Conducting Key Informant Interviews in Developing Countries

摘要

The report provides guidelines for conducting informant interviews in developing countries. After a brief introduction, Section 2 describes the main steps that investigators should take to prepare for the interviews. Section 3 details the actual interview process, focusing on meeting and probing informants, wording and sequencing questions, controlling conversations, using translators, and recording the interview. Section 4 profiles simple, practical techniques that can be used to analyze interview data, including summary sheets, descriptive codes, storage and retrieval systems, and presentation of data. Finally, Section 5 describes the steps to take to ensure reliability and validity of the findings by checking the key informant's 'representativeness' and reliability, examining the interviewer's own possible bias, and keeping an eye out for negative evidence.