Conversational Interviewing Research Articles

An ounce of prevention: using conversational interviewing and avoiding agreement response scales to prevent acquiescence

An ounce of prevention: using conversational interviewing and avoiding agreement response scales to prevent acquiescence

The AI Will See You Now: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Conversational AI Medical Interviewing System.

BackgroundPrimary care physicians (PCPs) are often limited in their ability to collect detailed medical histories from patients, which can lead to errors or delays in diagnosis. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) show promise in augmenting current human-driven methods of collecting personal and family histories; however, such tools are largely unproven.ObjectiveThe main aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a conversational AI medical interviewing system among patients.MethodsThe study was conducted among adult patients empaneled at a family medicine clinic within a large academic medical center in Northern California. Participants were asked to test an AI medical interviewing system, which uses a conversational avatar and chatbot to capture medical histories and identify patients with risk factors. After completing an interview with the AI system, participants completed a web-based survey inquiring about the performance of the system, the ease of using the system, and attitudes toward the system. Responses on a 7-point Likert scale were collected and evaluated using descriptive statistics.ResultsA total of 20 patients with a mean age of 50 years completed an interview with the AI system, including 12 females (60%) and 8 males (40%); 11 were White (55%), 8 were Asian (40%), and 1 was Black (5%), and 19 had at least a bachelor’s degree (95%). Most participants agreed that using the system to collect histories could help their PCPs have a better understanding of their health (16/20, 80%) and help them stay healthy through identification of their health risks (14/20, 70%). Those who reported that the system was clear and understandable, and that they were able to learn it quickly, tended to be younger; those who reported that the tool could motivate them to share more comprehensive histories with their PCPs tended to be older.ConclusionsIn this feasibility and acceptability pilot of a conversational AI medical interviewing system, the majority of patients believed that it could help clinicians better understand their health and identify health risks; however, patients were split on the effort required to use the system, and whether AI should be used for medical interviewing. Our findings suggest areas for further research, such as understanding the user interface factors that influence ease of use and adoption, and the reasons behind patients’ attitudes toward AI-assisted history-taking.

Factors impinge on the development of a smart city: a field study.

Smart city aims at amassed connectivity at various levels in the midst of citizens, as well as amid the administration and the daily growing population. India is one of the developing countries where population growth is one of the significant areas to be noted seriously. A city is a large and permanent human environment that provides its citizens with many services and opportunities. The rapid economic growth and population growth have put a huge amount of strain on urban infrastructure and service provision. India is an under developing nation to modernize urban life; the current urbanization needs good tactics and creative planning. India's government has launched 100 smart cities where it is expected that citizens will use new innovations and resolve the issues. Smart cities are intended for finest usage of space and resources along with an effectual and optimum dissemination of benefits. This study aims to investigate and analyse Chennai smart city mission (SCM) development. This work has been undertaken to learn about the aspects of smart development and the factors governing smart city. The analysis has been split up into 4 portions as questionaries' survey in Chennai city, frequency and percentage analysis, descriptive analysis and using structural equation modelling (SCM). Using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0, conversational interviewing and questionnaire survey and also journal study are conducted to find factors influencing the implementation of smart cityand reviewed. Using the structural equation model (SEM) AMOS 21.0 software, confirmatory factor assessment had been done. This study gives in-depth knowledge in the implementation of the smart city scheme aspects and also suggests solution for the most affecting factor in a city.

Clarifying question meaning in standardized interviews can improve data quality even though wording may change: a review of the evidence

ABSTRACT Survey interviews are conducted to produce objective, accurate information in which interviewers ask questions as worded and their discretionary speech is carefully managed. To limit interviewer influence over answers and reduce between-interviewer variance, Standardized Interviewing (SI) requires interviewers to administer nondirective probes – scripted utterances designed to elicit acceptable answers without leading respondents. To promote the intended interpretation of questions, and thus response accuracy, Conversational Interviewing (CI) authorizes interviewers to clarify questions when they suspect respondents have misunderstood. This article reviews evidence from 12 studies about the effectiveness of these two approaches. Findings consistently show that CI leads to considerably more accurate question interpretation and response accuracy than SI across different samples, modes, and languages, and does not increase interviewer variance. CI generally leads to longer interviews than SI, requiring practitioners to weigh increased response accuracy against longer interview duration. Several online implementations of CI have produced initially promising results.

The Benefits of Conversational Interviewing Are Independent of Who Asks the Questions or the Types of Questions They Ask

By clarifying the meaning of survey questions, interviewers help assure that respondents and researchers interpret questions the same way. This practice is at the heart of conversational interviewing and has been shown to improve response accuracy relative to standardized interviewing. This research investigates two issues: (1) Does conversational interviewing lead to improved response quality for opinion questions as it does for factual questions? and (2) Are some interviewers better suited to conduct conversational interviews than others? 490 respondents in the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers participated in standardized telephone interviews after which they were re-asked five factual and five opinion questions. These questions were re-administered in conversational interviews for half the respondents; for the remaining half they were re-administered in standardized interviews. Interviewers also completed a nonverbal sensitivity questionnaire. Using response change between the two administrations of each question to measure response quality, the conversational technique improved quality while increasing interview duration. The comprehension benefits of conversational interviewing were no greater for opinion than factual questions. Moreover, interviewers low in nonverbal sensitivity more often gave definitions before respondents were able to speak, but this did not affect data quality (response change). Taken togetherthese results suggest that conversational interviewing can beeffectively administered by a range of professional interviewers,although those who are more attuned to respondents' comprehensionwill be more efficient, and the technique will equally benefit thequality of responses to questions about objective and subjectivephenomena.

Studying Problematic Online Behavior of Adolescents With Mild Intellectual Disabilities and Borderline Intellectual Functioning: Methodological and Ethical Considerations for Data Collection

The aim of this study is to find a research method that results in capturing lived experiences of problematic online behavior of adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities and borderline intellectual functioning within four risk domains: commercial interests, aggression, sexuality, and values/ideology. Three research methods were examined and field-tested in small sample pilot studies: an online questionnaire ( N = 16), two focus group interviews ( N = 6 and N = 14), and a combination of participatory observations and visual elicitation ( N = 2). Both the questionnaire and the focus group studies were not able to generate sufficient knowledge to capture lived experiences. Key issues that arose were the respondents’ comprehension of the research questions, their tendency to give socially desirable answers, the influence of group dynamics, and a lack of rapport between researcher and respondent. Results generated from the third pilot study were more promising. Participatory observations in the form of deep hanging out combined with conversational interviewing and elements of visual elicitation mended these issues and helped to create an authentic research environment, build real relationships, and level the playing field between researcher and respondents. Additionally, it invited the respondents to voice their opinions and feelings about their online experiences. Finally, the study inspires to use different communicational means with the adolescents to increase the understanding of their virtual world. Some important ethical and methodological limitations to these findings are discussed.

Perceptions of Frontline Managers Practicing Diversity Management

For over 30 years, organizations have engaged in programs to address the growing presence of diverse populations in their ranks, and researchers have attempted to identify and quantify a link between diversity and enterprise performance. There is a general lack of understanding of how organizations benefit from increased diversity and the role of frontline managers in that process. The purpose of this study was to obtain a better understanding of the perceptions and lived experiences of frontline managers in their role of executing diversity management programs. The study’s framework focused on (a) diversity management, (b) managing people, and (c) team performance. The data collection process involved interviewing 12 frontline managers from a variety of industry sectors using a semistructured, conversational interviewing protocol. The open, hand-coded analysis revealed patterns of thought and behaviors relating to managing individuals, managing the complexity of diversity, and managing diverse teams for high performance. The original concept of diversity management was in response to the growing diversity in the workplace and was intended to develop the capacity among managers to manage the resulting diversity mix. The study findings indicated that a common definition of diversity management is possible, that managing diversity requires a competence with all dimensions of diversity, and that there is a set of management skills that can yield better performance with teams of diverse composition. The results of this study can have a positive impact on theory, practice, and general social acceptance of diversity.

Hotel Industry – Requirements for Hotel Business Managers’ Participatory Culture Acquisition

Abstract The paper aims at viewing meeting the requirements of hotel business managers functioning and training. As their successful employment and functions performing largely depends on participatory culture acquisition, the paper addresses the research questions: what groups of skills hotel business managers’ participatory professional skills (PPS) consist of; what activities might be used to teach PPS to future hotel business managers; what is the activities’ impact on teaching PPS to future hotel business managers. Case study and pedagogical experiment (the pretest-post-test control and experimental group design) have been applied in the research. Data have been gathered through conversational interviewing. Data source triangulation has been implemented to prove the validity of conversational interviewing questions. The research results in enlisting profession skills as the core of participatory culture. The traditions of the higher school and the requirements of partners participating in future hotel business managers training have been taken into consideration to teach PPS to future hotel business managers. The paper presents the results of testing the impact of the suggested activities program on the level of PPS. Statistical data processing is performed in the MS Excel 2010 environment using the chi-square test with a sample size (n ≥ 100). It shows that the program of activities meets the requirements to the future hotel business managers’ participatory culture acquisition.

Development of Learners’ Creativity Potential

Abstract The aim of the paper is viewing the ways to develop learners’ creativity potential. The concept of learners’ creativity potential is defined. The structure of creativity potential is specified. Two groups of activities included into the technology are described: the activity of the teacher (activating, cognitive-search, reflexive components); creative self-actualization of students (motivational, procedural, effective components). The methodology of the research includes case study and pedagogical experiment (the pretest-post-test control and experimental group design). Data are gathered by means of conversational interviewing. The research results in suggesting a technology to develop learners’ creativity potential. The paper includes the results of testing the impact of the technology on the level of creativity. The criteria of development of divergent thinking fluency, flexibility, originality, accuracy; self-reliance; imagination; creative motivation; reflexive-analytical skills were considered. Statistical data processing is performed applying the chi-square test. It shows that the suggested technology is effective in developing learners’ creativity potential.

Interviewer–respondent Interactions in Conversational and Standardized Interviewing

Standardized interviewing (SI) and conversational interviewing are two approaches to collect survey data that differ in how interviewers address respondent confusion. This article examines interviewer–respondent interactions that occur during these two techniques, focusing on requests for and provisions of clarification. The data derive from an experimental study in Germany, where the face-to-face interviews were audio-recorded. A sample of 111 interviews was coded in detail. We find that conversational interviewers do make use of the ability to clarify respondent confusion. Although the technique improved response accuracy in the main study compared to SI, conversational interviewers seem to provide clarifications even when there is no evidence of respondent confusion. This may lengthen administration time and potentially increase data collection costs. Conversational interviewers also employ neutral probes, which are generally associated with standardized interviews, at an unexpectedly high rate. We conclude with suggestions for practice and directions for future research.

Nonresponse and Measurement Error Variance among Interviewers in Standardized and Conversational Interviewing

Recent methodological studies have attempted to decompose the interviewer variance introduced in interviewer-administered surveys into its potential sources, using the Total Survey Error framework. These studies have informed the literature on interviewer effects by acknowledging interviewers’ dual roles as recruiters and data collectors, thus examining the relative contributions of nonresponse error variance and measurement error variance among interviewers to total interviewer variance. However, this breakdown may depend on the interviewing technique: some techniques emphasize behaviors designed to reduce variation in the answers collected by interviewers more so than other techniques. The question of whether the contributions of these error sources to total interviewer variance change for different interviewing techniques remains unanswered. Addressing this gap in knowledge has important implications for interviewing practice because the technique used could alter the relative contributions of variance in these error sources to total interviewer variance. This article presents results from an experimental study mounted in Germany that was designed to answer this question about two specific interviewing techniques. A national sample of employed individuals was first selected from a database of official administrative records, then randomly assigned to interviewers who themselves were randomized to conduct either conversational interviewing (CI) or standardized interviewing (SI), and finally measured face-to-face on a variety of cognitively challenging survey questions with official values also available for verifying the accuracy of responses. We find that although nonresponse error variance does exist among interviewers for selected measures (especially respondent age in the CI group), measurement error variance tends to be the more important source of total interviewer variance, regardless of whether interviewers are using CI or SI.

Interviewers in Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews: A Standardization Controversy

Standardized interviewing, now practiced in all sectors of the survey industry, sometimes causes communication problems between the interviewer and the respondent. This paper presents qualitative data collected from computerassisted telephone interviewing (CATI) interviewers and CATI studio managers. It shows how a poor interview script design and clients’ inflexibility can lead interviewers to deviate from the script and to switch to uncontrolled conversational interviewing.

Can Conversational Interviewing Improve Survey Response Quality Without Increasing Interviewer Effects?

Summary Several studies have shown that conversational interviewing (CI) reduces response bias for complex survey questions relative to standardized interviewing. However, no studies have addressed concerns about whether CI increases intra-interviewer correlations (IICs) in the responses collected, which could negatively impact the overall quality of survey estimates. The paper reports the results of an experimental investigation addressing this question in a national face-to-face survey. We find that CI improves response quality, as in previous studies, without substantially or frequently increasing IICs. Furthermore, any slight increases in the IICs do not offset the reduced bias in survey estimates engendered by CI.

The identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability: challenging dominant cultural worldviews, values and mythologies

Intellectual disability is commonly conceptualised as stigmatised identity with which one has to live. However, within the literature the notion of a damaged identity is contested. The aim of this research was to explore the social construction of intellectual disability, with an emphasis on the identities and social roles of people with an intellectual disability. Informed by a contextualist perspective, this research was conducted within a participatory framework. The co-researchers involved in this research were 18 members of an advocacy agency. Photovoice and conversational interviewing were used to collect data and causal layered analysis was used to deconstruct the data. Analysis of the interactions that emerged across the causal layers revealed a complex dynamic of worldviews which served to construct people with an intellectual disability as incompetent, inherently different and not quite human. For genuine, transformative change to occur, developing an awareness and understanding of social processes, such as dehumanisation, is crucial.

An exploratory study of Australian executive coaches

Objectives:This exploratory study sought to extend the limited knowledge base about the executive coaching industry in Australia.Design:A qualitative process of emergent thematic coding using information from participants.Methods:28 Australian executive coaches were interviewed using a qualitative conversational interviewing methodology. Participants were recruited using a snowball survey method in which each participant recommended other potential participants.Results:The findings were that the executive coaching practitioners in this research use a variety of alternative titles apart from ‘executive coach’ and supply other services in conjunction with executive coaching. Additionally it was found that, contrary to previous Australian research, the majority of executive coaching practitioners in this research could identify their direct competitors by name. Also in contrast to past research, most of the participants in this study were trained to recognise mental health problems. The most commonly seen mental health issues in this sample’s clients were stress, depression and anxiety, with personality disorders rarely observed. No coaches in this study charged under A$200 per hour and the majority of participants charged between A$400 and A$799 per hour.Conclusions:The findings in the present study differ in many respects from past research into the Australian coaching industry, particularly in relation to the levels of competitive awareness found in past research into Australian business coaching firms. There may be important differences between Australian executive coaching practitioners and those coaches who specialise in business coaching. Limitations to the study are discussed and suggestions made for future research.

Understanding and Improving the Validity of Self-Report of Parenting

Although researchers using parental self-report data have questioned its validity (Holden, 2001) and called for more work in this area (Krevans & Gibbs, 1996; Locke & Prinz, 2002), methodological concerns regarding self-report about parenting practices have not been addressed adequately. The susceptibility of parental report to systematic distortions suggests a need for research on ways to improve self-report. This paper attempts to synthesize research findings from other fields (e.g., survey methodology) about ways to improve the validity of self-report, and to discuss the implications for self-report of parenting behaviors. Methods for improving self-report are presented for each of the 5 major tasks in responding to a question: (1) understanding the question, (2) recalling relevant behavior, (3) inference and estimation, (4) mapping the answer onto the response format, and (5) "editing" the answer for reasons of social desirability. Self-administered interviewing, audio-computer-assisted interviewing, pretesting, conversational interviewing, and the decompositional item may be among the best candidates for use in parental self-report. Recommendations are offered with respect to strategies that might prove useful in improving parental assessment of parenting, and to research efforts to evaluate the utility and potential costs of these strategies.

Accomplishing care at home for people with dementia: using observational methodology.

The authors consider the problems and possibilities presented by using unstructured observation in the home setting. The findings of the original study are described elsewhere (Briggs, Askham, Norman, & Redfern 1998; National Health Service [NHS] Executive 1998). In this article, the authors discuss process issues (e.g., gaining and maintaining access to the research setting, disengaging, what can and cannot be observed, and the validity of the data and analysis), drawing on a study of the nature of care as a form of social organization in the homes of people with dementia. They show that observation is not only possible but, when combined with conversational interviewing, essential for understanding the processes of caring and what it means to live with dementia.

Care at home for people with dementia: Routines, control and care goals

The aim of the study was to further our understanding of the nature of care at home for people with dementia, with particular emphasis on routines, control and care goals. Its objective was to examine the nature of care as a form of social organisation in the home of people with dementia whose care was at least partly provided by relatives or friends. Twenty situations were included in which the carers and people with dementia were interviewed. Each participating pair was observed for an average of nine hours.Findings cover the ways in which carers and people with dementia accomplished personal and household care through routines and exerting control, and how they dealt with aspects like setting and matching care goals. Accomplishing care is shown to be a major challenge for people with dementia and their caregivers, yet in most cases participants developed effective coping strategies. Three themes emerged from the findings: handling competing goals or means to goals, controlling the situation and maintaining a preferred sense of self. This study shows that observational research in the homes of people with dementia is feasible and, when combined with conversational interviewing, is valuable in understanding the processes of caring and what it means to live with dementia. The expertise of carers and care‐receivers in managing home care has been identified. Policies and practices that acknowledge such expertise will go some way towards encouraging and helping people to continue, and rewarding them for the vital part they play.

Clarifying question meaning in a household telephone survey.

This study contrasts two interviewing techniques that reflect different tacit assumptions about communication. In one, strictly standardized interviewing, interviewers leave the interpretation of questions up to respondents. In the other, conversational interviewing, interviewers say whatever it takes to make sure that questions are interpreted uniformly and as intended. Respondents from a national sample were interviewed twice. Each time they were asked the same factual questions from ongoing government surveys, five about housing and five about recent purchases. The first interview was strictly standardized; the second was standardized for half the respondents and conversational for the others. Respondents in a second conversational interview answered differently than in the first interview more often, and for reasons that conformed more closely to official definitions, than respondents in a second standardized interview. This suggests that conversational interviewing improved comprehension, although it also lengthened interviews. We conclude that respondents in a national sample may misinterpret certain questions frequently enough to compromise data quality and that such misunderstandings cannot easily be eliminated by pretesting and rewording questions alone. More standardized comprehension may require less standardized interviewer behavior.

The Scientist as Public Administrator

SACRIFICE of research career for one in research administration is common among scientists in the United States today.' It is paradoxical that so many men desert highly respected, even idealized, way of life, for which their professional training and experience have prepared them, to enter an occupation whose very professionalism is suspect. The research administrator stands in an area of ambiguity and transition in the meaning of work: though he enjoys considerable prestige in society and salary and power advantages over researchers within bureaucratic organizations, the actual conduct of research has been at the core of the image of the good scientist.2 If a man's work is as good clue as any to the course of his life, and to his social being and identity, 3 basic elements in the scientific career and the bureaucratic system may be illumined by understanding the changing of roles by the scientist. Is the scientist who becomes an administrator misled by ambition and then corrupted by power, or is he enabled to realize fuller potentiality and make unique contribution? To answer this, two subsidiary questions must first be examined: Why do men leave research to become administrators? Does the researcher-turned-public administrator remain always the scientist, or are his attitudes toward politics, science, and administration those of the administrator? Where other sources are not indicated, the analysis presented below relies heavily upon series of interviews with Washington area federal research administrators. Two dozen or so each in the National Institutes of Health, the Agricultural Research Service, and the Navy, plus some research scientists in these agencies and some Budget Bureau and Civil Service Commission officials, were interviewed. The administrators, most of whom had been trained as scientists, were representative of variety of ranks and functions, though purposely bunched toward the top. Interviewees, none of whom objected to the taking of full notes with the guarantee of anonymity, spoke in response to statement of the purpose of the research and specific questions appropriate to the person, agency, and level. The writer did not feel that it was impossible to discriminate qualities of openness and perspicacity in those interviewed. Conversational interviewing was no doubt facilitated by the cathartic value to many persons in talking about themselves to detached observer, the ability of men within formal organization to learn good deal about close colleagues, the