Interview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Interview (disambiguation).

Modern videoconferencing such asSkype over the Internet allows an interview coach to assist a young woman
before a hypothetical college interview despite the distance.

An interview is a conversation where questions are asked and answers are given.[1] In common
parlance, the word "interview" refers to a one-on-one conversation with one person acting in the
role of the interviewer and the other in the role of the interviewee. The interviewer asks
questions, the interviewee responds, with participants taking turns talking. Interviews usually
involve a transfer of information from interviewee to interviewer, which is usually the primary
purpose of the interview, although information transfers can happen in both directions
simultaneously. One can contrast an interview which involves bi-directional communication with a
one-way flow of information, such as a speech or oration.
Interviews usually take place face-to-face and in person, although modern communications
technologies such as the Internet have enabled conversations to happen in which parties are
separated geographically, such as with videoconferencing software,[2] and of coursetelephone
interviews can happen without visual contact. Interviews almost always involve spoken
conversation between two or more parties, although in some instances a "conversation" can
happen between two persons who type questions and answers back and forth. Interviews can
range from unstructured or free-wheeling and open-ended conversations in which there is no
predetermined plan with prearranged questions,[3] to highly structured conversations in which
specific questions occur in a specified order.[4] They can follow diverse formats; for example, in
a ladder interview, a respondent's answers typically guide subsequent interviews, with the object
being to explore a respondent's subconscious motives.[5][6] Typically the interviewer has some way
of recording the information that is gleaned from the interviewee, often by writing with a pencil
and paper, sometimes transcribing with a video or audio recorder, depending on the context and
extent of information and the length of the interview. Interviews have a duration in time, in the
sense that the interview has a beginning and an ending

Contexts[edit]
Interviews can happen in a wide variety of contexts:
Employment. Interviews in an employment context are typically called job interviews which describe
a formal consultation for the purpose of evaluating the qualifications of the interviewee for a specific
position.[7] Interviews are seen as a useful tool in assessing qualifications. [8] A specific type of job
interview is a case interview in which the applicant is presented with a question or task or challenge,
and asked to resolve the situation.[9] Sometimes to prepare for job interviews, candidates are treated
to a mock interview as a training exercise to prepare the respondent to handle questions in the
subsequent 'real' interview. Sometimes the interviews happen in several waves, with the first interview

sometimes being called a screening interview which is a shorter length interview, followed by more indepth interviews later on, usually by company personnel who can ultimately hire the applicant.
Psychology. Psychologists use a variety of interviewing methods and techniques to try to understand
and help their patients. In a psychiatric interview, a psychiatrist or psychologist or nurse asks a battery
of questions to complete what is called a psychiatric assessment. Sometimes two people are
interviewed by an interviewer, with one format being called couple interviews.[10] Criminologists and
detectives sometimes use cognitive interviews on eyewitnesses and victims to try to ascertain what
can be recalled specifically from a crime scene, hopefully before the specific memories begin to fade
in the mind.[11][12]
Research. In marketing research and academic research, interviews are used in a wide variety of
ways. Interviews are often used in qualitative research in which firms try to understand how
consumers think. Consumer research firms sometimes use computer-assisted telephone
interviewing to randomly dial phone numbers to conduct highly structured telephone interviews, with
scripted questions and responses entered directly into the computer.[13]
Journalism and media. Typically, reporters covering a story in journalism conduct interviews over the
phone and in person to gain information for subsequent publication. Reporters can interview political
candidates on television shows. In a talk show, a radio or television "host" interviews one or more
people, with the choice of topic usually being chosen by the host, sometimes for the purposes
of entertainment, sometimes for informational purposes.
Other situations. Sometimes college representatives or alumni conduct college interviews with
prospective students as a way of assessing a student's suitability while offering the student a chance
to learn more about a college.[14] Some services specialize in coaching people for interviews

What are Different Types of Interview? 10 Interview Types

Post: Gaurav Akrani. Date: 4/22/2011 10:05:00 AM IST.
No Comments.Label: Management.

What are Different Types of Interview?

The 10 different types of an interview are discussed in this article.

Image Credits Perform Impact.

1. Structured Interview

Here, every single detail of the interview is decided in advance. The questions to
be asked, the order in which the questions will be asked, the time given to each
candidate, the information to be collected from each candidate, etc. is all
decided in advance. Structured interview is also called Standardised, Patterned,
Directed or Guided interview. Structured interviews are preplanned. They are
accurate and precise. All the interviews will be uniform (same). Therefore, there
will be consistency and minimum bias in structured interviews.

2. Unstructured Interview

This interview is not planned in detail. Hence it is also called as NonDirectedinterview. The question to be asked, the information to be collected from
the candidates, etc. are not decided in advance. These interviews are nonplanned and therefore, more flexible. Candidates are more relaxed in such
interviews. They are encouraged to express themselves about different subjects,
based on their expectations, motivations, background, interests, etc. Here the
interviewer can make a better judgement of the candidate's personality,
potentials, strengths and weaknesses. However, if the interviewer is not efficient
then the discussions will lose direction and the interview will be a waste of time
and effort.

3. Group Interview

Here, all the candidates or small groups of candidates are interviewed together.
The time of the interviewer is saved. A group interview is similar to a group
discussion. A topic is given to the group, and they are asked to discuss it. The
interviewer carefully watches the candidates. He tries to find out which
candidate influences others, who clarifies issues, who summarises the
discussion, who speaks effectively, etc. He tries to judge the behaviour of each
candidate in a group situation.

4. Exit Interview

When an employee leaves the company, he is interviewed either by his

immediate superior or by the HRD manager. This interview is called an exit
interview. Exit interview is taken to find out why the employee is leaving the
company. Sometimes, the employee may be asked to withdraw his resignation by
providing some incentives. Exit interviews are taken to create a good image of
the company in the minds of the employees who are leaving the company. They
help the company to make proper HRD policies, to create a favourable work
environment, to create employee loyalty and to reducelabour turnover.

5. Depth Interview

This is a semi-structured interview. The candidate has to give detailed

information about his background, special interest, etc. He also has to give
detailed information about his subject. Depth interview tries to find out if the
candidate is an expert in his subject or not. Here, the interviewer must have a
good understanding of human behaviour.

6. Stress Interview

The purpose of this interview is to find out how the candidate behaves in a
stressful situation. That is, whether the candidate gets angry or gets confused or
gets frightened or gets nervous or remains cool in a stressful situation. The
candidate who keeps his cool in a stressful situation is selected for the stressful
job. Here, the interviewer tries to create a stressful situation during the interview.
This is done purposely by asking the candidate rapid questions, criticising his
answers, interrupting him repeatedly, etc.

7. Individual Interview

This is a 'One-To-One' Interview. It is a verbal and visual interaction between two

people, the interviewer and the candidate, for a particular purpose. The purpose
of this interview is to match the candidate with the job. It is a two way
communication.

8. Informal Interview

Informal interview is an oral interview which can be arranged at any place.

Different questions are asked to collect the required information from the
candidate. Specific rigid procedure is not followed. It is a friendly interview.

9. Formal Interview

Formal interview is held in a more formal atmosphere. The interviewer asks preplanned questions. Formal interview is also called planned interview.

10. Panel Interview

Panel means a selection committee or interview committee that is appointed for

interviewing the candidates. The panel may include three or five members. They
ask questions to the candidates about different aspects. They give marks to each
candidate. The final decision will be taken by all members collectively by rating
the candidates. Panel interview is always better than an interview by one
interviewer because in a panel interview, collective judgement is used for
selecting suitable candidates

Observational study
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In fields such as epidemiology, social sciences, psychology and statistics, an observational

study draws inferences from a sample to a population where the independent variable is not
under the control of the researcher because of ethical concerns or logistical constraints. One

common observational study is about the possible effect of a treatment on subjects, where the
assignment of subjects into a treated group versus a control group is outside the control of the
investigator.[1][2] This is in contrast withexperiments, such as randomized controlled trials, where
each subject is randomly assigned to a treated group or a control group

Advantages and disadvantages of different

types of observational studies
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Each type of observational study is useful under different circumstances. The following
table provides a guide to the advantages and disadvantages of each type of study and may help in
understanding the decisions researchers make in designing an epidemiological study.

Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of four types of observational studies

Type of study

Definition

Advantages

Disadvantages

Less timeDifficult to
consuming than case- determine temporal
Cross-sectional Examines
relationship between
relationship between control or cohort
studies
exposure and outcome
exposure and
Inexpensive
(lacks time element)
outcome prevalence
May have excess
Good, quick
in a defined
picture of prevalence of prevalence from long
duration cases (such as
exposure and
population at a
single point in time prevalence of outcome cases that last longer
than usual but may not
be serious)
Relatively
Subject to
inexpensive
recall
bias
(based on
Case-control Examines multiple
Less timesubjects memory and
exposures in relation
consuming than cohort reports)
to an outcome;
Inefficient for
studies
subjects are defined
Can evaluate
rare exposures (such as
effects of multiple
as cases and
Difficult to
exposures
establish
clear
controls, and
Efficient
for
rare
chronology of exposure
exposure histories
outcomes or outcomes and outcome
are compared
with long induction or
latency periods
Can evaluate
Expensive
Time-consuming
Cohort(specificall Examines multiple multiple effects of a
single
exposure
Inefficient for
y prospective) health effects of an

Ecological

More efficient
for
rare
exposures and
exposure; subjects
outcomes
with long
are defined
induction and latency
according to their
periods
exposure levels and
Can directly
measure
incidence
followed over time
Clear
for outcome
chronological
occurrence
relationship between
exposure and outcome
Inexpensive
Less timeExamines
consuming
relationship between
Simple and easy
exposure and
to understand
outcome with
Examines
population-level
community-, group-, or
national-level data and
rather than
individual-level data trends

(usually defines
groups by place,
time, or both)

rare outcomes with

long induction or
latency periods

Subject to
the ecological fallacy,
which infers association
at the population level
whereas one may not
exist at the individual
level
Difficult to
detect complicated
exposure-outcome
relationships