Interview Tools

Here is a checklist of things you want to make sure you have/do before your interview in order to make gathering and analyzing your data much easier.

In-Person Interviews

Once you have chosen a place for the interview, you should bring:

  • Pen/Pencil
  • Notepad
  • Recording Device (see box below)

Phone/Online Interviews

If your interviewee can only interview online or by phone, ask them which platform they would like to use and if they want to do audio only (phone) or both video and audio.

A number of platforms are available to interview with both video and audio:

  • Skype. Usually the default application on a PC.
  • Google Hangouts. Accessed through your University of Mississippi Gmail account.
  • FaceTime. The default app for Mac desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.
  • Zoom. A cross-platform and mobile video conference app. (Free meetings are limited to 40 minutes.)
  • Appear.in. A browser-based video conference platform built in HTML5.

Whatever technology you use, you should still be prepared with the following:

  • Pen/Pencil
  • Notepad
  • Recording Device (see box below)

Recording devices

Most smartphones have a voice recording app. If you are using a PC or Mac laptop, there is usually a default recording program. You could also use Audacity, which is free to download here.

Be sure to test your equipment. You don’t want to have a great 30-minute interview and realize your recording did not pick up very well—or at all.

Of course, you need to come with your prepared questions as well as to ask your interviewees if you have their permission to record.