9) a pause or brief silence
when neither person talks is acceptable; (10) a
closing (we don’t say, “Let’s end this conversa-
tion”; instead, we give a verbal indicator before
physically leaving—“I’ve got to get back to work
now. See ya tomorrow.”).
The field interview differs from a friendly con-
versation. It has an explicit purpose: to learn about
the member and setting. You include explanations
or requests that diverge from friendly conversa-
tions. For example, you may say, “I’d like to ask
you about.. .” or “Could you look at this and see
TABLE 1 Survey Interviews versus Field Research Interviews
TYPICAL SURVEY INTERVIEW TYPICAL FIELD INTERVIEW
- It has a clear beginning and end. 1. The beginning and end are not clear. The
interview can be picked up at a later time. - The same standard questions are asked of all
respondents in the same sequence.
2. The questions and the order in which they are
asked are tailored to specific people and situations. - The interviewer appears neutral at all times. 3. The interviewer shows interest in responses and
encourages elaboration. - The interviewer asks questions, and the
respondent answers.
4. It is like a friendly conversational exchange but
with more interviewer questions. - It is almost always with one respondent alone. 5. It can occur in a group setting or with others in
the area but varies. - It has a professional tone and businesslike focus;
diversions are ignored.
6. It is interspersed with jokes, asides, stories,
diversions, and anecdotes, which are recorded. - Closed-ended questions are common with
infrequent probes.
7 Open-ended questions are common, and probes
are frequent.
- The interviewer alone controls the pace and
direction of the interview.
8. The interviewer and member jointly control the
pace and direction of the interview. - The social context in which the interview occurs
is ignored and assumed to make little difference.
9. The social context of the interview is noted and
seen as important for interpreting the meaning
of responses. - The interviewer attempts to mold the communi-
cation pattern into a standard framework. - The interviewer adjusts to the member’s norms
and language usage.
Sources:Adapted from Briggs (1986), Denzin (1989), Douglas (1985), Mishler (1986), Spradley (1979a).