how to include interview in research paper

Using an interview in a research paper

Consultant contributor: Viviane Ugalde

Using an interview can be an effective primary source for some papers and research projects. Finding an expert in the field or some other person who has knowledge of your topic can allow for you to gather unique information not available elsewhere.

There are four steps to using an interview as a source for your research.

Know where and how to start.
Know how to write a good question.
Know how to conduct an interview.
Know how to incorporate the interview into your document or project.

Step one: Where to start

First, you should determine your goals and ask yourself these questions:

Who are the local experts on topic?
How can I contact these people?
Does anyone know them to help me setup the interviews?
Are their phone numbers in the phone book or can I find them on the Internet?

Once you answer these questions and pick your interviewee, get their basic information such as their name, title, and other general details. If you reach out and your interview does not participate, don’t be discouraged. Keep looking for other interview contacts.

Step two: How to write a good question

When you have confirmed an interview, it is not time to come up with questions.

Learning as much as you can about the person before the interview can help you create questions specific to your interview subject.
Doing research about your interviewee’s past experience in your topic, or any texts that they have written would be great background research.

When you start to think of questions, write down more questions than you think you’ll need, and prioritize them as you go. Any good questions will answer the 5W and H questions. Asking Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions that you need answered for your paper, will help you form a question to ask your interviewee.

When writing a good question, try thinking of something that will help your argument.

Is your interviewee an advocate for you position?
Are they in any programs that are related to your research?
How much experience do they have?

From broad questions like these, you can begin to narrow down to more specific and open-ended questions.

Step three: The interview

If at all possible, arrange to conduct the interview at the subject’s workplace. It will make them more comfortable, and you can write about their surroundings.

Begin the interview with some small talk in order to give both of you the chance to get comfortable with one another
Develop rapport that will make the interview easier for both of you.
Ask open-ended questions
Keep the conversation moving
Stay on topic
The more silence in the room, the more honest the answer.
If an interesting subject comes up that is related to your research, ask a follow-up or an additional question about it.
Ask if you can stay in contact with your interview subject in case there are any additional questions you have.

Step four: Incorporating the interview

When picking the material out of your interview, remember that people rarely speak perfectly. There will be many slang words and pauses that you can take out, as long as it does not change the meaning of the material you are using.

As you introduce your interview in the paper, start with a transition such as “according to” or other attributions. You should also be specific to the type of interview you are working with. This way, you will build a stronger ethos in your paper .

The body of your essay should clearly set up the quote or paraphrase you use from the interview responses,. Be careful not to stick a quote from the interview into the body of your essay because it sounds good. When deciding what to quote in your paper, think about what dialogue from the interview would add the most color to your interview. Quotes that illustrate what your interviewer sounded like, or what their personality is are always the best quotes to choose from.

Once you have done that, proofread your essay. Make sure the quotes you used don’t make up the majority of your paper. The interview quotes are supposed to support your argument; you are not supposed to support the interview.

For example, let’s say that you are arguing that free education is better than not. For your argument, you interview a local politician who is on your side of the argument. Rather than using a large quote that explains the stance of both sides, and why the politician chose this side, your quote is there to support the information you’ve already given. Whatever the politician says should prove what you argue, and not give new information.

Step five: Examples of citing your interviews

Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 19 May 2018.

(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2018).

Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 3, 2018).

Reference list

Daly, C. & Leighton W. (2017). Interviewing a Source: Tips. Journalists Resource.

Driscoll, D. (2018 ). Interviewing. Purdue University

Hayden, K. (2012). How to Conduct an Interview to Write a Paper . Bright Hub Education, Bright Hub Inc.

Hose, C. (2017). How to Incorporate Interviews into Essays. Leaf Group Education.

Magnesi, J. (2017). How to Interview Someone for an Article or Research Paper. Career Trend, Leaf group Media.

Incorporating Interview Data

Introduction

When you incorporate original interview data into your writing, you are developing new ideas by using quotations and often sources that no one else has accessed. Drawing from interviews can liven up your writing, ground your big concepts within the specific circumstances of particular individuals, and introduce you to insights you might never have considered on your own. Additionally, interviews are an exciting way for you to provide a larger audience for people who might not otherwise have opportunities to share their stories, perceptions, and experiences.

There are lots of good reasons to incorporate original interview data into your writing. But doing so also involves making many, specific writing decisions. On this page we explore some of those decisions by considering: 1) the process by which interview data is gathered; 2) models for interview incorporation; and 3) identification of ways that writing with interview data can be like writing with information from any other source (as well as some of the unique writerly considerations that interviews raise).

Contents Before You Write Different Models of Incorporating Interview Data Summarizing, Paraphrasing, or Quoting Referring to your Interviewees Using Verbatim or Non-Verbatim

Before You Write

Of course, before you can incorporate interview data into your writing, you need to plan and conduct your interviews and begin to analyze your findings.

Interviewing is a common form of research and information gathering in many different fields and across many different genres. In order to develop and actualize a plan for why interviews will help you answer the questions you’re asking, whom you’ll interview, and what you’ll ask these subjects, you’ll want to consult a range of resources. Talk with your instructor, mentor, or advisor about common ways of approaching interviews for this assignment or in this discipline. Additionally, many undergraduate textbooks about research in the social sciences and humanities offer introductions to interviewing. We’ve listed a few great resources to help you learn more.

For comprehensive introductions to research methods used in the writing research that include some information about interviews, consider:

Jackie Grutsch McKinney’s book Strategies for Writing Center Research —especially pages 55-69. While Grutsch McKinney’s is focused on writing center research, her close consideration of the different ways to structure interviews as well as how to plan and conduct them can be applied to all interview contexts. Additionally, her treatment of data analysis in chapter 8 provides a step-by-step guide for coding qualitative data—one of the approaches you might use to make sense of what your interview data means.
Joyce Kinkead’s Researching Writing: An Introduction to Research Methods —especially pages 37-39. This is a potential textbook for that could be used for a class specifically about the formal study of writing. However, its direct and specific information about interviewing is applicable for any social science researcher preparing to use interviews for research.

These resources focus more specifically on qualitative research methods in particular and interviewing in particular:

Robert Bogdan and Sari Knopp Biklen’s Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods —especially pages 103-109. Bogdan and Knopp Biklen’s treatment of interview practices provides a brief overview of how to approach and implement this research methodology.
Irving Seidman’s Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences —especially pages 78-94. This entire book explores interview practices, logistics, and applications, but chapter six in particular usefully details particular interviewing techniques and provides transcripted examples of some of these strategic techniques in action.

The rest of the information on this page assumes that you have learned to develop and implement your interview plan, that you’ve analyzed the information you’ve gathered, and that you’re now ready to start weaving that information into your writing.

Different Models for Incorporating Interview Data

You can use interview data in many different ways. Most often, you will probably be making an argumentative or analytical point and illustrating and supporting it with evidence from your interviews. For example, in the following passage from the book Booty Capitalism: The Politics of Banking in the Philippines , Paul D. Hutchcroft, a political science professor at Australian National University, begins with an original claim, follows that with a quotation from an interview subject that exemplifies that claim, and then offers additional commentary on that issue. Note how the quotation from the interview both connects the concepts of banking and politics and introduces the prism metaphor that Hutchcroft continues into the next sentence.

The major focus of this [book] is two arenas that offer particular insights into the nature of relations between state and oligarchy in the banking system: bank supervision and selective credit allocation. “Banking,” observes one former bank president, “is a prism through which to understand power politics in the Philippines.” A study of the banking system highlights larger patterns at work within the political economy: how a predatory oligarchy extracts privilege from a patrimonial state, and how developmental policy objectives are continually choked out by a clamor of particularistic demands made by those who currently enjoy proximity to the political machinery. (7)

Generalizing about a Trend or Theme

Using information from an interview to support your claim is the primary purpose for incorporating interview data into your writing, but how you do this may change according to your specific intent. In what follows, we explore different models for weaving interview data into your writing and provide examples of what this looks like.

It is important to consider the politicization of the nationality responses in context. On the whole, the vast majority of republican executives did not try to influence the process, and the nationality question was a non-issue in the predominantly ethnically Russian regions. In my regional interviews I found that in the oblasts and krays, there were almost no reports of difficulty with the nationality question. Officials in those areas reported that respondents who were not ethnically Russian had no difficulty citing a different nationality. This finding corresponded with my observations of the enumeration process in Moscow. There were sporadic cases of respondents in ethnically mixed marriages registering one child as of one parent’s ethnic group and the other child as of the other parent’s ethnic group. However, this is a conceptual issue rather than a problem of politicization. ( 367-8 )

Quoting to Illustrate a Trend or Theme

Sometimes interviewees say things that are so strikingly similar that it is useful to draw attention to these complementary concepts and word choices by putting them together. In the following passage, Jane Calvert, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, and Joan Fujimura, a sociology professor at UW-Madison, use this strategy while writing about scientists’ responses to the new and developing field of systems biology. Note that these authors carefully tie quotations to specific anonymized interviewees through parenthetical citations.

In another US university, the decision to build an interdisciplinary research centre was top-down, initiated by university and funding administrators and initially opposed by most campus laboratory scientists. The building of new interdisciplinary structures is challenging for the existing disciplinary “fiefdoms” (Biologist19) and “silos” (Biologist9 and Biologist12) “where people feel protected and safe” (Biologist19) because they are not required to step outside of their “comfort zones” (Biologist7).

Putting Two Sources in Conversation with Each Other

Sometimes writers can use one interviewee to contribute to or complicate what another interviewee says. The following paragraph from Hutchcroft’s Booty Capitalism shows this practice at work. In addition to bringing two sources together, in this passage Hutchcroft also strategically incorporates paratextual insight gained from the interview process into his analysis. He uses the former governor’s laughter to showcase an attitude that directly contrasts with what the former bank supervisor says.

Even when the Central Bank has acted against those who milked their banks, former bank owners have been known to use personal connections, even up to the Supreme Court, to confound Central Bank discipline. Former Governor Jaime Laya noted that even martial law “didn’t seem to stop the lawsuits against Central Bank personnel.” He actually laughed as he told me how the Central Bank legal office has “never won a case.” But the former head of the bank supervision sector, who has herself been sued, doesn’t find it a laughing matter: “Why only in this country,” she exclaimed, “do the regulators go to the jail, and the bankers go scot-free?” (9)

Providing a Profile/Telling a Story

Sometimes your writing needs to focus on your interview subject as a full and complex individual. In order to analyze an issue, you need to write about this individual’s background, family, and previous experiences. In this situation, you’ll weave together information you gained from your interviews with quotations from this person. This kind of writing is common when you are using interviews to develop ethnographis case studies. In the following example of this technique, Kate Vieira, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison, tells the story of Jocélia, an undocumented Brazilian immigrant living in Massachusetts:

Jocélia, a 22 year-old Brazilian woman who grew up in a favela (shanty town) in Brazil, came to the United States to study and to earn money. When her visa expired and the small sum she had borrowed from cousins ran out, she quit her ESL classes and began to work illegally. When I met her in 2008, she had been in the United States for 4 years, had managed to buy a house for her mother in Brazil, and had plans to buy another one for herself and a car. To earn money as an undocumented worker, she held down two jobs: one from 3 p.m. to midnight and another from 5 a.m. to afternoon. One evening, exhausted from having not slept in days, she nodded off as she drove home from work, resulting in a serious accident that led her to a friend’s house in South Mills and to a Catholic retreat. When I came here, I was not a youth who had fun. I only worked, and this made me a little frustrated, you know? Sad, lonely, understand? And nobody could change my mind. I had to work . . . But the Lord showed me something different, that I can’t live only for work . . . So I went there [to the retreat] and I really felt that the Lord touched us. It was a very good experience . . . (444)

Attending to Language

As explored in greater depth in the discussion about verbatim transcription , sometimes you want to analyze or consider the language an individual uses or the implications of certain kinds of words or even pauses. For example, in the following passage, Beth Godbee, a writing and rhetoric professor at Marquette University, meticulously considers the implications of her subjects’ specific words and phrasing. Although this example is taken from Godbee’s analysis of a conversation she recorded between a writer Susan and a writing center tutor Kim as opposed to a direct interview she conducted, the attention she pays to language could just as well be applied to information from an interview.

Kim reinforces Susan’s qualifications: “You’re gonna—you’re the specialist in this area. You know these kids; you see what know the effects are, and maybe where some change could be made” (lines 558-561). Here Kim revises her projection of Susan as a “specialist” in the future tense (“gonna,” as in “you’re going to be”) to a statement of her current position (“you’re,” or “you are now”). By repairing her speech mid-utterance, Kim emphasizes Susan’s current status and qualifications to write, thereby reframing her institutional power to assert her right to speak. (185)

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, or Quoting

As the above examples show, interview data is incorporated into writing through summaries, paraphrases, or quotations. In some ways this makes working with interviews just like working from any other kind of outside. As you choose between summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting, a guiding question for you to consider is: What is most important about this information?

Is it the overall story it tells or the general perspective it provides? Then summarizing might be the best option.
Is it the particular take on a complex issue? Then paraphrasing that idea in your own words to make it as understandable as possible might be best.
Is it the memorability, specificity, or authenticity of the language the source used? Then probably go with a quote, but be sure to contextualize this quotation by providing necessary background and commentary.

Of course, in working with interview data, you might go with all three incorporation strategies by, for example, summarizing early in a paragraph to provide an overall sense of what this source is saying, paraphrasing a key idea or two, and then including a poignant quotation that exemplifies the argument you are making. For more information about quoting and paraphrasing outside sources in your writing, check out our resources on this issue .

Referring to your Interviewees

In certain writing situations, you are expected to identify the people you interviewed by using their real names. This is often the case in journalistic writing as well as when you have consulted with an expert on an issue. But, even in these writing contexts, you must receive permission from them to associate their words and insights with their names by clearly establishing whether or not they are talking with you “on the record.”

However, when you are conducting interviews for academic research, you are frequently expected to use pseudonyms so that your subjects’ responses are confidential. Protecting your subjects’ privacy should be your primary priority. They are giving you access to personal experiences and trusting you with their individual insights and observations; you must honor that trust by anonymizing their identities so that readers can’t figure out who your subjects were. Developing a research methodology that keeps all of your data confidential is an important part of the IRB (Internal Review Board) process, and in order to receive permission to do research at your institution you’ll need a plan that outlines how you’ll achieve confidentiality. Part of that plan will involve using different names for your subjects. But selecting pseudonyms is a bigger issue than just choosing different names at random.

Ruth Allen and Janine L. Wiles, Social and Community Health scholars at the University of Auckland, have closely considered the many issues surrounding pseudonym selection in connection to their original psychological and health-related research. They advocate that researchers think critically about this process and even bring their subjects into these discussions of identity and confidentiality. You need to be thoughtful about what aspects of your subjects’ true identities you are communicating or obscuring through the pseudonyms you use. The following questions are adapted from ones Allen and Wiles recommend researchers ask themselves when preparing to use pseudonyms for participants:

Does the researcher or the participant choose the pseudonym? How does this issue get talked about with the participants?
Is it important, valuable, or expected to use first name or also include last names and/or titles (i.e., Cara, Mr. Terrance, Dr. Jean Nichols)?
Within the context of this writing, should the names to be associated with a specific gender, ethnicity, and/or culture? Should those nominal identity markers align with the participants’ actual identities?
Do pseudonyms need to be selected for other people, places, activities, and organizations mentioned in the interview? And if so, who makes those choices?

How you answer these questions should be informed by your specific context. For example, in relation to that fourth question, if a participant is talking supportively about a small on-campus organization that you want to bring attention to through your writing, it might make sense to refer to this organization by name even though its size might make it harder to disguise your participant’s identity. However, if your interviewee is speaking critically about a large, multi-national corporation where she works, you might want to develop a pseudonym for that company in order to protect this individual as much as possible.

Using Verbatim or Non-Verbatim

When you are conducting interviews, you are engaging people in very focused conversation. But when we converse, we say “like” a lot and “um” and “ah.” We start sentences and then interrupt ourselves and never return to complete those earlier thoughts. Conversation is never as direct and naturally coherent as writing can be. As a result, when you’re representing other people’s speech, you need to decide if you’ll be employing what is called “verbatim transcription” or “non-verbatim transcription.”

In “verbatim transcriptions,” you write out what people say exactly as they say it. You include all the filler words, false starts, and grammatical inconsistencies. You may even choose to include coughs and laughs. Scholars have traditionally upheld verbatim accounts as being accurate depictions of the interview process, but as Blake Poland pointed out, “much of the emotional context of the interview as well as nonverbal communication are not captured at all well in audiotape records, so that the audiotape itself is not strictly a verbatim record of the interview” (291). “Non-verbatim transcriptions,” (sometimes called “intelligent transcription”) respond to this acknowledged gap between the complexities of real conversation and the limitations of writing by encouraging writers to focus on the primary substance of participants’ quotes. In “non-verbatim transcriptions, you eliminate the unnecessary utterances like “er,” “well,” and “you know” and just include the foundational meaning of the interviewees’ words.” For example:

Verbatim Transcription : Well, you see, I was [pause] the problem, as I saw it, was more of a, a matter of representation, you know? How can I, like, be the one that’s just out there just declaring the way things are when I’ve not even, like, you know, experiencing the whole process for myself? Non-verbatim Transcription : The problem, as I saw it, was more a matter of representation. How can I be the one that’s out there declaring the way things are when I’ve not even experienced the whole process for myself?

The choice to use verbatim or non-verbatim transcription in quoting your participants should be informed by intentional considerations you are making as a writer. There are good reasons to use either forms. As Mahesh Kumar has identified in a blog post for the Transcription Certification Institute, verbatim transcription is useful for showcasing the thought process by which interview participants develop their ideas. False starts and self-corrections track down how someone is thinking about an issue in real time, and some fillers can be useful expressions of personality. Additionally, some linguistics research and conversation analysis methodologies expect highly structured, verbatim transcriptions that even account for pauses and simultaneous dialogue. However, quotations presented through non-verbatim transcriptions are clearer and easier to read and enable you to present your interview subjects as articulate (Poland 292). Whether you go with verbatim or non-verbatim transcription, make sure that you are being consistent with this choice across your article, paper, report, or essay. Also, if it’s common in the genre you are writing to discuss your methodology choices, it may be useful to clarify which transcription form you have chosen to use and why this was an appropriate choice.

Works Cited

Allen, Ruth E.S., and Janine L. Wiles. “A Rose by Any Other Name: Participants Choosing Research Pseudonyms.” Qualitative Research in Psychology , Dec. 2015. Research Gate , doi: 10.1080/14780887.2015.1133746.

Bogdan, Robert C., and Sari Knopp Biklen. Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods . 5 th ed., Pearson, 2007.

Calvert, Jane, and Joan H. Fujimura. “Calculating Life? Duelling Discourses in Interdisciplinary Systems Biology.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences , vol. 42, no. 2l, 2011. Science Direct , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.11.022 .

Godbee, Beth. “Toward Explaining the Transformative Power of Talk About, Around, and for Writing.” Research in the Teaching of English , vol. 47, no. 2, 2012, pp. 171-97.

Grutsch McKinney, Jackie. Strategies for Writing Center Research . Parlor Press, 2016.

Herrera, Yoshiko M. “The 2002 Russian Census: Institutional Reform at Goskomstar.” Post-Soviet Affairs , vol, 20, no. 4, 2004, pp. 350-86.

Hutchcroft, Paul D. Booty Capitalism: The Politics of Banking in the Philippines , Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1998.

Kinkead, Joyce. Researching Writing: An Introduction to Research Methods . University Press of Colorado, 2015.

Kumar, Mahesh. “Verbatim Vs Non-Verbatim Transcription: Differences, Requirements, & Jobs.” Transcription Certification Institute , 5 December 2017. Accessed online 19 June 2017. https://blog.transcriptioncertificationinstitute.org/verbatim-vs-non-verbatim-transcription-differences-requirements-jobs/.

Poland, Blake D. “Transcription Quality as an Aspect of Rigor in Qualitative Research.” Qualitative Inquiry , no. 1, vol. 3, 1995, pp. 290-310.

Seidman, Irving. Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences . 3 rd ed., Teachers College Press, 2006.

Vieira, Kate. “Undocumented in a Documentary Society: Textual Borders and Transnational Religious Literacies.” Written Communication , vol 28, no. 4, 2011, pp. 436-61.

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Interview

General Style Guidelines
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Helpful Tip!

NOTE: If you recorded the interview or Skype meeting and posted it online (i.e. YouTube, web site) you can then include the reference and direct the reader to the audio or video file that captured the interview. See: APA S tyle: Personal Communications OR Quotations from Research Participants .

An Interview

Important Note: Personal interviews are not included in the reference list because they do not provide recoverable data . Cite them IN TEXT ONLY.

Personal Communication Includes letters, phone calls, email messages, and interviews.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Interviewee First Initial. Second Initial. Surname, personal communication, Month Day, Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

References:

Not included

(J. Brown, personal communication, April 27, 2010)

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How to Add an Interview to a Research Paper

Quotations can give some breath and life to a research paper, when used appropriately. While you should not use too many quotations -- one or two per five-page paper would work -- they can highlight a point you’re trying to make from an expert in the field. If you had the opportunity to interview an authoritative source for your research paper, you need to include attribution and citations per the requirements of the style guide you use.

Adding Quotations

For the most part, try to embed quotations within a sentence. For a quote from an interview, begin your sentence by introducing the speaker, followed by the quote, as in the example :

In a personal interview February 2, 2012, the former employee said, “I considered filing a formal complaint, if not a lawsuit.”

As an alternative, you can lead into the quote with a statement before a colon, which announces the quote that supports the preceding statement. If you add words to a quotation for clarity, put those words inside brackets to indicate they were not a part of the original quote.

Use ellipsis marks (three consecutive periods preceded and followed by a space) to indicate omitted words from a quotation. Do not use ellipses at the beginning of a quote. You could also paraphrase what the interviewee said rather than use a direct quote; when you paraphrase, you should use an attribution like “according to” or “John Smith stated in a phone interview March 3, 2014” to indicate the information is from a source.

Using Block Quotes

If your interview quote is long, you will need to format it as a block quote . In Modern Language Association format, quotes that take up more than four lines of your paper must be set as a block quote. American Psychological Association suggests quotes that are 40 words or more, and Chicago Manual of Style suggests quotes of 100 words or more should be formatted as block quotes.

For APA and CMS styles, block quotes are generally indented a half inch from the left margin; MLA style requires a one-inch indentation from the left margin. This indentation is maintained for the entire quote. In all styles, do not place quotation marks around the quote; also, the in-text citation appears after the final punctuation of the quote.

In-Text Citations and Notes

After a quote, include in-text citations to indicate where the quote came from. For interviews conducted in person, over the phone or via e-mail, use the term “personal communication” in APA format, as seen in the parenthetical citation example :

(V. Pinto, personal communication, March 4, 2014).

MLA style uses author-page parenthetical citations; since no page number is available for an interview, use only the speaker’s last name in parentheses. If you mentioned the interviewee’s name in the sentence, you do not need to reiterate it with a parenthetical citation.

In CMS style, citations of unpublished interviews ideally occur in text or in notes. In a note, include the names of both the person interviewed and the interviewer; brief identifying information, such as the interviewee's profession, if appropriate; the place or date of the interview (or both, if known); and where a transcript of the interview can be found, if available.

John Smith (musicologist) in discussion with the author, February 2015.

For subsequent mentions, use a shorter footnote :

Smith, discussion.

Bibliographic Citations

APA and CMS do not require bibliographic citations for personal interviews. To cite published interviews in APA or CMS styles, follow the citation guidelines appropriate to the medium in which it was accessed.

In MLA style, follow the bibliographic citation example :

Beck, Samantha. Personal interview. 15 February 2015.

If you conducted the interview over the phone or via email, list it as a “phone” or “e-mail” rather than “personal” interview. Also in MLA style, cite the interview from a book or a video if it was not a personal communication, as in the following example :

Cohen, Joel. "An Interview With Judge Richard A. Posner." ABA Journal 1 July 2014. Print.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Quotations
Purdue Online Writing Lab: MLA Formatting Quotations
APA Style Blog: Block Quotations in APA Style
Purdue Online Writing Lab: General CMS Guidelines
Purdue Online Writing Lab: Reference List; Other Non-Print Sources
Purdue Online Writing Lab: MLA Works Cited; Other Common Sources
Purdue Online Writing Lab: Interviews and Personal Communication
The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition: University of Chicago Press Staff

Cara Batema is a musician, teacher and writer who specializes in early childhood, special needs and psychology. Since 2010, Batema has been an active writer in the fields of education, parenting, science and health. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and creative writing.

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Interviewing

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Interviewing is a great way to learn detailed information from a single individual or small number of individuals. It is very useful when you want to gain expert opinions on the subject or talk to someone knowledgeable about a topic.

Types of Interviewing

Several different types of interviews exist. You should choose one based on what kind of technology you have available to you, the availability of the individual you are interviewing, and how comfortable you feel talking to people.

Face to Face Interviews: Face to face interviews are when you sit down and talk with someone. They are beneficial because you can adapt your questioning to the answers of the person you are interviewing. You will need recording equipment for the interview, and it is highly recommended that you bring two recording devices with you in case one fails.

Phone Interviews: Phone interviews can be used when you need to interview someone who is geographically far away, who is too busy to meet with you to talk, or who does not want to use video or internet-based technology.

Email Interviews: Email interviews are less personal than face-to-face or phone interviews, but highly convenient for most individuals. You may not get as much information from someone in an email interview because you are not able to ask follow-up questions in the moment or play off the interviewee’s responses. However, email interviews are useful because they are already in a digital format.

Setting Up an Interview

When setting up an interview, be sure to be courteous and professional. Explain to the person being interviewed who you are, what you want to talk them about, and what project you are working on. Don’t be discouraged if not everyone you contact is willing to be interviewed.

Interview Do's and Dont's

When conducting interviews:

Do be careful of the types of questions you ask. See the page on Creating good survey and interview questions for more information.
Do start the interview with some small talk to give both yourself and the person you are interviewing a chance to get comfortable.
Do bring extra recording equipment in case something happens to one of your recording devices.
Do pay attention to what is being said during the interview and ask thoughtful follow-up questions.
Do come to the interview prepared. You should learn as much as you can about the person you are going to interview before the interview takes place so that you can tailor your questions to them.
Don't pester or push the person you are interviewing. If the interviwee does not want to talk about an issue, you should respect that desire.
Don't stick to your questions rigidly. If an interesting subject comes up that relates to your research, feel free to ask additional questions about it.
Don't allow the person you are interviewing to continually get off topic. If the conversation drifts, ask follow-up questions to redirect the conversation to the subject at hand.

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How To Write An Interiew Paper: Ultimate Guide

While you’re in school and studying different subjects, it can be tricky to understand each assignment’s needs and depths, especially long-form research papers that might count for a large percentage of your total grade. Writing an interview paper can involve a lot of research, require a lot of time and effort to find and schedule interviews with the right people, and write an engaging and easy-to-read piece. So here’s your ultimate blueprint on how to write an interview paper!

What Is An Interview Paper?

How to write an interview paper, the step-by-step guide on writing an interview paper, how to start an interview paper, how to write a conclusion for an interview paper, how to format an interview paper, checklist of essentials for an impressive interview paper, topics for an interview paper.

An interview paper is an intriguing but complex assignment to write about a topic that incorporates interviews and perspectives of different people on the issue. These interviews are usually with people who are stakeholders in a problem or the general public that has been inevitably affected by a country’s policy or about a particular case that caused havoc. In addition, it can also be a descriptive piece elaborating on the personal experience or anecdote of one person.

It’s definitely a learned skill and requires a lot of effort into cultivating precise questions networking to find the best people to interview (they can range from being your family members who were involved in a particular issue or have stark opinions on your topic to policymakers and governors who contributed to either passing or striking a specific act), and finally putting it all together to communicate the varying perspectives effectively without bias.

Here’s an excerpt from an interview paper example :

With the recent upsurge in mental health and psychology, many experts in the field are celebrating the increased awareness but also worry about the dissipation of false information. Especially with social media, information is communicated from one part of the world to another within seconds. It can lead to the misuse of terms and psychological context, leading to severe harm and damage. Dr. Rosen Luis, a professor of abnormal psychology at the University of Georgia, elaborated upon the issue of false information being spread on social media in a personal interview conducted last year. “As social media penetrates the global world at a more rapid rate than anything else in the world, sensitive information like that regarding mental health can easily be misused or leveraged in incorrect circumstances due to the lack of supervision on growing platforms. Social media also creates unrealistic expectations about how a mental illness should look. There’s no one distinct way a disorder manifests in everybody and can lead to different lifestyle changes for different people.” (R. Luis, Phone Interview, Jun 22, 2021)

So you might be thinking about how to write a paper based on an interview and what are the different components of such a paper? Well, a lot goes into an article of this kind, so it’s essential to break it down into separate elements so you can tackle each with great effort and accuracy to cultivate a solid assignment and fetch a top grade!

If you have the freedom to choose your topic for the assignment, it is essential that you pick up a contentious concept that is the center of debate and leads to some civil discourse. An interview paper needs to be backed with air-tight research and credible interviews taken ethically and incorporate direct, in-depth questioning and sources.

Now you may be wondering how to include an interview in a research paper, mainly because interviews often look like scripts instead of concrete research material, so it’s important to note that while your discussions will be long-form and extensive, you’ll have to pick and choose responses from your different interviews to use as quotes or credible backing for your statements within the content of the paper.

If you have no desire to get all those knowledge or experience a long tiring writing process, you can use an opportunity to buy cheap dissertation online .

To make the writing process easier, you should be absolutely sure in what to do in each step. Here is a list of steps you need to take to get a perfect interview paper.

Step 1 – Selecting the ideal topic for your paper : The topic you end up choosing for your interview paper can genuinely make or break your grade. It’s best not to look at generalized ideas or concepts that have been established as facts, as it’s unlikely that such topics will have a large-scale difference of opinion. Searching for a good case could begin with looking for issues that cause healthy discussion, differ within groups of different cultural, political, social, or economic backgrounds, and are essential conversations to have. It’s vital to ensure that the topic doesn’t cause a threat to someone’s rights, identity, or existence.
Step 2 – Ideation and Research : Now that you’ve established your topic and a basic crux of your thesis statement, you can begin ideating the direction you want to take your paper. For instance, you choose capital punishment and its use to decrease long-term crime patterns in Singapore (known to have one of the highest percentages of the executed population via capital punishment), you’ll think about whether you want to talk about its history, grassroots change, crime statistics and also decide who all you’ll want to interview. A big part of writing an interview paper is finding people from diverse backgrounds with conflicting opinions to give your readers a 360-degree view on the issue.
Step 3 – Crafting your interview questions : After having decided your topic and doing in-depth research about the same, it’s time to curate a set of interview questions that are brief, to-the-point, and extract the information you require for your assignment. Crafting good open-ended questions is a learned skill and will improve with the number of interviews you prep for. Ensure that all your questions are about the topic, fact-checked, and easy to understand for the interviewee.
Step 4 – Taking the interviews : Once the interview blueprint is ready, you’ve to schedule and conduct interviews with the people you’re choosing to talk to (it is preferred that you conduct interviews in-person, so it is as personal and direct as possible). Be sure to ask your questions clearly and record the interviewee’s responses using a recording device so you can precisely transcribe the answers afterward. It’s crucial that your interviewee feels comfortable talking to you about the topic, especially if it is something very sensitive and personal. Good interview ethics also involve letting your respondent know they can communicate if they want something they spoke about to be scratched out of the interview.If you’re planning on using published interviews, you can skip the third and fourth steps and pick up essential quotes from the already published interviews. Remember to cite the quotes in the correct format so that you don’t get into any unnecessary plagiarism issues.
Step 5 – Creating an outline : With regards to the obtained interview responses, you’ll create a very detailed skeleton for the interview paper, so you know precisely which idea goes where. This will help you when you finally get down to writing the actual essay, as you’ll be able to keep track of your different ideas, quotes, and sources and establish an engaging flow. You can also spend some time writing transitionary sentences that you’ll use when you move from one paragraph to the next.
Step 6 – Writing the paper : Now that you’re done with all the back-end research, interviewing, and outlining, you’ve to sit down and fill in the gaps to produce a stellar essay. You have all the elements you need to decrease your distractions, be charged up, and just write it out. Contrary to popular belief, writing is actually a learned skill. Even if you don’t believe you’re as good with words as others, learning a few tips and tricks can easily elevate your writing to a notch above. Using precise and appropriate vocabulary, leveraging analogies, metaphors, and other language elements to convey your ideas, and having perfect grammar and syntax are some of the ways you can better your writing.

The basics of any paper are a thesis statement, introduction, body, and conclusion. You would’ve formulated your thesis statement while ideating the direction you wanted to take your paper in, and through the outline, you’ve hopefully followed the one-idea, one paragraph to give rise to a well-constructed body. Here’s some guidance on the two components that determine the first impression and last impression your reader has of the paper:

The introduction of your interview paper is the first thing that the reader looks at, so it’s crucial to hook the reader to keep them engaged to follow through with reading the paper. You can include:

Your thesis statement Intriguing data about your topic A quote from one of your interviewees Citing any information that’s been in the news with regards to your topic

The purpose of a catchy introduction is to connect the idea at hand to the reader’s life and intrigue them enough to learn more about the issue.

For example , if you’re writing on the capital punishment topic, beginning with an alarming statistic to depict the dire need to start a serious conversation about its effectiveness or ineffectiveness could hook the reader very well:

“ Juxtaposing the modern ideals of reformation and change, over 400 individuals have been giving the death penalty in Singapore since 1991″

Like any research paper, a firm conclusion is a must in a well-written interview paper. Since your paper will deal with some contrasting ideas, summarizing all the perspectives while shedding more light on the thesis statement will hook your reader to think about the information and views brought up in your essay long after they finish reading. Though this is one of the many assignments you’ve to write for school, interview papers dealing with conflicting real-life issues also contribute to social change via beginning civil discourse and fact-oriented discussion on important causes.

Step 7 – Citing the sources : It’s vital that after you finish the contents of your essay, you spend time formatting your interview paper in the correct format and cite all of your sources in the needed manner (e.g., MLA, APA, etc.). It’ll help provide credibility to your arguments, show that you delved into air-tight research for your topic, and protect you from any coincidental issues in plagiarism checkers.
Step 8 – Revision : It’s believed that looking at your paper, especially one you’ve spent hours on, with a fresh set of eyes, gives you a better perspective on things to change and helps you spot any missed grammar and style errors. You can finish your draft, take a nap, get back to the assignment and make the changes, read it aloud to make any mistakes more noticeable, or even ask a friend to have a read-through.

It’s essential that you know the interview paper format to be able to present a well-written, researched, and formatted assignment for an excellent grade. So here are some steps on how to write an interview paper in APA format –

If you’re citing a personal interview that you conducted in the course of writing the piece, here’s the format to follow:

Include the name of the interviewee and their qualifications, job description, and experience Mention the purpose of involving them in your research paper Incorporate a couple of quotes from their interview Cite the interview in the correct APA format

For, e.g., – (Interviewee first name initial & last name, interview format, date of interview)

If you’re citing an already published interview of someone in the field, the way you format the quotes in the paper and the bibliography should follow the format of the document in which you found the interview. Say you found an interview of a renowned politician in a social science journal that followed the MLA format; you must follow the same and cite the social science journal as your source.

To have peace of mind that you’ve done everything you needed for the perfect interview paper, here’s a short checklist you can quickly run through before submitting your assignment

Included all interviewees point’s of view Remained neutral while elaborating on others’ opinions even if you have a solid personal perspective on the subject Followed the one-idea, one-paragraph rule and included well-written transitory sentences Utilized precise and high-level vocabulary and sentence structure Proofread the essay to rid it of any grammar or syntax inconsistencies Used the correct format to cite sources within the paper and in the bibliography

What role do you think your genetics play in your character compared to your upbringing?
Are beauty standards unrealistic?
Is social media connecting or disconnecting people?
Should abortion be a topic of policy?
Should age-old prisons be reconstructed to fit modern ideas of reformation and change?
Do nursing homes contribute to the well-being of the older generation?
Should marijuana be legalized?
Should the same humanitarian and crime laws apply in times of war?
Should gun rights be ubiquitous?
Is capital punishment leading to grassroots change?
Should society be capitalist, socialist, or an amalgamation of both?
Should cloning be legal?
Is the concept of marriage as idolized as it used to be?
Is choosing to be child-free selfish?
Should the rich pay more tax?
Are our immigration policies outdated in a globalized world?
Should celebrities be more accountable for their actions than the average person?
Are companies doing enough to contribute to climate change effects?
Should holistic therapies be considered certified medical treatments?
Should upbringing be gendered?
Is having kids in a time of such turmoil ethical?
Should prostitution be legalized?
How should racism or homophobia be combated on an individual level?
College degrees and their relevance in the digital age
Going vegan v/s consuming meat: What’s better for the climate?
How important is your religion to you?
Are money and happiness correlated?
How much does early-child development affect one’s mental health into adulthood?
Is stealing ever okay?
Are arranged marriages still as popular?

Not Interested in Writing Paper by Yourself?

Getting started with an interview paper can feel intimidating, mainly since it entails so much work – in-depth research on the topic and the history of debate behind it, setting up and curating tailored interviews with people relevant to the topic, and so much more. While you juggle several courses and assignments and other extracurricular work at high school or college, it can be challenging to submit well-written papers that will put you at the top of your class.

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3 Writing Up the Methods Section

Published: May 2013
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This chapter focuses on how to write up the methodological procedures of an interview study. It considers both standard formats for writing-up methodological procedures and non-traditional formats in which methodological descriptions are often integrated into the more general narrative of the text. The chapter first provides an overview of the most common elements that comprise interview reports, such as dissertations, journal articles, or monographs. It then presents three different ways of conceiving of the methods section—as a prelude to the analysis and findings, as a postscript, and as embedded in the interpretation itself. It concludes with reflections on how to deal with the idea that, in qualitative interview research, the researcher is the most important “methodological instrument.”

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Am J Pharm Educ
v.74(8); 2010 Oct 11

Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative Research

The purpose of this paper is to help authors to think about ways to present qualitative research papers in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education . It also discusses methods for reviewers to assess the rigour, quality, and usefulness of qualitative research. Examples of different ways to present data from interviews, observations, and focus groups are included. The paper concludes with guidance for publishing qualitative research and a checklist for authors and reviewers.

INTRODUCTION

Policy and practice decisions, including those in education, increasingly are informed by findings from qualitative as well as quantitative research. Qualitative research is useful to policymakers because it often describes the settings in which policies will be implemented. Qualitative research is also useful to both pharmacy practitioners and pharmacy academics who are involved in researching educational issues in both universities and practice and in developing teaching and learning.

Qualitative research involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data that are not easily reduced to numbers. These data relate to the social world and the concepts and behaviors of people within it. Qualitative research can be found in all social sciences and in the applied fields that derive from them, for example, research in health services, nursing, and pharmacy. 1 It looks at X in terms of how X varies in different circumstances rather than how big is X or how many Xs are there? 2 Textbooks often subdivide research into qualitative and quantitative approaches, furthering the common assumption that there are fundamental differences between the 2 approaches. With pharmacy educators who have been trained in the natural and clinical sciences, there is often a tendency to embrace quantitative research, perhaps due to familiarity. A growing consensus is emerging that sees both qualitative and quantitative approaches as useful to answering research questions and understanding the world. Increasingly mixed methods research is being carried out where the researcher explicitly combines the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the study. 3 , 4

Like healthcare, education involves complex human interactions that can rarely be studied or explained in simple terms. Complex educational situations demand complex understanding; thus, the scope of educational research can be extended by the use of qualitative methods. Qualitative research can sometimes provide a better understanding of the nature of educational problems and thus add to insights into teaching and learning in a number of contexts. For example, at the University of Nottingham, we conducted in-depth interviews with pharmacists to determine their perceptions of continuing professional development and who had influenced their learning. We also have used a case study approach using observation of practice and in-depth interviews to explore physiotherapists' views of influences on their leaning in practice. We have conducted in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders in Malawi, Africa, to explore the issues surrounding pharmacy academic capacity building. A colleague has interviewed and conducted focus groups with students to explore cultural issues as part of a joint Nottingham-Malaysia pharmacy degree program. Another colleague has interviewed pharmacists and patients regarding their expectations before and after clinic appointments and then observed pharmacist-patient communication in clinics and assessed it using the Calgary Cambridge model in order to develop recommendations for communication skills training. 5 We have also performed documentary analysis on curriculum data to compare pharmacist and nurse supplementary prescribing courses in the United Kingdom.

It is important to choose the most appropriate methods for what is being investigated. Qualitative research is not appropriate to answer every research question and researchers need to think carefully about their objectives. Do they wish to study a particular phenomenon in depth (eg, students' perceptions of studying in a different culture)? Or are they more interested in making standardized comparisons and accounting for variance (eg, examining differences in examination grades after changing the way the content of a module is taught). Clearly a quantitative approach would be more appropriate in the last example. As with any research project, a clear research objective has to be identified to know which methods should be applied.

Types of qualitative data include:

Audio recordings and transcripts from in-depth or semi-structured interviews
Structured interview questionnaires containing substantial open comments including a substantial number of responses to open comment items.
Audio recordings and transcripts from focus group sessions.
Field notes (notes taken by the researcher while in the field [setting] being studied)
Video recordings (eg, lecture delivery, class assignments, laboratory performance)
Case study notes
Documents (reports, meeting minutes, e-mails)
Diaries, video diaries
Observation notes
Press clippings
Photographs

RIGOUR IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative research is often criticized as biased, small scale, anecdotal, and/or lacking rigor; however, when it is carried out properly it is unbiased, in depth, valid, reliable, credible and rigorous. In qualitative research, there needs to be a way of assessing the “extent to which claims are supported by convincing evidence.” 1 Although the terms reliability and validity traditionally have been associated with quantitative research, increasingly they are being seen as important concepts in qualitative research as well. Examining the data for reliability and validity assesses both the objectivity and credibility of the research. Validity relates to the honesty and genuineness of the research data, while reliability relates to the reproducibility and stability of the data.

The validity of research findings refers to the extent to which the findings are an accurate representation of the phenomena they are intended to represent. The reliability of a study refers to the reproducibility of the findings. Validity can be substantiated by a number of techniques including triangulation use of contradictory evidence, respondent validation, and constant comparison. Triangulation is using 2 or more methods to study the same phenomenon. Contradictory evidence, often known as deviant cases, must be sought out, examined, and accounted for in the analysis to ensure that researcher bias does not interfere with or alter their perception of the data and any insights offered. Respondent validation, which is allowing participants to read through the data and analyses and provide feedback on the researchers' interpretations of their responses, provides researchers with a method of checking for inconsistencies, challenges the researchers' assumptions, and provides them with an opportunity to re-analyze their data. The use of constant comparison means that one piece of data (for example, an interview) is compared with previous data and not considered on its own, enabling researchers to treat the data as a whole rather than fragmenting it. Constant comparison also enables the researcher to identify emerging/unanticipated themes within the research project.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative researchers have been criticized for overusing interviews and focus groups at the expense of other methods such as ethnography, observation, documentary analysis, case studies, and conversational analysis. Qualitative research has numerous strengths when properly conducted.

Strengths of Qualitative Research

Issues can be examined in detail and in depth.
Interviews are not restricted to specific questions and can be guided/redirected by the researcher in real time.
The research framework and direction can be quickly revised as new information emerges.
The data based on human experience that is obtained is powerful and sometimes more compelling than quantitative data.
Subtleties and complexities about the research subjects and/or topic are discovered that are often missed by more positivistic enquiries.
Data usually are collected from a few cases or individuals so findings cannot be generalized to a larger population. Findings can however be transferable to another setting.

Limitations of Qualitative Research

Research quality is heavily dependent on the individual skills of the researcher and more easily influenced by the researcher's personal biases and idiosyncrasies.
Rigor is more difficult to maintain, assess, and demonstrate.
The volume of data makes analysis and interpretation time consuming.
It is sometimes not as well understood and accepted as quantitative research within the scientific community
The researcher's presence during data gathering, which is often unavoidable in qualitative research, can affect the subjects' responses.
Issues of anonymity and confidentiality can present problems when presenting findings
Findings can be more difficult and time consuming to characterize in a visual way.

PRESENTATION OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH FINDINGS

The following extracts are examples of how qualitative data might be presented:

Data From an Interview.

The following is an example of how to present and discuss a quote from an interview.

The researcher should select quotes that are poignant and/or most representative of the research findings. Including large portions of an interview in a research paper is not necessary and often tedious for the reader. The setting and speakers should be established in the text at the end of the quote.

The student describes how he had used deep learning in a dispensing module. He was able to draw on learning from a previous module, “I found that while using the e learning programme I was able to apply the knowledge and skills that I had gained in last year's diseases and goals of treatment module.” (interviewee 22, male)

This is an excerpt from an article on curriculum reform that used interviews 5 :

The first question was, “Without the accreditation mandate, how much of this curriculum reform would have been attempted?” According to respondents, accreditation played a significant role in prompting the broad-based curricular change, and their comments revealed a nuanced view. Most indicated that the change would likely have occurred even without the mandate from the accreditation process: “It reflects where the profession wants to be … training a professional who wants to take on more responsibility.” However, they also commented that “if it were not mandated, it could have been a very difficult road.” Or it “would have happened, but much later.” The change would more likely have been incremental, “evolutionary,” or far more limited in its scope. “Accreditation tipped the balance” was the way one person phrased it. “Nobody got serious until the accrediting body said it would no longer accredit programs that did not change.”

Data From Observations

The following example is some data taken from observation of pharmacist patient consultations using the Calgary Cambridge guide. 6 , 7 The data are first presented and a discussion follows:

Pharmacist: We will soon be starting a stop smoking clinic. Patient: Is the interview over now? Pharmacist: No this is part of it. (Laughs) You can't tell me to bog off (sic) yet. (pause) We will be starting a stop smoking service here, Patient: Yes. Pharmacist: with one-to-one and we will be able to help you or try to help you. If you want it. In this example, the pharmacist has picked up from the patient's reaction to the stop smoking clinic that she is not receptive to advice about giving up smoking at this time; in fact she would rather end the consultation. The pharmacist draws on his prior relationship with the patient and makes use of a joke to lighten the tone. He feels his message is important enough to persevere but he presents the information in a succinct and non-pressurised way. His final comment of “If you want it” is important as this makes it clear that he is not putting any pressure on the patient to take up this offer. This extract shows that some patient cues were picked up, and appropriately dealt with, but this was not the case in all examples.

Data From Focus Groups

This excerpt from a study involving 11 focus groups illustrates how findings are presented using representative quotes from focus group participants. 8

Those pharmacists who were initially familiar with CPD endorsed the model for their peers, and suggested it had made a meaningful difference in the way they viewed their own practice. In virtually all focus groups sessions, pharmacists familiar with and supportive of the CPD paradigm had worked in collaborative practice environments such as hospital pharmacy practice. For these pharmacists, the major advantage of CPD was the linking of workplace learning with continuous education. One pharmacist stated, “It's amazing how much I have to learn every day, when I work as a pharmacist. With [the learning portfolio] it helps to show how much learning we all do, every day. It's kind of satisfying to look it over and see how much you accomplish.” Within many of the learning portfolio-sharing sessions, debates emerged regarding the true value of traditional continuing education and its outcome in changing an individual's practice. While participants appreciated the opportunity for social and professional networking inherent in some forms of traditional CE, most eventually conceded that the academic value of most CE programming was limited by the lack of a systematic process for following-up and implementing new learning in the workplace. “Well it's nice to go to these [continuing education] events, but really, I don't know how useful they are. You go, you sit, you listen, but then, well I at least forget.”

The following is an extract from a focus group (conducted by the author) with first-year pharmacy students about community placements. It illustrates how focus groups provide a chance for participants to discuss issues on which they might disagree.

Interviewer: So you are saying that you would prefer health related placements? Student 1: Not exactly so long as I could be developing my communication skill. Student 2: Yes but I still think the more health related the placement is the more I'll gain from it. Student 3: I disagree because other people related skills are useful and you may learn those from taking part in a community project like building a garden. Interviewer: So would you prefer a mixture of health and non health related community placements?

GUIDANCE FOR PUBLISHING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Qualitative research is becoming increasingly accepted and published in pharmacy and medical journals. Some journals and publishers have guidelines for presenting qualitative research, for example, the British Medical Journal 9 and Biomedcentral . 10 Medical Education published a useful series of articles on qualitative research. 11 Some of the important issues that should be considered by authors, reviewers and editors when publishing qualitative research are discussed below.

Introduction.

A good introduction provides a brief overview of the manuscript, including the research question and a statement justifying the research question and the reasons for using qualitative research methods. This section also should provide background information, including relevant literature from pharmacy, medicine, and other health professions, as well as literature from the field of education that addresses similar issues. Any specific educational or research terminology used in the manuscript should be defined in the introduction.

The methods section should clearly state and justify why the particular method, for example, face to face semistructured interviews, was chosen. The method should be outlined and illustrated with examples such as the interview questions, focusing exercises, observation criteria, etc. The criteria for selecting the study participants should then be explained and justified. The way in which the participants were recruited and by whom also must be stated. A brief explanation/description should be included of those who were invited to participate but chose not to. It is important to consider “fair dealing,” ie, whether the research design explicitly incorporates a wide range of different perspectives so that the viewpoint of 1 group is never presented as if it represents the sole truth about any situation. The process by which ethical and or research/institutional governance approval was obtained should be described and cited.

The study sample and the research setting should be described. Sampling differs between qualitative and quantitative studies. In quantitative survey studies, it is important to select probability samples so that statistics can be used to provide generalizations to the population from which the sample was drawn. Qualitative research necessitates having a small sample because of the detailed and intensive work required for the study. So sample sizes are not calculated using mathematical rules and probability statistics are not applied. Instead qualitative researchers should describe their sample in terms of characteristics and relevance to the wider population. Purposive sampling is common in qualitative research. Particular individuals are chosen with characteristics relevant to the study who are thought will be most informative. Purposive sampling also may be used to produce maximum variation within a sample. Participants being chosen based for example, on year of study, gender, place of work, etc. Representative samples also may be used, for example, 20 students from each of 6 schools of pharmacy. Convenience samples involve the researcher choosing those who are either most accessible or most willing to take part. This may be fine for exploratory studies; however, this form of sampling may be biased and unrepresentative of the population in question. Theoretical sampling uses insights gained from previous research to inform sample selection for a new study. The method for gaining informed consent from the participants should be described, as well as how anonymity and confidentiality of subjects were guaranteed. The method of recording, eg, audio or video recording, should be noted, along with procedures used for transcribing the data.

Data Analysis.

A description of how the data were analyzed also should be included. Was computer-aided qualitative data analysis software such as NVivo (QSR International, Cambridge, MA) used? Arrival at “data saturation” or the end of data collection should then be described and justified. A good rule when considering how much information to include is that readers should have been given enough information to be able to carry out similar research themselves.

One of the strengths of qualitative research is the recognition that data must always be understood in relation to the context of their production. 1 The analytical approach taken should be described in detail and theoretically justified in light of the research question. If the analysis was repeated by more than 1 researcher to ensure reliability or trustworthiness, this should be stated and methods of resolving any disagreements clearly described. Some researchers ask participants to check the data. If this was done, it should be fully discussed in the paper.

An adequate account of how the findings were produced should be included A description of how the themes and concepts were derived from the data also should be included. Was an inductive or deductive process used? The analysis should not be limited to just those issues that the researcher thinks are important, anticipated themes, but also consider issues that participants raised, ie, emergent themes. Qualitative researchers must be open regarding the data analysis and provide evidence of their thinking, for example, were alternative explanations for the data considered and dismissed, and if so, why were they dismissed? It also is important to present outlying or negative/deviant cases that did not fit with the central interpretation.

The interpretation should usually be grounded in interviewees or respondents' contributions and may be semi-quantified, if this is possible or appropriate, for example, “Half of the respondents said …” “The majority said …” “Three said…” Readers should be presented with data that enable them to “see what the researcher is talking about.” 1 Sufficient data should be presented to allow the reader to clearly see the relationship between the data and the interpretation of the data. Qualitative data conventionally are presented by using illustrative quotes. Quotes are “raw data” and should be compiled and analyzed, not just listed. There should be an explanation of how the quotes were chosen and how they are labeled. For example, have pseudonyms been given to each respondent or are the respondents identified using codes, and if so, how? It is important for the reader to be able to see that a range of participants have contributed to the data and that not all the quotes are drawn from 1 or 2 individuals. There is a tendency for authors to overuse quotes and for papers to be dominated by a series of long quotes with little analysis or discussion. This should be avoided.

Participants do not always state the truth and may say what they think the interviewer wishes to hear. A good qualitative researcher should not only examine what people say but also consider how they structured their responses and how they talked about the subject being discussed, for example, the person's emotions, tone, nonverbal communication, etc. If the research was triangulated with other qualitative or quantitative data, this should be discussed.

Discussion.

The findings should be presented in the context of any similar previous research and or theories. A discussion of the existing literature and how this present research contributes to the area should be included. A consideration must also be made about how transferrable the research would be to other settings. Any particular strengths and limitations of the research also should be discussed. It is common practice to include some discussion within the results section of qualitative research and follow with a concluding discussion.

The author also should reflect on their own influence on the data, including a consideration of how the researcher(s) may have introduced bias to the results. The researcher should critically examine their own influence on the design and development of the research, as well as on data collection and interpretation of the data, eg, were they an experienced teacher who researched teaching methods? If so, they should discuss how this might have influenced their interpretation of the results.

Conclusion.

The conclusion should summarize the main findings from the study and emphasize what the study adds to knowledge in the area being studied. Mays and Pope suggest the researcher ask the following 3 questions to determine whether the conclusions of a qualitative study are valid 12 : How well does this analysis explain why people behave in the way they do? How comprehensible would this explanation be to a thoughtful participant in the setting? How well does the explanation cohere with what we already know?

CHECKLIST FOR QUALITATIVE PAPERS

This paper establishes criteria for judging the quality of qualitative research. It provides guidance for authors and reviewers to prepare and review qualitative research papers for the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education . A checklist is provided in Appendix 1 to assist both authors and reviewers of qualitative data.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to the 3 reviewers whose ideas helped me to shape this paper.

Appendix 1. Checklist for authors and reviewers of qualitative research.

Introduction

□ Research question is clearly stated.
□ Research question is justified and related to the existing knowledge base (empirical research, theory, policy).
□ Any specific research or educational terminology used later in manuscript is defined.
□ The process by which ethical and or research/institutional governance approval was obtained is described and cited.
□ Reason for choosing particular research method is stated.
□ Criteria for selecting study participants are explained and justified.
□ Recruitment methods are explicitly stated.
□ Details of who chose not to participate and why are given.
□ Study sample and research setting used are described.
□ Method for gaining informed consent from the participants is described.
□ Maintenance/Preservation of subject anonymity and confidentiality is described.
□ Method of recording data (eg, audio or video recording) and procedures for transcribing data are described.
□ Methods are outlined and examples given (eg, interview guide).
□ Decision to stop data collection is described and justified.
□ Data analysis and verification are described, including by whom they were performed.
□ Methods for identifying/extrapolating themes and concepts from the data are discussed.
□ Sufficient data are presented to allow a reader to assess whether or not the interpretation is supported by the data.
□ Outlying or negative/deviant cases that do not fit with the central interpretation are presented.
□ Transferability of research findings to other settings is discussed.
□ Findings are presented in the context of any similar previous research and social theories.
□ Discussion often is incorporated into the results in qualitative papers.
□ A discussion of the existing literature and how this present research contributes to the area is included.
□ Any particular strengths and limitations of the research are discussed.
□ Reflection of the influence of the researcher(s) on the data, including a consideration of how the researcher(s) may have introduced bias to the results is included.

Conclusions

□ The conclusion states the main finings of the study and emphasizes what the study adds to knowledge in the subject area.

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite an Interview in APA

How to Cite an Interview in APA

Interviews can be a extremely useful sources of information on almost any topic. Whether it be in the form of a video or an online article, this helpful guide will show you how to cite interviews for your APA-style research paper. All citations follow APA 7th edition.

Guide Overview

Here’s a run-through of everything this page includes:

Citing a personal interview

Citing a published interview, interview published as an online article, interview published as youtube video, interview from a research participant, radio interview recording in a digital archive, troubleshooting.

APA reference lists only include works that can be found by the reader. As a personal interview is not published or “findable,” it should not be included in an APA reference list. Instead, a personal interview should be referenced as a parenthetical citation.

Parenthetical citation example:

(J. Smith, personal communication, May 17, 2008).

Any personal interview conducted via the following methods (and that are unpublished) can be considered personal communication:

in-person interview
phone interview
text messages
online chats
unrecorded lectures

If you would like to include a personal interview as part of your APA reference list, then include the interviewee, the date of the interview, and the type of interview.

Interview Citation Structure:

Last name, F. (Year, Month date). Personal communication [Communication type].

Interview Citation Example:

Cloyd, A. (2014, July 29). Personal communication [Personal interview].

MacInnes, P. (2021, August 24). Ellie Simmonds: ‘I’ve found the expectations harder as I’ve got older.’ The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/24/ellie-simmonds-expectations-tokyo-paralympics-interview

In-text citation, parenthetical example:

In-text citation, narrative example:

Reference list entry examples:

60 Minutes Australia. (2018, June 23). Meet the tallest man in the world [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjG6qIfoMeI

O’Brien, C. [Team Coco]. (2021, June 11). Tig Notaro full interview – CONAN on TBS [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imMsszmCdr4 

Quotations from a research participant are from your original research; therefore, they are not included in the reference list or treated as personal communications. When citing a direct quotation from a participant’s interview, indicate in the text that the quotation is coming from a participant.

In-text example:

Participant “Steven” described his experience at the company as “difficult but rewarding.”

When referencing an interview that is housed in a digital or a physical archive, you must credit the interviewee as the author.

Krashen, S. (1983, May 4). The basics of writing [Interview]. USC Archive; University of Southern California. https://libraries.usc.edu/locations/special-collections-department/university-archives

Here’s a quick video overview of how to cite an interview in APA:

Solution #1: How to cite a text message or personal email in APA

Personal emails or text messages are considered forms of personal communication. Since they are unpublished and cannot be accessed by anyone else, they should not be included on the reference sheet. An in-text citation should be made indicating that it was obtained through personal communication, including the person’s name and the date that the communication happened.

(Email writer’s first initial and last name, personal communication, date message was received in Month Day, Year format)

(A. Washington, personal communication, December 10, 2021)

Solution #2: How to cite a professor’s lecture you attended in-person in APA

Unless the lecture has been recorded and published, notes and quotes collected from a lecture are considered forms of personal communication. Therefore, it does not need to be included on your reference sheet according to APA guidelines. An in-text citation should be made indicating that the information or quote was obtained through personal communication, the date it was retrieved, and the professor’s name.

In-text citation structure & example:

(Professor’s first initial and last name, personal communication, date of lecture in Month Day, Year format)

(P. Espinoza, personal communication, April 30, 2019)

If it is required to cite the lecture in the reference sheet, the entry needs to include the same information.

Reference list entry structure & example:

Professor’s last name, first initial. (Year, Month Day). Personal Communication. [Lecture]

Espinoza, P. (2019, April 30). Personal Communication. [Lecture]

If the lecture has been recorded and is available online, it must be included in the reference sheet and is no longer considered a form of personal communication.

Professor’s last name, first initial. (Year, Month Day). Lecture name. Source of publication. URL.

Espinoza, P. (2019, April 30). Mesopotamia. University of Chegg. https://example.website.here.

APA Formatting Guide

APA Formatting

Annotated Bibliography
Block Quotes
et al Usage
In-text Citations
Multiple Authors
Paraphrasing
Page Numbers
Parenthetical Citations
Reference Page
Sample Paper
APA 7 Updates
View APA Guide

Citation Examples

Book Chapter
Journal Article
Magazine Article
Newspaper Article
Website (no author)
View all APA Examples

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To cite an online interview, you need to know what format the interview is in. Was it an online video? An online article? A podcast? Whatever the medium (video, article, podcast, etc.), create a citation as you would normally for that medium. The author is usually the interviewer’s (or publishing company’s) name.

In-text citation template and examples:

When citing information from an interview, make it clear who the interviewee (the person being interviewed) was. If you are citing a quote, include the location of where the quote came from. That could be a page number (p. 22), paragraph number (para. 12), or timestamp (1:42).

Here is an example of a video interview on YouTube.

Author Surname or Organization (Publication Year)

Manufacturing Intellect (2020) published a video of Romney Wheeler interviewing Bertrand Russell.

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

In one interview with Romeny Wheely, the philosopher Bertrand Russell said, “I wanted to know whether there is any truth in realities known, and I thought if there was any, it’s probably in mathematics” (Manufacturing Intellect, 2020, 8:58-9:05).

Reference list entry template and example:

Author Name. (Date published). Title of the video [Format]. Video Site Name. URL

Manufacturing Intellect. (2020, July 10). A conversation with Bertrand Russell [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL_sMXfzzyA (Original work broadcast in 1952)

An interview is a talk or an exchange of information via electronic media. An interview can be published or unpublished, depending upon the type and nature of the interview. Interviews can be any of the following types:

Published interview

Personal interview

Interview of participants in a study

Interviews appearing in newspapers, magazines, television programs, YouTube videos, podcasts, and radio broadcasting will fall under this category. Here is a template and an example of how a published interview is cited in the text:

(Author Last Name, date of interview)

(Fuller, 2018)

If you get details through emails or phone calls to make the statement in your paper effective, you need to cite them as “personal communication,” since they cannot be published. A few examples of interviews that need to be treated as personal communications include:

interview on the telephone
text messages or emails

(Author Last Name, personal communication, date of interview)

(Sethusankar, personal communication, December 2, 2016)

If you interview your participants as a part of your study, APA style doesn’t require you to cite them. However, follow the APA guidelines on how to present the interview of participants.

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How to Use Transcribed Interviews to Write Research Articles

Rev › Blog › Transcription Blog › How to Use Transcribed Interviews to Write Research Articles

Publish or perish – that’s what they tell you. The academic world thrives on quality, sustained, original knowledge production. And “publish or perish” is also an economic pressure . Frequent publishing brings funding to an institution. It also improves the prospects of the scholar.

But while academics need to reference respected, verifiable sources, nothing adds value to a paper quite like original research. A research interview can boost the value of your work as a primary source. Recorded testimony brings new facts and ideas to light.

However, the flipside of generating original research through interviews is the additional material you need to process. You need to carefully transcribe your interview to work with it and reference it, and though there are many interview transcription uses, the process can be time-consuming work. That’s why many scholars use an online transcription service.

What Are the Advantages of Using Research Interviews in Qualitative Research

Qualitative research takes a humanistic approach to exploring and understanding an issue.

The primary sources of qualitative research include interviews, focus group sessions, observation, archive documents, and field recordings. These primary sources are highly valuable to academic work. They illustrate original thinking and research, and they create material “for the record”. Although primary sources are not without bias, they can help temper the scholar’s natural bias.

Research interviews can also add valuable context to quantitative research. Interviews add color and meaning to your work, making your findings comprehensible and applicable. And they add a human element to academic work to prevent it coming across as “dry”.

Using interview transcripts is also a high-value, low-cost way to quickly generate ideas and material for your research.

Why Get A Transcription of Your Qualitative Research Interview?

Part of the value of a primary source is its dependability. Secondary sources may suffer from “broken telephone” syndrome or acquired bias. But with an interview, you’re telling the academic world: this is what I heard.

To give these findings credibility, you need a high-quality, verbatim transcript. Your peers and readers should be able to verify – and hopefully, one day cite! – your original research. You owe it to your interview subject and to your discipline to create a precise record.

But a transcript is not just for the record, it is also a valuable tool when structuring and writing your paper. You can easily copy it into your Word document and move it around. An interview transcript with a timecode is easy to annotate and return to when looking for an important detail. Re-reading the transcript at your own pace also helps you engage with the material.

Three Ways to Get an Audio Transcript of your Research Interview

So, an audio transcript is a pretty good tool. It generates ideas, improves accuracy, and lends credibility to your academic paper.

But how to do it? Let’s look at the three main options.

1. Transcribe the Interview Yourself

The old-fashioned way to transcribe an interview is to sit with your recording and write it all down yourself. The advantage of doing this is that it doesn’t cost you a thing – financially, at least. Unfortunately, it takes most people around four hours to transcribe just one hour of audio—and that’s if it’s a good, clear recording. So, the cost is to your valuable time.

Transcribing by hand is not a lot of fun unless it’s really what you like to do. It takes a lot of skipping back and forth in your digital recording. You need to keep checking back to fix typos and verify that you haven’t made a mistake in this important document. It is time and energy you could better use developing your original material.

2. Use a Human Online Transcription Service

There are two ways to transcribe your work online: hire a professional human transcriber or use automatic transcription software.

Having mentioned that transcribing is not a lot of fun, a professional human transcriber is somebody who does enjoy the process. Trained transcribers may complete the work up to twice as quickly as the uninitiated. Rev’s transcription team has the training and experience to complete your transcription to a highly accurate standard (minimum 99% accuracy guaranteed).

To use the service, simply upload your audio or digital file to your Rev account. Rev will email you with your finished transcript within 12 hours – and often, sooner. It costs $1.50 per audio minute. Optional extras include timestamps and verbatim transcription if the ums, ahs, and stutters are essential for your work.

As a side-note, if you’re not sure how you’re going to record your interview in the first place: try downloading Rev’s free voice recorder app to your phone.

3. Use Speech Recognition Software

The closest alternative to hiring a human transcriber is to use an automated transcription service. Highly-developed software “listens” to your recording and returns a written document for you to edit and use in your research. The main advantages of automated transcription over human transcription are:

Save time . A robot is doing the work, so automated transcription is near-instantaneous. Rev’s speech recognition service returns your completed transcript in under five minutes.
Save money . Rev’s automated service costs just $0.25 per minute of audio, i.e., 20 minutes for $5.

Automated transcription is great if you’re in a hurry or on a tight budget. The only reservations are that your audio recording needs to be clear with little background noise and you’ll receive a lower accuracy than human transcription. Rev’s industry-leading automated transcription is around 80% accurate or more – so you’ll want to double-check your transcript before quoting it in your paper.

Publish and Perish Ye Not

If you create qualitative research, you’ll benefit from conducting research interviews. And if you conduct interviews for your research, you need transcription.

Using an online transcription service like Rev takes the pain out of transcribing an interview. And it gives you back valuable time for knowledge production. Why not try it for your next interview?

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Write an A+ Interview Paper Using Our Tips and Examples

06 September, 2021

13 minutes read

Author: Josh Carlyle

You will quickly find yourself with your back to the wall once your teacher assigns you an interview paper. Studying is often a headache by itself, and now you have to conduct interviews. Worse yet, you probably have no idea how you can do this. Luckily, we will tell you how to write an interview paper step by step in this comprehensive guide. So prepare your favorite drink and learn how to write a top-notch interview paper.

What is an Interview Paper?

An interview paper provides an expert opinion on a specific issue. In essence, it is an interview transcript inserted somewhere between the introduction and conclusion of an academic piece.

How long should it be? It depends on the topic and the length of your interview, but most papers are within the length of 2,000 – 5,000 words. What things should you consider before writing an interview paper in the first place? Let’s check them out below.

General Aspects of Writing an Interview Paper

Academic papers require you to provide arguments based on studies, research pieces, statistics, etc. But an interview paper is different – for this type of essay, you will develop assumptions around an expert’s opinion.

Let’s imagine your essay question reads the following: “Should we ban abortions?” If you write an interview paper, you should ask someone high-powered for their consideration. Let them be an executive director of the American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society.

You would reach them via email or phone or whatever communication channel you prefer and conduct an interview. Afterward, you would put all your findings on paper.

But in practice, writing an interview paper involves many more complexities and challenges, like planning, topic research , drafting, etc.

Let’s speak straight facts: nobody will reschedule their week to meet you because you need to do some homework. You’re one of the millions of students, and the local governor or a famous scientist won’t give you an interview nine times out of ten.

So you would want to target someone less busy, like professors from other faculties of your college or some researchers within your academic environment. Hunting a bigger fish is pointless unless you’re a well-established journalist working for a popular media channel. If you struggle to find someone within your college/university, you can contact people from your circle.

Writing Outline and Structure of an Interview Paper

As you know, a typical paper consists of three parts:

Introduction. This part includes background information, the hook, the thesis statement, and the transition.
Body. It is the longest part of the paper consisting of several paragraphs. It should contain the actual interview.
Conclusion. The final part summarizes the considerations and insights of your essay.

The question is: ‘where should you put an interview transcript and how do you do this?’

To answer this question, you need to come up with the interview papers format in the first place. There are several of them:

The narrative format implies that you can use either direct or indirect speech when referring to your interviewee. If you choose this path, you can stick to a 5-paragraph essay structure, retell the considerations of your interviewee, and cite their words here and there at your discretion.

You can also choose this format if you contact several people. Check what a narrative interview paper structure looks like when you reach out to several people:

Introduction.
Paragraph #1 – the first interviewee’s perspective.
Paragraph #2 – the second interviewee’s opinion.
Paragraph #3 – the third interviewee’s thoughts.
Conclusion.

Alternatively, you can dedicate each paragraph to a particular idea of one person.

“Question and answer” will suit your needs perfectly if you interview one person. It is the simplest format used in online magazines, news reports, and other media. Your interview paper outline will look like this:

Introduction
Question #1 – Answer #1
Question #2 – Answer #2
Question #3 – Answer #3
Question #4/5/6/etc. – Answer #4/5/6/etc.
Interview analysis. You may include your thoughts on the subject matter.

Conversational

Conversational style is informal, and you can use either first-person or second-person narrative and follow a typical 5-paragraph paper structure. But writing interview papers in this lousy style might be perplexing, especially if you deal with this task for the first time.

We advise you to try the Q&A format because it’s the simplest one and takes the least time. Just imagine how much time your paper writing will take if you decide to interview three or five people.

How to Start an Interview Paper?

If you have no idea how to start an interview paper, choose the topic first. Selecting a topic for your interview paper is not a big deal, but you should keep in mind that you may not find appropriate interviewees for it.

Let’s imagine you want to explore whether the government should force people to get vaccines. This topic implies that you need to contact authorities. It might be a local lawyer, governor, or executive director of a local hospital. Well, the chances are these people will politely refuse to give an interview for your homework.

But if you choose to investigate how lockdown impacts intellectual workers, you can contact your friends or family members who work at home. In other words, it’s better to choose topics that reflect the experiences of ordinary people rather than the opinions of untouchable experts.

Asking people for their opinion about well-known facts like the Earth’s shape is a bad idea. You would want to choose high-profile debatable topics you can actually discuss.

Establish the Goal of Your Interview Essay

You have to establish the goal of your essay before researching the topic. For this, ask yourself: “What message should your interview essay deliver?” Sometimes, a topic of your choice might already explain the purpose of your essay.

Conduct Research

Interviewing someone implies that you should ask questions. But you will fail to do so if you know little to nothing about your topic. So read some case studies, news, articles, etc. Once you get the picture of your subject matter, you will come up with dozens of interview questions.

Get to Know Your Interviewee

A good interviewer always refers to the life and experience of their interviewee. If you’re lucky to work with someone you can read about on the Internet, find out as much information about them as possible. If your interviewee publishes any books, articles, or studies, you will better know them as well.

The more you know about the person, the more interview questions you can come up with. You can ask them whether the Internet tells their true story: “Is it true that you, Mr. Interviewee, support flat earthers?”

Draft Your Interview Questions

If you want a person to share their in-depth vision of the topic, you need to ask both open-ended and close-ended (“yes/no”) questions. However, you may struggle to prepare interview questions. Many students get stuck during this stage. To overcome this block, you need to learn some types of interview questions:

Opinion – What do you think of this topic?
Behavioral – What would you do in this situation?
Experience and knowledge – What do you know about the subject?
Background – How are you connected to the subject? What is your age, occupation, etc?
Emotional – How do you feel about the subject?
Sensory – What does the subject taste and feel like?

You can also think of the questions following the interviewee’s “yes” and “no” answers.

Tips for Conducting a Successful Interview

These four tips will help you conduct a productive interview on the first try:

1. Plan Your Meeting

Note that you want to interview a person in a quiet place so that nobody will distract you. This might be some cozy book store or a café. Or, you can arrange an online meeting. Make sure you have at least one hour for the interview.

2. Rehearse a bit

If you will conduct your first-ever interview, you want to practice with your friends/significant other/ family in the first place. This approach will help you identify what stage of your upcoming interview may challenge you the most.

3. Record Your Interview

You will forget about 50% of the information within an hour once you finish the interview. So don’t rely on your memory − bring a recorder instead. Why not take notes? You wouldn’t want to go red while asking your interviewee to repeat what they have just said or wait until you write down their answers.

4. Talk to Your Interviewee for a While Before You Begin

Speaking to someone you don’t know might be uncomfortable. You don’t have to attack them with your interview questions straightaway. Instead, you can exchange some casual phrases or discuss the weather. This will help you relieve stress and get comfortable with each other.

5. Explain Your Interview Protocol

It’s better to explain to your interviewee how you will conduct your interview. Tell them that you will use a recorder and introduce the discussion topic.

Interview Papers Format

In academic writing, you have to explain the purpose of your interview and introduce your interviewee in a specific “scholarly” format. The APA format interview paper has the following requirements:

Use 12-point Times New Roman.
Write a title page.
Use double spacing.
Introduce your interviewee and provide the background information – explain why this person is suitable for the interview. Mention their name and qualifications.
Use direct quotes if you cite some facts provided by the interviewee.
Use block quotes for citations longer than 40 words.

How to Write a Title Page?

The title of your paper must include your name, your institution, department, the course name and number, the teacher’s name, and the assignment date. The rules of writing the title page are the following:

The title page must be numbered.
Capitalize all major words in your title and make it bold.
Place the title of the essay three or four lines down the top of the page.
There must be one empty line before the student’s name.

Interview Papers Examples

If you’re searching for an interview essay example – check several samples below:

A narrative interview essay .
A Q&A interview format paper.
An interview with a scientist.

Interview Papers Writing Tips

The following writing tips will help you deliver the first-class interview paper:

Write the introduction at the end. Once you finish your essay, you will likely reconsider some ideas you had before you began. They will help you frame your interview essay with a captivating introduction and conclusion.
Give yourself a break after finishing your final draft. This will help you look at your paper with a fresh pair of eyes once you start editing.
Edit one type of error at a time. For example, you can reduce logical errors first and switch to grammatical mistakes afterward.
Use an active voice. If active voice makes your sentence shorter, use it without hesitation.
Check for any sample interview paper to decide on the interview questions. Perhaps, some pieces will spark your interest.

Writing Help by Handmadewriting

An interview paper doesn’t seem that intimidating once you learn how to write it step by step. First, you have to choose the subject that allows you to interview ordinary people rather than hard-to-reach ones. Then, you need to research your topic, conduct an interview, and write a paper.

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Due to human nature, we draw conclusions only when life gives us a lesson since the experience of others is not so effective and powerful. Therefore, when analyzing and sorting out common problems we face, we may trace a parallel with well-known book characters or real historical figures. Moreover, we often compare our situations with […]

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Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]

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Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]

U.S. tourist faces 12 years in prison after taking ammunition to Turks and Caicos

An Oklahoma man faces up to 12 years in prison on a Caribbean island after customs officials found ammunition in his luggage.

Ryan Watson traveled to Turks and Caicos with his wife, Valerie, to celebrate his 40th birthday on April 7. They went with two friends who had also turned 40.

The vacation came to an abrupt end when airport staff members found a zip-close bag containing bullets in the couple's carry-on luggage. Watson said it was hunting ammunition he had accidentally brought with him — but under a strict law in Turks and Caicos, a court may still impose a mandatory 12-year sentence.

"They were hunting ammunition rounds that I use for whitetail deer," Watson told NBC Boston in an interview conducted last week that aired after their first court appearance Tuesday.

"I recognized them, and I thought, 'Oh, man, what a bonehead mistake that I had no idea that those were in there,'" he said.

The couple were arrested and charged with possession of ammunition. Authorities seized their passports and explained the penalties they faced.

Valerie Watson said in the interview: "When I heard that, I immediately was terrified, because I was like we can't both be in prison for 12 years. We have kids at home, and this is such an innocent mistake."

The charges against her were dropped, and she returned home to Oklahoma City on Tuesday after the court hearing to be reunited with her two young children.

"Our goal is to get Ryan home, because we can’t be a family without Dad," she said.

The couple also spoke about the financial burden of a much longer-than-planned trip. "This is something that we may never recover from," Ryan Watson said.

The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas issued a warning to travelers in September about a law that strongly prohibits possession of firearms or ammunition in Turks and Caicos, an overseas British territory southeast of the Bahamas that is a popular vacation spot.

It said: "We wish to remind all travelers that declaring a weapon in your luggage with an airline carrier does not grant permission to bring the weapon into TCI [Turks and Caicos Islands] and will result in your arrest."

The embassy added: "If you bring a firearm or ammunition into TCI, we will not be able to secure your release from custody."

The embassy and the government in Turks and Caicos did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The same thing happened to another American, Bryan Hagerich, of Pennsylvania, who was arrested after ammunition was found in his luggage before he tried to board a flight out of Turks and Caicos in February. He said he accidentally left it in his bag.

Hagerich was on a family vacation with his wife and two young children but has now been in the country for 70 days. He spent eight days in prison before he posted bail.

"It’s incredibly scary. You know, you just don’t know what the next day may bring — you know, what path this may take," Hagerich told NBC Boston.

"You know, it’s certainly a lot different than packing your bags and going away with your family for a few days. It’s been the worst 70 days of my life," he said.

Hagerich, once a professional baseball player, was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the MLB 2007 June amateur draft from the University of Delaware.

His case goes to trial May 3.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

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Zendaya Says Music Is ‘Special To Me,’ Teases That One Day She May ‘Put Out a Little Something’

The "Challengers" star released her self-titled debut and, so far, only album in 2013.

By Gil Kaufman

Gil Kaufman

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“You know, I think if the right timing and it came… again, I like creating it for myself,” Zendaya said. “But if there was a moment maybe I would put out a little something. Don’t be crazy, we’ll see. But maybe… one day.”

The actress/singer, who has not released her own music in more than a decade, was most recently featured on Bobby Brackins’ 2015 single “My Jam” alongside Jeremih. She released her self-titled debut — and so far only full-length record — in 2013, an electro pop collection that featured the glitch pop single “ Replay ,” which topped out at Nov. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Dune: Part Two star also talked about her surprise jump-up with Labrinth at Coachella last year, explaining that the English rapper/songwriter is “so talented” and such a “wonderful person” that there was no way she could not say no, despite her initial fears. “He asked me if I wanted to come out and perform and immediately I was like ‘oh, absolutely not.’ I was like ‘I can’t do that,'” she said, noting that she has “bad memories” of performing as a kid and that stage fright was a serious concern.

But after joining Lab for the final two songs of his set, “I’m Tired” and “All For Us” — which they collaborated on for her HBO series Euphoria — Z said she was a bit disappointed in herself, feeling it was not her best effort because she couldn’t hear the music over the audience noise. “[So] I was like, ‘We’re just going to have fun. I’m just going to look like I’m having fun and we’re going to deal with this later. Who knows what this sounds like?,'” she told herself.

Reflecting later, though, Z realized there was no reason to beat herself up because the reason she couldn’t hear anything was that hyped crowd was singing along with her at the top of their lungs, screaming and excited. “I was like, ‘be grateful and be happy about it!’,” she said, later appreciating the love and support she’d received.

Watch Zendaya talk about a possible return to music and her Coachella surprise with Hudson below.

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A Life Overtaken by Conspiracy Theories Explodes in Flames as the Public Looks On

Friends of Max Azzarello, who set himself on fire outside Donald J. Trump’s trial, said he was a caring person whose paranoia had led him down a dark path.

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By Michael Wilson , Tracey Tully and Jan Ransom

The journey that ended with a man setting himself on fire on Friday outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald J. Trump was being tried seemed to have begun in Florida, with a series of increasingly bizarre outbursts.

Standing in the afternoon chill, the man, Max Azzarello, 37, of St. Augustine, Fla., threw pamphlets into the air before dousing himself with an accelerant and setting his body ablaze. The police hurried to extinguish the flames, and he was taken to a hospital burn unit, gravely injured. He died on Friday night.

The fire just a block or two from the courthouse appeared calculated to draw widespread attention, horrifying bystanders and temporarily overshadowing the momentous trial of a former president.

But a closer look at the path the man had traveled to this moment of self-destruction revealed a recent spiral into volatility, one marked by a worldview that had become increasingly confusing and disjointed — and appeared to be unattached to any political party. His social media postings and arrest records suggest the immolation stemmed instead from a place of conspiracy theories and paranoia.

Until last summer, Mr. Azzarello seemed to have lived a relatively quiet life. After high school, where he was a member of a bowling team, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009, with degrees in anthropology and public policy.

As a student at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., where he received a master’s degree in city and regional planning in 2012, he was known for leaving supportive Post-it notes for classmates in the hallways and for his karaoke performances of Frank Sinatra and Disney tunes, said a former classmate, Katie Brennan.

“He was super curious about social justice and the way things ‘could’ be,” Ms. Brennan said. “He was creative and adventurous.”

He began a career in which, according to his LinkedIn profile, he moved among jobs in marketing, sales and technology. In 2013, he worked on the campaign of Representative Tom Suozzi of Long Island, who was then running for Nassau County executive.

An old friend from high school, Steven Waldman, called Mr. Azzarello one of the smartest people he knew.

“He was a good friend and person and cared about the world,” he said.

But there was cause for concern, too.

By last year, he had apparently settled in St. Augustine, where he lived in a modest apartment near the Matanzas River in that historic city. He was a pleasant if sometimes peculiar neighbor.

“An extremely nice person,” said Larry Altman, the property manager at his apartment building, who added: “He had political views that I would not consider mainstream. He called our government and the world government a Ponzi scheme.”

But there were no signs that he was harboring an urge to harm himself, Mr. Altman said.

“If you met Max, he’d shake your hand, and you’d have a nice conversation,” he said. “He’d treat you with respect.”

He was clearly deeply affected by the loss of his mother, however. Elizabeth Azzarello died on April 6, 2022, near Sea Cliff, N.Y., on Long Island, where she had fought pulmonary disease, Mr. Azzarello wrote on Instagram in April 2022.

“I am immensely proud to say that she navigated the awful challenges of this disease with strength, dignity and spirit through the very end,” he wrote.

After this loss, his old friends saw a change. “That was around the time when he became more outspoken,” Mr. Waldman said. “They were close, and they had a good relationship. He was heartbroken.”

By the following year, the clarity Mr. Azzarello had shown in writing of his grief was gone, and a troubled image emerged.

In March 2023, he listed his profession on LinkedIn as “Research Investigator,” self-employed. In June of that year, he tagged Ms. Brennan and several others to make sure they had seen something he had written. She described it as a “manifesto” and called him immediately and tried to intervene. Eventually she wrote to one of his family members to make sure that they were aware that he was in crisis, she said.

About five months later, in early August 2023, he posted on Facebook about visiting a mental health treatment facility: “Three days in the psych ward, and all I got were my new favorite socks.”

Days later, in picturesque St. Augustine, he went for dinner at the Casa Monica Hotel on Cordova Street. Afterward, Mr. Azzarello walked into the lobby, approached an autograph left by former President Bill Clinton, who had signed the wall several years earlier, and threw a glass of wine at it, the police said. He admitted what he had done to officers, the police said. The episode was most likely written off as one man’s bad night.

Two days later, he was back, standing outside the hotel in just his underwear, ranting and cursing into a bullhorn, the police said. And just three days after that, he vandalized a sign outside a nearby United Way office before climbing into the bed of a stranger’s truck and rifling its contents, the police said.

All these events played out within walking distance of the apartment where even his most far-afield views had only recently been delivered politely.

In the months that followed, Mr. Azzarello promoted his disjointed preoccupations in a document he posted on Facebook. The pages attacked fascism and the general complacency of the public. They espoused general anti-government sentiment but did not seem directed at a discernible political party.

“Like frogs in water coming to a boil, the public didn’t notice the rotten truth behind the illusion of freedom,” the writings state. The man who had written fondly of his mother just a year earlier — “gracious and warm, silly and catty, compassionate and supportive” — and their time together seemed to have disappeared.

His greatest vexation appeared to be cryptocurrency, which he cast as a threat to humanity.

It was unclear when he arrived in New York, taking a room at the Soho 54 Hotel on Watts Street in Lower Manhattan and making his way to the running sideshow outside the downtown criminal courthouse.

The area he chose, Collect Pond Park, has been an on-and-off stage for supporters and opponents of Mr. Trump for months. Mr. Azzarello was there by Thursday, holding a sign and speaking in ways that, perhaps bizarre elsewhere, fit in with the disparate voices of the park.

On Friday, the crowd in the park had thinned. At about 1:35 p.m., people began to scream. A blur followed: a man on fire, bright flames licking his clothing and hair; officers scrambling over barricades; a departing ambulance.

His oldest friends were left struggling to make sense of this act.

“He was kind and a gentle soul,” said Carol Waldman, the mother of his childhood friend. “A real wonderful, terrific young guy. Who had his whole life ahead of him.”

If you are having thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Nate Schweber , Stefanos Chen , Nichole Manna , Nicholas Fandos , Chelsia Rose Marcius and Claire Fahy contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

Michael Wilson , who covers New York City, has been a Times reporter for more than two decades. More about Michael Wilson

Tracey Tully is a reporter for The Times who covers New Jersey, where she has lived for more than 20 years. More about Tracey Tully

Jan Ransom is an investigative reporter on the Metro desk focusing on criminal justice issues, law enforcement and incarceration in New York. More about Jan Ransom

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

The criminal trial of Trump featured vivid testimony about a plot to protect his first presidential campaign and the beginnings of a tough cross-examination of the prosecution’s initial witness, David Pecker , former publisher of The National Enquirer. Here are the takeaways .

Dozens of protesters calling for the justice system to punish Trump briefly blocked traffic on several streets near the Lower Manhattan courthouse where he is facing his first criminal trial.

Prosecutors accused Trump of violating a gag order four additional times , saying that he continues to defy the judge’s directions not to attack witnesses , prosecutors and jurors in his hush-money trial.

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International

April 24, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

By Heather Chen, Rob Picheta, Christian Edwards, Aditi Sangal and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Our live coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Israel-Hamas war news or read through the updates below.

Coalition vessel stops Houthi missile "likely targeting" US flagged ship, CENTCOM says

From CNN's Rashard Rose

A coalition vessel on Wednesday stopped a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile launched from Yemen "likely targeting" a US-flagged and owned ship with American crew members onboard, according to US Central Command.

"There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships," CENTCOM said in a statement .

Separately, US forces destroyed four drones in Yemen, CENTCOM said.

Catch up on the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war

From CNN staff

If you're just joining us, these are the most notable developments in Israel's war on Hamas and the tensions in the Middle East:

Disputed claims on death of Hezbollah fighters: Israel's defense minister claimed that half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon have been killed since fighting with Israel began on October 7 – a claim Hezbollah denies . There have been months of daily, deadly cross-border strikes by both Israel and Hezbollah that have displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents from their homes.

Hostage video: Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on Wednesday, the first proof that he survived being badly wounded during his capture on October 7. He is shown seated in a chair and addressing the camera directly in the undated video with part of his left arm missing several inches above the hand. He identified himself, gave his date of birth and parents’ names. He said he has been “here for almost 200 days,” suggesting that the video was filmed shortly before Tuesday, the 200th day of the war. He urged his own family to stay strong for him and finished by saying he hopes he was able to give them some comfort on Passover. The Biden administration received the video on Monday , two days before Hamas made the footage public on Wednesday, according to a United States official.

Israeli leader addresses protests on US college campuses : Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the protests are "not only antisemitic, but also inciting terrorism." Pro-Palestinian protests are taking place at major American universities, most prominently at New York's Columbia University, which has entered its eighth day of tense demonstrations.

US on Israeli settlements in West Bank: A US State Department spokesperson addressed reports of Israeli officials pushing to legalize Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and calling support for illegal outposts “dangerous and reckless.” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said such actions “will only move the goal of peace and stability in the region further away.” The US is also pressing Israel for more information about the mass grave discovered in Khan Younis , Patel said.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will attend Thursday service for 7 World Central Kitchen aid workers

From CNN's Samantha Waldenberg

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff speaks at an event in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will attend Thursday’s “Celebration of Life” service for the seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen who were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza on April 1 as they were delivering food to starving civilians.

A letter from President Joe Biden will also be read at the service, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during Wednesday’s White House press briefing.

CNN has reached out to Emhoff’s office for additional details on his participation in the service. Emhoff is the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president, and he has taken on an elevated role in fighting antisemitism since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

Here are other known details about the service:

Thursday’s service will be held at 11 a.m. ET at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, according to the non-profit’s website
Chef José Andrés will deliver remarks at the service and acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma will perform as well, according to a service pamphlet published on the National Cathedral’s website.

Biden meets with 4-year-old hostage released by Hamas

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

An undated photo of Abigail Edan, a former hostage who was released by Hamas in November.

US President Joe Biden met at the White House on Wednesday with Abigail Edan, the 4-year-old American dual citizen who was held hostage by Hamas following the October 7 terrorist attacks.

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said the meeting acted as a reminder of the Americans still being held by Hamas.

"We're working day in and day out to ensure all of them also are able to get safely home to their loved ones," he said.

Edan was released in November as part of a larger release of hostages. She was the first American hostage to be released by Hamas during the first truce.

The meeting on Wednesday had not been previously announced.

Legalizing Israeli settlements in West Bank would be "dangerous and reckless," US State Department says

From CNN's Michael Conte

US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel speaks at a media briefing on Wednesday.

A US State Department spokesperson addressed reports of Israeli officials pushing to legalize Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and calling support for illegal outposts “dangerous and reckless.”

“Our policy, US policy, remains that settlements are counterproductive to the cause of peace, and the government of Israel's program is inconsistent with international law,” said State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel at a press briefing.

The US will continue urging Israel “to refrain from taking actions to fund outposts that have long been illegal under Israeli law,” he added. “Actions or announcements seeking to expand outposts will only move the goal of peace and stability in the region further away.”

Separately, the US is also pressing Israel for more information about the mass grave discovered in Khan Younis , Patel said. "The allegations are troubling. They are disturbing. We take them very seriously," he said.

The post was updated with Patel's comment about the mass grave in Khan Younis.

US received video of Israeli-American hostage being held by Hamas earlier this week

From CNN's MJ Lee, Lauren Izso and Eyad Kourdi

The Biden administration received video of an Israeli-American hostage on Monday, two days before Hamas made the footage public on Wednesday, according to a United States official. Officials have since been in contact with Hersh Goldberg-Polin's family, the person said.

The FBI’s Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell is examining the video for any potential evidence and information that can be gleaned about Goldberg-Polin and his captivity, the official said. While the administration cannot currently authenticate the video, it has no reason to dispute that the person featured in the video is Goldberg-Polin, they added.

The video that Hamas released Wednesday marks the first proof that he survived after being badly wounded during his capture on October 7.

This official would not elaborate on what channels the US government received video of the wounded dual-American citizen.

After the video was released, Goldberg-Polin's family demanded immediate action to release their son and the other hostages, according to a statement Wednesday.

“Hersh's cry is the collective cry of all the hostages — their time is rapidly running out. With each passing day, the fear of losing more innocent lives grows stronger,” the family said. "We cannot afford to waste any more time; the hostages must be the top priority."

This post has been updated with comments from the family.

Israel says it's killed half of Hezbollah’s commanders since October 7, group dismisses claim as “ridiculous”

Mourners raise their hands and shout slogans as they carry the coffin of Ismail Baz, a Hezbollah commander who was killed by an Israeli drone strike, during his funeral procession in the Lebanese village of Chehabiyeh on April 17.

Half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon have been killed since fighting with Israel began on October 7, according to Israel's defense minister – a claim Hezbollah denies.

In remarks made on camera after a “deep operational discussion” at the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) northern command headquarters, Yoav Gallant said there's a “continuous offensive operation by IDF forces in all of southern Lebanon,” of which the results are “very impressive.”

“Half of Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon were eliminated... we made it so that either they die, or they hide and abandon South Lebanon to the IDF's operation, which is being done intensively,” Gallant said.

A Hezbollah official who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity denied those claims.

“The statement is ridiculous. It is meant for domestic consumption, or perhaps for the settlers in the north,” the official said.

The official went on to say that Hezbollah has not yet announced its “full mobilization,” adding that “our fighters continue to follow a service and leave system.”

There have been months of daily, deadly cross-border strikes by both Israel and Hezbollah that have displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents from their homes. Israel has fired artillery and launched jets and drones to strike targets while Hezbollah has used some of its vast arsenal of rockets and missiles.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin criticizes Israeli government, in Hamas video almost certainly captured under duress

From CNN’s Eyad Kourdi and Lauren Izso

Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin criticized the Israeli government and urged his family to stay strong in the video released by Hamas on Wednesday.

Goldberg-Polin’s hair is cropped short in the video, which is edited with a number of cuts from wide shot to close up. It is the first proof that he survived his injuries sustained during the militant group's October 7 attacks.

He criticizes the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as other Israeli hostages in Hamas propaganda videos have done. Held captive in Gaza for six months, he is almost certainly speaking under duress.

He mentions Israeli government ministers sitting down to holiday dinners with their families, an apparent reference to the Jewish holiday of Passover, which began Monday night and is traditionally celebrated with a family dinner.

He urges his own family to stay strong for him and finishes by saying he hopes he was able to give them some comfort on the holiday.

Goldberg-Polin was born in the United States but his family moved to Israel in 2008.

His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, told CNN shortly after the attacks that they last heard from their son that day, when they received two WhatsApp messages in the same minute; one reading “I love you." and the next "I’m sorry.” Goldberg immediately tried to call him, but said: “It just rang and rang.”

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Using an interview in a research paper
Step three: The interview. If at all possible, arrange to conduct the interview at the subject's workplace. It will make them more comfortable, and you can write about their surroundings. Develop rapport that will make the interview easier for both of you. The more silence in the room, the more honest the answer.
How Do You Incorporate an Interview into a Dissertation?
To present interviews in a dissertation, you first need to transcribe your interviews. You can use transcription software for this. You can then add the written interviews to the appendix. If you have many or long interviews that make the appendix extremely long, the appendix (after consultation with the supervisor) can be submitted as a ...
Incorporating Interview Data
Introduction. When you incorporate original interview data into your writing, you are developing new ideas by using quotations and often sources that no one else has accessed. Drawing from interviews can liven up your writing, ground your big concepts within the specific circumstances of particular individuals, and introduce you to insights you ...
How To Write an Interview Paper in APA Format in 10 Steps
Center and bold the word "Abstract" at the top of the page. On the line below, without indenting, write a summary of your paper. In a single paragraph limited to 250 words, discuss the subject, the thesis, the purpose and necessity of the interview, the interviewees and the potential implications of your findings. 10.
Types of Interviews in Research
Depending on the type of interview you are conducting, your questions will differ in style, phrasing, and intention. Structured interview questions are set and precise, while the other types of interviews allow for more open-endedness and flexibility. Here are some examples. Structured. Semi-structured.
The Complete Guide to Conducting Research Interviews
1. Structured Interview. This interview type only includes predetermined questions. The interviewer prepares a set of questions to ask during the interview and strictly follows them. There are no follow-up or on-the-spot questions. For example, interviews with climate policy experts could contain the following questions:
How to Cite an Interview
In an MLA Works Cited entry for an interview published in a newspaper, you list the interviewee in the author element. Clarify who conducted the interview after the title, and use the interviewee's name in the MLA in-text citation. MLA format. Interviewee last name, First name. " Interview Title .".
(PDF) How to Conduct an Effective Interview; A Guide to Interview
Vancouver, Canada. Abstract. Interviews are one of the most promising ways of collecting qualitative data throug h establishment of a. communication between r esearcher and the interviewee. Re ...
PDF THE DOCUMENTED ESSAY Using the Interview as a Source
for the interview, the subject of the interview, that you would like to arrange an interview at this person's convenience, and that you will allow the person to review your draft. Preparing for the Interview. Prepare a list of specific questions to ask your interviewee. The more specific you are, the better information you will receive.
APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Interview
NOTE: If you recorded the interview or Skype meeting and posted it online (i.e. YouTube, web site) you can then include the reference and direct the reader to the audio or video file that captured the interview. See: APA S tyle: Personal Communications OR Quotations from Research Participants.
How to Add an Interview to a Research Paper
Adding Quotations. For the most part, try to embed quotations within a sentence. For a quote from an interview, begin your sentence by introducing the speaker, followed by the quote, as in the example: In a personal interview February 2, 2012, the former employee said, "I considered filing a formal complaint, if not a lawsuit.".
Interviewing
Primary research involves collecting data about a given subject directly from the real world. This section includes information on what primary research is, how to get started, ethics involved with primary research and different types of research you can do. It includes details about interviews, surveys, observations, and analyses.
How To Write An Interview Paper
The Step-by-Step Guide On Writing an Interview Paper. To make the writing process easier, you should be absolutely sure in what to do in each step. Here is a list of steps you need to take to get a perfect interview paper. Step 1 - Selecting the ideal topic for your paper: The topic you end up choosing for your interview paper can genuinely ...
PDF TIPSHEET QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWING
More structured interviews increase the likelihood that the findings of the research will be generalizeable and/or can be used to test specified hypotheses. Regardless of the format of the interview, the planning you put into your interviews will determine how useful your interviews will be for answering your research question.
Writing Up the Methods Section
The chapter first provides an overview of the most common elements that comprise interview reports, such as dissertations, journal articles, or monographs. It then presents three different ways of conceiving of the methods section—as a prelude to the analysis and findings, as a postscript, and as embedded in the interpretation itself. ...
Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative Research
The purpose of this paper is to help authors to think about ways to present qualitative research papers in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. It also discusses methods for reviewers to assess the rigour, quality, and usefulness of qualitative research. Examples of different ways to present data from interviews, observations, and ...
How to Cite an Interview in APA
unrecorded lectures. If you would like to include a personal interview as part of your APA reference list, then include the interviewee, the date of the interview, and the type of interview. Interview Citation Structure: Last name, F. (Year, Month date). Personal communication [Communication type].
How should I present qualitative interview data in an article ...
1 Answer to this question. Answer: Analyzing and presenting qualitative data in a research paper can be difficult. The Methods section is where one needs to justify and present the research design. As you have rightly said, there are stipulations on the word count for a manuscript. To present the interview data, you can consider using a table.
How to Use Transcribed Interviews to Write Research Articles
What Are the Advantages of Using Research Interviews in Qualitative Research. Qualitative research takes a humanistic approach to exploring and understanding an issue. The primary sources of qualitative research include interviews, focus group sessions, observation, archive documents, and field recordings. These primary sources are highly ...
Structuring a qualitative findings section
Don't make the reader do the analytic work for you. Now, on to some specific ways to structure your findings section. 1). Tables. Tables can be used to give an overview of what you're about to present in your findings, including the themes, some supporting evidence, and the meaning/explanation of the theme.
PDF Guidelines to Citing Personal Experience and Interviews in Research
interview, please speak to the class instructor first to get more detailed guidance about consent. How to Cite an Unpublished Interview in Chicago/Turabian Unpublished interviews are normally only cited in text or in notes, but if you include it an unpublished interview in a bibliography, the citation should include the name of the interviewee,
Writing an Interview Paper: Formatting Guide, Samples and Writing Tips
Check what a narrative interview paper structure looks like when you reach out to several people: Introduction. Paragraph #1 - the first interviewee's perspective. Paragraph #2 - the second interviewee's opinion. Paragraph #3 - the third interviewee's thoughts. Conclusion.
How to Cite an Interview in APA Style
To cite an interview published in a newspaper, follow the standard newspaper format, listing the interviewer in the author position. APA format. Interviewer name, Initials. ( Year, Month Day ). Interview title. Newspaper Name. URL. APA reference entry. Dundas, D. (2019, November 8).
10 Common Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
To prepare for your interview and make a great first impression, you can explore this list of 10 common interview questions and plan your responses to them. 1. Tell me about yourself. This warm-up question is your chance to make an impactful first impression. Be prepared to describe yourself in a few sentences.
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Using an interview in a research paper

Step one: Where to start

Step two: How to write a good question

Step three: The interview

Step four: Incorporating the interview

Step five: Examples of citing your interviews

Reference list

Introduction

Before You Write

Different Models for Incorporating Interview Data

Generalizing about a Trend or Theme

Quoting to Illustrate a Trend or Theme

Putting Two Sources in Conversation with Each Other

Providing a Profile/Telling a Story

Attending to Language

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, or Quoting

Referring to your Interviewees

Using Verbatim or Non-Verbatim

Works Cited

Academic and Professional Writing

Analysis Papers

Grant Proposals

Job Materials and Application Essays

Proposals and Dissertations

Research Papers

Thank-You Notes

Scientific Reports

Writing for the Web

APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Interview

Helpful Tip!

An Interview

Subject Guide

How to Add an Interview to a Research Paper

Adding Quotations

Using Block Quotes

In-Text Citations and Notes

Bibliographic Citations

Interviewing

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

Types of Interviewing

Setting Up an Interview

Interview Do's and Dont's

How To Write An Interiew Paper: Ultimate Guide

What Is An Interview Paper?

Not Interested in Writing Paper by Yourself?

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3 Writing Up the Methods Section

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Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative Research

INTRODUCTION

RIGOUR IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Strengths of Qualitative Research

Limitations of Qualitative Research

PRESENTATION OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH FINDINGS

Data From an Interview.

Data From Observations

Data From Focus Groups

GUIDANCE FOR PUBLISHING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Introduction.

Data Analysis.

Discussion.

Conclusion.

CHECKLIST FOR QUALITATIVE PAPERS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Appendix 1. Checklist for authors and reviewers of qualitative research.

How to Cite an Interview in APA

Guide Overview

Citing a personal interview