10 Key Informant Interview Questions You Must Ask to Get Accurate and Reliable Information

10 Key Informant Interview Questions You Must Ask to Get Accurate and Reliable Information

Gathering accurate and reliable information is crucial for any research project, and one of the most effective ways to achieve this is through informant interviews. Informant interviews involve engaging with people who have direct and relevant experience in the subject matter being researched. However, to get the most out of these interviews, it’s vital to ask the right questions.

In this article, we’ll provide you with ten key informant interview questions that will help you collect the most accurate and reliable information.

1. What is your experience with this topic?

Starting your interview with this question helps establish the informant’s background and expertise, giving you a better understanding of the context in which they are providing information. It allows the informant the chance to provide insight into their experience and whether they are an appropriate person for the interview.

2. Can you describe a typical scenario in your experience with this topic?

Asking for a specific example or scenario provides the informant with the opportunity to offer more detail about their experiences, allowing for an in-depth understanding about a particular aspect of the subject matter. This question will help to provide context for the rest of the interview.

3. What challenges have you faced in the course of working in this field?

This question allows the informant to provide details of the specific problems they’ve faced in the field, indicating potential difficulties that may have gone unnoticed in the research. The response may also provide insight into alternative points of view or unique perspectives.

4. Can you tell me about the processes you use or have used in relation to this topic?

Asking about processes is an excellent way to confirm the accuracy of any research to date. This question will assist in the identification of gaps between the informant’s processes and the current research methodology while discovering new and innovative methods that can be applied.

5. How do you measure or evaluate success in your role?

This type of measurement question is critical to gaining a comprehensive understanding of the informant’s role and the factors that drive their work. This will help the researcher to ensure alignment and allow more accurate conclusions to be drawn around the deliverables that come from this type of work.

6. What new trends have you observed in your field?

Asking the informant about new trends will provide an opportunity to gain knowledge of new emerging areas within the subject matter. This question will also give the researcher an indication of how current the information obtained in previous interviews or research is.

7. Can you describe an experiment or project that you’ve conducted related to this topic?

This question can provide more detailed information about the informant’s experience or knowledge level in the subject area. This information will give the researcher a chance to examine specific projects, experiments, or studies conducted, potentially uncovering more valuable information.

8. What habits or processes have you learned to optimize productivity in this space?

Learning about how the informant optimizes their productivity can provide valuable insight into best practices and potent processes that may be applied to the current research project.

9. What criticisms have you encountered in relation to this topic?

This question is an excellent way to get insight into the challenges the informant and others in the field have had to deal with in their industry. By identifying the criticisms, and the reasoning behind them, the researcher can gain a better understanding of the issue at hand.

10. What resources or tools have you found to be particularly useful in your work?

This final question provides a more straightforward, actionable response that could help the researcher to find new resources or tools to apply throughout the project’s development. It will also help to identify any potential areas that may not have been considered previously.

Conclusion

Informant interviews are powerful tools to gather accurate and reliable information. Asking the right questions is a crucial part of this investigative process. In this article, we’ve provided you with ten essential questions to ask during your interviews.

The answers to these questions will not only inform the current research project, but could also offer new insights and avenues of inquiry. By incorporating these questions into your informants’ interviews, you’ll be ensuring that you’re drawing out the most accurate and reliable information, setting your research project on a solid foundation of success.