Personal Interviews

Personal interviews are an excellent research method when there are highly knowledgeable individuals whose expertise is needed for the understanding of an issue. Personal interviews can also be used prior to survey design, prior to focus group design, or as a method of understanding the specific technical nature of a project. Personal interviews allow for open conversation between Responsive Management staff and individuals in a one-on-one setting.

Like focus groups, personal interviews provide researchers with new insights, hypotheses, and understanding through the process of interaction. They allow for extensive probing, follow-up questions, discussion, and observation of emotional reaction not possible in a quantitative study such as a telephone or mail survey. Personal interviews are an appropriate qualitative data collection methodology in a variety of settings including exploration of issues in sensitive areas such as internal agency/organization evaluations or satisfaction studies. Personal interviews allow participants to share qualitative information in a manner that allows freer expression of ideas and opinions. Responsive Management has performed personal interviews for a range of clients in a variety of settings, including needs assessments, evaluations of federal and state programs, and organizational membership studies.