Telephone interviews

Interviews by telephone have been found to be as successful as face-to-face interviews (Miller, 1995) although they will be prepared differently.

• 'Cold-calling' will probably not be successful and a pre-arranged time is best.
• A document, perhaps a questionnaire completed by the respondent, can be helpful in promoting discussion.
• The interviewer can use open questions, prompts, reflections and paraphrases of what the interviewee has said in order to keep the conversation going.
• Telephone interviewing may take less time than face-to-face because of fewer pauses or briefer turns in the conversation
• Telephone interviews can be recorded with prior agreement of the participants.

Reference

Miller, C (1995) In-depth interviewing by telephone: some practical considerations. Evaluation and Research in Education 9:1 29-38