Saturday July 31st 2010
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Interview Meeting
An interview meeting is a method for conducting household surveys. Using group interviews and a questionnaire, a group of about 30 people are asked at the interview meeting about their notions, assessments, wishes and concerns in relation to a technology, a technological development, challenge or problem. As a rule, interviewees do not possess any special knowledge about the technology which is the focus of the interview meeting. However, prior to and during the meeting, there are informed about the disadvantages of the technology so their views are rooted in factual information. The interview meeting method employs a combination of group interviews and a questionnaire. These 2 methods complement one another well: group interview create a lively debate and ensure that the participants can include aspects that are not addressed by the questionnaire. The questionnaire, on the other hand, ensures that all the participants are heard and that there is comparable data relating to the most important areas.The purpose of the method The purpose of the interview meeting is to gain insight into the various notions, wishes, concerns and attitudes prevalent among the interviewees. The interview meeting must provide an indication of the general views of the interviewees and the underlying reasons for these. The purpose is thus not to conduct an actual opinion poll. The interviewees’ answers provide:
Project management The Danish Board of Technology project management team is responsible for all practical aspects of the interview meeting, including preparation of the questionnaire and an interview guide for the group interviews. The project management team comprises a project manager who assumes overall responsibility and a project management assistant who carries out a number of practical tasks. The background group A smaller background group consisting of 2-4 experts may be attached to the project during the planning phase. Its task is to contribute technical knowledge about the subject. The background group meets 2 or 3 times prior to the interview meeting to discuss topic angles, the form in which information material should be presented, who should make presentations and which questions are the most relevant to be answered. As an alternative to forming an actual background group, the project management team can phone one or more experts during the planning phase and draw on their knowledge. Participants Between 30 and 35 people take part in an interview meeting. Participants can be recruited in different ways, for example through the central person registry, advertising or via networks (personal invitations). If there are more than 30-35 people, participants are selected on the grounds that they do not have any prior knowledge of the interview meeting’s theme. There may also be other selection criteria, depending on the target group which is the subject of focus. Participants at an interview meeting will never be a representative cross-section of society. However, if the aim of the meeting is to determine attitudes among the general population, selection should focus on those candidates offering the best possible representation in terms of age, gender, education and employment, where applicable. Interviewers In addition to the interviewees themselves, 4 interviewers are present at the meeting to conduct group interviews. Procedure description The interview meeting is held in the evening and takes the form of a 3-hour after-work meeting. Before the meeting, participants will have received background material informing them about the topic. In addition, the meeting begins with an introduction of the topic, with focus given to the advantages and disadvantages of the technology to be discussed. The introduction is carried out by one or more experts in the field. Following this, participants can put clarifying questions to the presenters. After the introduction, participants are divided into groups of 6-9 people and group interviews are subsequently held. The interviews are monitored by an interviewer whose task is to ensure that all of the participants are heard and that all themes and questions are discussed and answered. The group interviews last an hour. After the group interviews, participants reconvene and are handed a questionnaire. The questionnaire focuses on the same topics as those of the group interviews. Participants have 30 minutes in which to complete the questionnaire. Direct results An interview meeting provides both quantitative and qualitative results. Questionnaire answers provide comparable, measurable, quantitative results and the group interviews are used to gather the more qualitative results that give nuance to those of the questionnaire. Comparison and analysis of the 2 sets of results offer a balanced indication of public attitudes towards a given technology. Indirect results The interview meeting creates debate and participants gain new knowledge about – and often a new interest in - the topic. Participants often continue debating the issue in society. Presentation of results The results of an interview meeting are published in a report that offers an analysis of both the qualitative and quantitative results. The report may also contain a transcript of the group interviews and a list of questionnaire responses. Suitability Interview meetings are particularly suitable in cases where:
Brief facts Price Approx. DKK 30,000 excl. the salaries of the Danish Board of Technology management team. Examples of the method within the framework of the Danish Board of Technology Citizens’ attitudes towards Vadehavet National Park (2005) Citizens’ attitudes towards Nanotechnology (2004) Citizens’ attitudes towards animal cloning (2003) Last update: 07-02-2006
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