Chapter 5: The Informational Interview
Essay
1. What is the fundamental purpose of an informational interview?
2. What criteria should an interviewer use when selecting interviewees?
3. What criteria should one use when selecting interviewers?
4. When would an interviewer find it desirable to be subordinate to the interviewee?
5. Explain why the broadcast interview poses unique challenges to both parties involved in
6. What are the guidelines for recording interviews?
7. How might you handle a talkative interviewee?
8. What are the key parts of the traditional journalistic interview guide?
9. If you were asked to mentor a new interviewer, what suggestions would you give this
10. If you were asked to talk about note taking to an introductory journalism class, what
guidelines would you address as essential to effective note taking?
11. How does a press conference differ from a traditional interview?
12. Discuss how similarities and differences of parties may affect the relational dimensions
of the interview.
13. The authors suggest that you may need to break the rules to get the information you want.
Discuss this and give examples of situations where this might take place.
14. Discuss how to handle four of the seven difficult types of interviewees.
15. Discuss four precautions to report or story preparation.
16. Discuss ways to assess the relationship between interview parties.
17. Discuss five ways to answer strategically when being interviewed.
18. List four suggestions for those in videoconference interviews.
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Multiple Choice
19. Which of the following functions does research for informational interviews serve?
a. It prevents interviewers from asking thought-provoking questions.
b. It reveals what information is available in other sources such as Web sites and
archives.
c. It reveals that much of what one reads in books and articles is accurate and true.
d. It leads interviewers to make false assumptions and including inaccuracies in
questions.
20. Which of the following statements is true of a situation where an interviewer is equal in
relationship to the interviewee?
a. There are fewer pressures.
b. It is difficult to achieve a high degree of empathy.
c. There are many communication barriers.
d. It is difficult to establish rapport.
21. The freedom to adapt and improvise make a _____ ideal for an informational interview.
a. moderately scheduled interview
b. nonscheduled interview
c. highly scheduled interview
d. highly scheduled standardized interview
22. In informational interviews, one must learn to deal effectively with:
a. neutral interviewees, ambivalent interviewees, and undecided interviewees.
b. emotional interviewees, hostile interviewees, and evasive interviewees.
c. suspicious interviewees, knowledgeable interviewees, and deceptive interviewees.
d. All of the answers are correct.
23. Which of the following criteria of choosing an interviewee requires an interviewer to
consider the interviewee’s proclivity toward exaggeration or oversimplification?
a. availability
b. level of information
c. capability
d. willingness
24. Which of the following statements is true of a situation where an interviewer shares his or
her question schedule with an interviewee?
a. As a general rule, it is acceptable for an interviewer to share his or her question
schedules with an interviewee.
b. It is unlikely to affect the spontaneity of an interview.
c. It fails to affect questions and answers and ultimately the success of an interview.
d. It may result in an interviewee insisting on modifying or eliminating questions
from the schedule.
25. Which of the following statements is supported by research?
a. Mexican-Americans rely more on emotion and intuition.
b. African-Americans prefer direct questions.
c. Midwestern Americans consider extensive probing to be intrusive.
d. Urban Americans place high value on know-how, skills, and practicality.
26. Which of the following should you NOT do as a respondent?
a. Hesitate before answering.
b. Focus on both the interviewer and the question.
c. Assume you know what a question is before it is completed.
d. Be patient.
27. Which of the following is NOT one of the criteria for selecting interviewees?
a. level of information
b. talkativeness
c. willingness
d. capability
28. Which of the following is part of the availability criteria?
a. The person is available for only a few minutes.
b. The source resides too far away.
c. The source is unavailable until after a deadline.
d. All of the answers are correct.
29. A potential interviewee rejects a request for an interview because he sees nothing of
value in it that warrants his or her time and risks involved. In the context of selecting an
interviewee, which of the following criteria is the person failing to meet?
a. level of information
b. capability
c. willingness
d. availability
30. Which of the following statements is true of a situation where an interviewer is
subordinate to the interviewee?
a. The interviewer can control the interview.
b. The interviewer can reward the interviewee.
c. The interviewee will feel threatened.
d. The interviewee will feel freer to speak.
31. In the context of structuring an interview, a(n) _____ enables an interviewer to progress
through stories and events that occur in time sequences.
a. hourglass sequence
b. space sequence
c. chronological sequence
d. diamond sequence
32. Which of the following is a way to reduce hostility or avoid creating it?
a. use neutral, open-ended questions
b. use loaded questions
c. continue to talk while the other party becomes calm
d. stay on the current topic
33. Which of the following nonverbal techniques assists an interviewer to deal with talkative
interviewees?
a. lean forward
b. stop taking notes
c. glance at your watch
d. All of the answers are correct.
34. Evasive strategies include all of the following EXCEPT:
a. humor.
b. fake hostility.
c. ambiguous language.
d. embarrassment.
35. Which of the following is a strategy for dealing with evasive interviewees?
a. laugh and continue with questions
b. go on to other questions
c. repeat or rephrase a question
d. All of the answers are correct.
36. Research shows that African-Americans prefer:
a. indirect questions.
b. equal turn taking.
c. indirect questions and equal turn taking.
d. None of the answers is correct.
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TB-5 | 5
Ans: c
True or False
37. Women tend to answer questions with questions.
a. True
b. False
38. Men answer questions with declarations.
a. True
b. False
39. Unintentional bipolar, the yes (no) response, tell me everything, open-to–closed,
guessing, and curious question pitfalls are particularly common in informational
interviews.
a. True
b. False
40. According to Webb and Salancik, interviewers over time are unable to identify distortion
in answers.
a. True
b. False
41. According to Fred Fedler, broadcast interviews often allow for challenging questions.
a. True
b. False
42. When an interviewer is equal to the interviewee, then rapport is more easily established.
a. True
b. False
43. Unlike reticent interviewees, talkative interviewees may talk for long periods without
seeming to take a breath.
a. True
b. False
44. Interviewees often prefer interviewers who are different from them in age, gender, race,
culture, educational level, or professional field.
a. True
b. False
45. John and Denise Bittner suggest that crisis situation interviews should NOT be
prolonged.
a. True
b. False
46. The purpose of the informational interview is to get relevant and timely information as
accurately and completely as possible in the shortest amount of time.
a. True
b. False
47. Some journalists recommend that research time should be two times the actual interview.
a. True
b. False
48. A logical sequence such as cause–to–effect and problem-to-solution is appropriate for
interviews on issues and crises.
a. True
b. False
49. Journalist Pat Stith writes that “some of the best stuff you’re going to get will come in the
last few minutes, when you’re wrapping up the interview, and getting ready to leave.”
a. True
b. False
50. As a rule, interviewers should accept “retroactive off-the-record” requests after an
interviewee has answered a question or heard the answer read back or replayed.
a. True
b. False
51. Experts agree on the amount of note taking that should take place during an interview.
a. True
b. False
52. Experts agree on the use of recorders during the interview process.
a. True
b. False
53. It is acceptable to use the following statement to enhance willingness: “If you don’t talk
to us, we’ll have to rely on other sources.”
a. True
b. False
54. Interviewers should be cautious of persons who appear to be too anxious to be
interviewed.
a. True
b. False
55. According to Pat Stith, most people follow “to be honest” with a lie.
a. True
b. False
56. A space sequence is helpful when an interview will deal with places.
a. True
b. False
57. Thomas Berner recommends that if a good question comes up in an answer to another
question, ask that question right away.
a. True
b. False
58. A report about interrogation interviews with insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan noted that
successful interrogators were nice to their subjects.
a. True
b. False