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Aziza Brahim is a prominent musician from Western Sahara who currently resides in Barcelona. This interview—preceded by a brief introduction—illustrates how Aziza Brahim's distinct and versatile musical style expands the notion of African Hispanism. The interview was conducted in Spanish via email, after which the interviewer translated the text into English. The original order of some questions and responses has been rearranged slightly for coherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to explore the research question: What challenges to building rapport can police interviewers experience when interviewing suspects displaying disruptive behaviors, and how can these challenges be managed? To gather data, 14 police officers in academic positions (with previous experience of investigations), completed a five open text-question questionnaire. Thematic analysis was conducted and resulted in three main themes: (1) Disruptive behaviors and their influence on the interview process, (2) Being prepared through knowledge of the case and the person, and (3) Responding to resistance through communication, understanding, and relating to the interviewee’s state. The results highlight the importance of planning and preparing the interviews, particularly regarding strategies for establishing and maintaining rapport, as well as being able to respond constructively to the suspect’s behavior during the interview. The results are discussed in relation to current protocols and research on the interviewing of suspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work of Hank Greenspan has provided essential insights for rethinking foundational conceptions and methods of collecting interviews with Holocaust survivors. As Greenspan urges us to consider, not all interviews are alike and there are those that entail sustained and intimate interpersonal connections, often developed over several years between 'partners in a conversation.' Greenspan's emphasis on interviewers and survivors 'learning together' underscores the contingent, emotionally intimate, and collaborative aspects of the interview process that are often kept at the margins by Holocaust testimony archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground rules establish the conversational expectations during an interview and are intended to reduce interviewee discomfort and increase response accuracy towards problematic interview questions. This study explored perceptions of ground rule instructions in adult interviews. Younger (18–40 years) and older (60+ years) adults (N = 168) were interviewed about a film depicting an implied sexual assault or a personal event. Participants received either three ground rules as statements (‘Don’t Know’, ‘Don’t Understand’ and ‘Correct Me’) or the three statements with practice questions. Participants were interviewed about their perceptions of ground rules. Overall, ground rules were perceived as useful (85%) and as having a positive impact on interviewees’ emotional state (55%) and perceptions of the interviewer (35%). Perceptions did not vary based on contextual factors, but female and younger adults endorsed ground rules as useful more often than other groups. The results suggest that ground rules may improve adults’ experience of being interviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines how suspects attempt to influence interviewers during investigative interviews. Twenty-nine interview transcripts with suspects accused of controlling or coercive behavior within intimate relationships were submitted to a thematic analysis to build a taxonomy of influence behavior. The analysis classified 18 unique suspect behaviors: the most common behaviors were using logical arguments (17% of all observed behaviors), denial or denigration of the victim (12%), denial or minimization of injury (8%), complete denials (7%), and supplication (6%). Suspects' influence behaviors were mapped along two dimensions: power, ranging from low (behaviors used to alleviate investigative pressure) to high (behaviors used to assert authority), and interpersonal alignment, ranging from instrumental (behaviors that relate directly to evidence) to relational (behaviors used to bias interviewer perceptions of people and evidence). Proximity analysis was used to examine co-occurrence of influence behaviors. This analysis highlighted combinations of influence behaviors that illustrate how different behaviors map onto different motives, for example shifting attributions from internal to external to the suspect, or to use admissions strategically alongside denials to mitigate more serious aspects of an allegation. Our findings draw together current theory to provide a framework for understanding suspect influence behaviors in interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how children's age and their ratings of the likeability of a transgressor (E1) and an interviewer (E2) influenced their testimonies after witnessing a theft. Children (N = 152; ages 7–13 years) witnessed E1 steal $20 from a wallet. E1 then asked the children to lie and say that they did not take the money. Children were interviewed about their experience with E1 and completed two questionnaires about E1 and E2. Children who reported higher likeability scores with E1 were more likely to attempt to conceal the theft and more willing to keep it a secret. Children who reported higher likeability scores with E2 were more likely to indirectly disclose the theft. Age also played a role in children's ability to maintain their concealment. Results have important implications for professionals who interview children and suggest that more research is needed to examine ways to increase children's comfort with interviews/interviewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents are often reluctant to disclose experiences of sexual abuse in forensic interviews. In these situations, there is consensus that interviewers should respond supportively, yet they appear to have considerable difficulty doing so. In the current study, we sought to provide practical guidance on how interviewers can adopt a supportive approach when interviewees are reluctant. Twenty-one expert interviewers were asked how they engage and support adolescents who are reluctant to share information when sexual abuse is suspected. The findings indicate that the expert interviewers approach reluctance by leaning into and exploring the interviewee’s perspective, and tailor their response based on an awareness of the unique needs of the interviewee. Several key support strategies were identified to facilitate this approach. The findings of this study provide practical guidance for how interviewers can approach reluctant interviewees, while also generating novel directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shift-of-Strategy (SoS) approach is an extension of the Strategic Use of Evidence technique. In the SoS approach, interviewers influence suspects' strategies to encourage suspects to become more forthcoming with information by challenging discrepancies between their statements and the available evidence, in a non-accusatory manner. Our aim was to test the effectiveness of two variations of the SoS approach, one in which the interviewer responded immediately to any discrepancies with the evidence (Reactive) and one in which the interviewer only responded to severe discrepancies (Selective). We predicted that the SoS approach conditions would be more effective at eliciting new information from mock suspects, compared to direct questioning. In a laboratory experiment, N = 300 mock suspects committed a simulated crime and were interviewed using one of the two versions of the SoS approach or with an interviewing approach that did not involve the presentation of evidence. The Reactive version of the SoS approach was more effective than direct questioning at eliciting new information from mock suspects. The Reactive technique also led participants to change their strategies during the interview. The present experiment provided initial support for the core principles of the SoS approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children (N = 114, ages 7–13) witnessed a transgressor steal money from a wallet and then asked them to lie about the theft when interviewed by a novel interviewer. During the interview, children were asked to either describe various experienced events (Narrative Practice Rapport-building condition) or participate in an interactive activity designed to focus on the relational aspects of rapport-building including mutual attentiveness, positivity, and coordination between child and interviewer (Interactional Rapport-building condition). Children also completed a measure of rapport to indicate their subjective level of rapport with the interviewer. Older children in the Interactional Rapport-building condition were significantly more likely to be truthful, disclose the transgression earlier, and give more details. Findings provide an initial, exploratory understanding of how the rapport-building phase in eyewitness interviews may play an important role in children's disclosure decision-making and may be another area to study to promote more truthful disclosures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflexively considers the muted narratives of a desire for pregnancy and parenthood in teenaged women's accounts of their journey to motherhood after deciding on abortion with their first, unexpected, pregnancy. By contrast their accounts were replete with good citizenship narratives that attested to pregnancy avoidance. Through the use of the Listening Guide, a feminist, layered, reflexive approach to data analysis, these accounts are considered in the wider social and cultural 'narratives' in the interview data, and the interviewee/interviewer relationship. It is suggested that the young women draw on dominant cultural tropes of the good teenager and mother, shaped by the desire to present themselves to the interviewer as acceptable citizens. It is debated whether the young women choose relative silence regarding their growing desire for pregnancy to avoid judgment in a society that problematises young motherhood, or are silenced by the same dominant discourse. Discussion considers what such a muted narrative might represent in a political and socio-cultural context. With narrow definitions of what is acceptable in the teenage years, and for motherhood, the young women's desire to present as acceptable may eclipse valuable contextual considerations that are important to practitioners and policy makers in providing effective support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interviewers are often confident in the validity of their interview questions. What drives this confidence and is it justified? In three studies, we found that question creators judged their own interview questions as more valid than when the same questions are judged by an evaluator. We also found that effort expenditure inflated the perceived validity of interview questions but not question quality. Question creators' perceptions of validity were primarily driven by their self-confidence, and not the question quality. As an intervention, we nudged participants into holding more favourable attitudes towards better questions (i.e., structured questions) by allowing them to choose a subset of them from a pre-written list. Together, we found that while effort expenditure was responsible for the illusion of validity when evaluating unstructured (i.e., low-quality) questions, the same mechanism could also be used to improve interviewers' acceptance of structured questions. Implications for structured interviews and the scientist-practitioner gap are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

That year, Dona Nivalda Amaral [an elder of the Tupinambá people] was here in the village, and we told her we are Tupinambás, and she was invited to São Paulo where she visited the Tupinambá mantle from Denmark.[5] She was steered, taken there by the Encantados, by the mantle itself. An Indigenous Woman Troubling the Museum's Colonialist Legacy: Conversation with Glicéria Tupinambá: Interviewer: Bruno Brulon Soares Transcription: Pedro Marco Gonçalves Interview conducted on 1 April 2022 Glicéria Tupinambá, also known as Célia Tupinambá, is an Indigenous activist and leader of Serra do Padeiro village, located in the Tupinambá de Olivença Indigenous Territory in southern Bahia. And she arrived in front of the mantle and said it was a Tupinambá mantle and that she wanted it back, she wanted the mantle to be repatriated. [Extracted from the article]

Although much of the interview and selection literature views unstructured interviews as being vastly inferior to structured interviews in terms of validity and reliability, this critical review attempts to shed a positive light on the merits of unstructured interviews. It begins by defining and describing both types of interview approaches, and continues to explain the merits and benefits of unstructured interviews (some of which are not obtainable with a structured interview approach), including greater face-validity, positive interviewee and interviewer reactions, similar-levels of validity, and greater practicality in a variety of real organizational settings and situations. The analysis concludes with theoretical and practical implications for researchers and applied human resource development (HRD) professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many investigative interviews with children who report that they have been victims of crime are carried out by one interviewer. Some interviews, however, may involve more than one interviewer. There has been little research examining the impact upon children's reports when more than one interviewer (or adult) is present. Over the course of two experimental studies, involving 375 children in total, the effects that the number of adults (present in such interviews) had on children's recall were investigated. It was found that the number of the adults present during an interview had an effect on the quality and quantity of the information children provided. When children were interviewed by a single interviewer, with no-one else present, the children provided lengthier and more accurate accounts, in comparison to when children were interviewed by an interviewer in the presence of either one or two additional adults. These findings have implications for the conduct of forensic interviews, especially in those countries where several adults are present in forensic interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapport building has been highlighted as an effective and ethical means of eliciting information from suspects within criminal investigations. The purpose of this contemporary comment is to distinguish between what we have termed 'interrogative rapport' from rapport-building practices that occur in other professional contexts. To support this distinction, we advance the following arguments: (1) interrogative rapport is actively and intentionally created by the interviewer; (2) the goal of actively building rapport is to persuade the suspect to comply with requests for information; (3) interrogative rapport is inherently deceptive; and (4) the interviewer's goal of rapport building—the elicitation of information from the suspect—is independent of, and often in opposition to, the suspect's best interests. We believe that by acknowledging the outlined elements of interrogative rapport, more nuanced discussions concerning both rapport and persuasion within suspect interviews will result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peers are common recipients of disclosures about negative events, but the transmission of peer disclosures to adults is not well understood. We explored children's (N = 352; aged 6–11 years) disclosures of a negative event to peer and adult interviewers. Some children witnessed an adult transgression and were asked to keep the transgression a secret (witnesses). Some of these witnesses (peer-interviewed witnesses) were then interviewed by peer who had not witnessed the event (peer interviewers) and then by an adult. The remainder of the witnesses (control) were only interviewed by an adult. Peer interviewers who received a disclosure were likely to share the disclosure with an adult and were significantly more likely to do so than children in either witness condition. Although the probability of disclosure transmission likely depends on context, this study provides the first evidence of peer recipients' willingness to disclose to adults at a high rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children from Indigenous cultures experience higher rates of abuse than non-Indigenous children, and their cases face extra challenges progressing through the legal system. When abuse is reported, an investigative interview is conducted with the child. The current study aimed to examine interviewers' perceptions of interviewing Aboriginal Australian children. Sixteen experienced interviewers participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences interviewing Aboriginal children. Thematic analysis revealed three perceived challenges: engaging the children, communication differences, and obtaining evidential details. Creating strong rapport with the child, simplifying language, and adapting questioning approaches were reported as key strategies to help overcome these challenges, but the interviewers voiced a need for more support and targeted resources to assist them in their roles. This study highlights the need for highly specialist interviewers versed in Aboriginal culture, and the need for future research into the appropriateness of contemporary protocols for children from minority cultural groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine the research literature on the decision of expert interviewers within the theoretical framework of the Hierarchy of Expert Performance (HEP). After providing an overview of the HEP framework, existing research in the investigative interviewing at each of the eight levels of the HEP framework is reviewed. The results identify areas of strength in reliability between experts' observations (Level 2) and of weakness in reliability between experts' conclusions (Level 6). Biases in investigative interview experts' decision making is also revealed at biasability between expert conclusions (Level 8). Moreover, no published data are available in reliability within experts at the level of observations (Level 1) or conclusions (Level 5), biasability within or between expert observations (Level 3 and 4) and biasability within expert conclusions (Level 7). The findings highlight areas where future research and practical endeavour are much needed for the investigative interview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to elicit the best evidence from children during investigative interviews. Many of recent improvements (such as extensive training) are costly to implement preventing police forces with small budgets from adopting them. A policy is needed that can benefit all forces irrespective of their financial resources. We assessed a new approach: Investing in the Good Interviewers: Policy of Practice (IGIpop). IGIpop suggests that all interviews should be conducted using 'good' interviewers. In 2016 we evaluated the performance of interviewers in a police force and identified the good interviewers. IGIpop was implemented in 2017 when five good interviewers were chosen to conduct all of the interviews with children alleging sexual abuse. We analysed 102 interviews and assessed how IGIpop impacted the quality of interviews. As expected, appropriate interviewing approaches increased and inappropriate interviewing approaches decreased after IGIpop. IGIpop achieved an important improvement in the quality of interviews with no additional training or costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased knowledge about practitioners' experiences of conducting forensic child interviews may provide valuable insights into the perceived challenges they encounter when questioning children. This mixed-methods study examined Swedish practitioners' views on different interviewing components (ground rules, rapport building, practice narratives, question types), props, strategies for adapting their methods for preschool-aged children, and perceptions of challenges interviewing children of differing ages. Eighty-eight specialized forensic child interviewers responded to a national survey. The data was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Attitudes regarding different interviewing components were mainly in line with current research recommendations. Prop use was primarily limited to drawings, photographs, and stress-reduction tools. A variety of strategies were used to adapt the existing protocol for questioning young children, indicating a potential need for additional standardized guidelines for this age group. Furthermore, the perceived barriers for children to disclose and the demands placed on the interviewer varied across age groups. Since all children should have the right to be questioned with age appropriate methods, we need to continue to develop ways of adapting practitioners' interviewing strategies to match children's developmental levels. To reach this aim, researchers may benefit from taking into account the concerns raised by forensic child interviewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the investigation of a criminal event, the police may encounter witnesses or victims experiencing symptoms of being traumatized (e.g. anxiety, intrusive thoughts or avoidance of trauma-related stimuli). This may pose a challenge in investigative interviews where police interviewers aim to obtain reliable and detailed accounts. Based on previous theory and research, this theoretical paper aims to outline recommendations for police interviewers for approaching traumatized adult witnesses to facilitate communication, attend to the well-being of the individual and reach investigative aims. First, factors considered important for preparing for the interview and building rapport are presented. Then, different aspects of how to facilitate the interviewee's account will be described with an emphasis on how police interviewers can approach emotional reactions to maintain rapport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigative interviewing is a crucial but complex aspect of police work. Although research has demonstrated that the PEACE interview model is effective with victims, witnesses, and suspects, the challenges can be intensified in interpreter-assisted interviews. This article reports police interviewers' perceptions of interpreted investigative interviews in two Australian jurisdictions. Participants (N = 19) in semi-structured interviews included experienced police interviewers (NSW, n = 9; Tasmania, n = 7) and specialist advisors (NSW, n = 1; Tasmania, n = 2). Interview transcripts were analysed thematically and according to the phases of the PEACE model. Findings suggest a need for further guidance on rapport development in interpreter-assisted interviews and greater use of certain phases of the model. Challenges for police interviewers included a lack of certified interpreters in necessary languages and training-to-practice gaps in working with interpreters. This article documents innovative solutions to challenges reportedly used in practice and proposes a research agenda to develop evidence-based approaches that address identified challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the utility of applying the Verifiability Approach (VA) to witness statements after a period of delay. The delay factor is important to consider because interviewees are often not interviewed directly after witnessing an event. A total of 64 liars partook in a mock crime and then lied about it during an interview, seven days later. Truth tellers (n = 78) partook in activities of their own choosing and told the truth about it during their interview, seven days later. All participants were split into three groups, which provided three different verbal instructions relating to the interviewer's aim to assess the statements for the inclusion of verifiable information: no information protocol (IP) (n = 43), the standard-IP (n = 46) and an enhanced-IP (n = 53). In addition to the standard VA approach of analysing verifiable details, we further examined verifiable witness information and verifiable digital information and made a distinction between verifiable details and verifiable sources. We found that truth tellers reported more verifiable digital details and sources than liars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of child forensic interviewers is to obtain as much information as possible through open-ended recall. Unfortunately, typically interviewers quickly switch to focused questions. This article suggests a way of eliciting more open-ended recall by using the narrative elaboration (NE) procedure, which includes four initial prompts about event participants, context, actions, conversations, and thoughts. The procedure uses line drawings on cards as prompts and requires pre-training; although it substantially increases open-ended recall, in practice it is too time-consuming for regular use. The original NE procedure is compared with two streamlined versions with 3- to 7-year-olds: using NE cards with no pre-training and simply providing parallel NE verbal prompts without using the cards. The children in the streamlined NE interview with verbal prompts were found to provide as much additional information as those in the full NE interview, and considerably more than those in the control interview. Therefore, incorporating NE verbal prompts near the beginning of child interviews is an easy way to increase the amount of information that children provide in open-ended recall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During investigative interviews, police practice can influence key aspects of child credibility, namely the accuracy, competency, reliability, and truthfulness of their testimony. To date, police interviewers' perceptions of how best to assess child credibility at interview, and how practice impacts upon credibility, have been overlooked. We conducted a qualitative study that examined data from focus groups with 16 English police officers who regularly interview children. The focus group transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis, and four main themes were identified – the 4Es: eliciting information, evaluating credibility, empowering the interviewee, and a high-quality end product. Within these themes, police officers acknowledged some responsibility for the perceived credibility of child victims. Poor interviewing practice could decrease the accuracy of the information elicited and cross-examined in court. Registered intermediaries could empower child interviewees and increase their competency. A lack of reliability contributed to evaluating credibility, but this relationship was not straightforward. Finally, obtaining the most truthful account from child victims was not always possible, because there are many barriers to overcome. Our findings suggest the need for a continued focus on interview protocols that facilitate disclosure from child victims and a review of the professional relationship between those who interview children and prosecutors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examine the effect of interview observation on data quality of a large-scale individual survey in Vietnam. External spot-check teams were sent to randomly selected enumeration areas to attend and observe survey training courses and field interviews of interviewers. We find that interviewers have a lower number of item non-responses in collected data when being observed by the spot-check teams. The effect of a spot-check of field interviews appears to be higher than the effect of a spot-check of training courses. However, we do not find a significant effect of a spot-check threat: informing interviewers of a possible spot-check without actually visiting does not reduce item non-responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research indicates that truthful statements typically contain more details than fabricated statements, and that truth tellers are no more consistent than liars over multiple interviews. In this experiment, we examine the impact of (i) multiple interviewers and (ii) reverse order recall on liars' and truth tellers' consistency and amount of reported detail over repeated recall attempts. Participants either took part in a mock crime (lying condition) or an innocent event (truth telling condition) which they were subsequently interviewed about in two separate interview phases. Truth tellers provided more details overall, and more reminiscent details than liars. There were no differences between veracity groups for the number of omissions made or repetitions reported. Despite the popular belief that inconsistency is a cue to deception, we found little support for the notion that consistency (or lack of consistency) offers a diagnostic cue to deception. We found little evidence that switching interviewer or recalling in reverse order induced inconsistencies in liars. In fact, due to the number of reminiscent details in truth tellers' accounts, our findings suggest that accounts provided by liars tend to be slightly more consistent than those provided by truth tellers. Materials for this paper can be found at osf.io/hgvmk/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how children's age, gender and interviewer gender affected children's testimony after witnessing a theft. Children (N = 127, age = 6–11 years) witnessed an experimenter (E1) find money, which he/she may/may not have taken. E1 then asked the children to falsely deny that the theft occurred, falsely accuse E1 of taking the money, or tell the truth when interviewed by a second experimenter. Falsely denying or falsely accusing influenced children's forthcomingness and quality of their testimony. When accusing, boys were significantly more willing than girls to disclose about the theft earlier and without being asked directly. When truthfully accusing, children gave lengthier testimony to same-gendered adults. When denying, children were significantly more willing to disclose the theft earlier to male interviewers than to females. As children aged, they were significantly less likely to lie, more likely to disclose earlier when accusing, and give lengthier and more consistent testimony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In high-stakes interviews on matters of national and international security, interpreters are essential when interviewers and interviewees lack a common language. Although rapport-based interviews are effective in eliciting more complete and accurate information from witnesses and suspects in monolingual interviews, little is known about an interpreter's influence on rapport in interpreter-assisted interviews. Experienced interviewers (N = 121) drawn from policing, intelligence and military organisations in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and South Korea participated in structured interviews about interpreter-assisted interviews with high-value targets. Interview transcripts were coded for categorical information and analysed thematically. The reported challenges included concerns arising from poor adherence to professional ethics for interpreters and difficulty in establishing rapport with interviewees. Practitioners discussed the ways in which they responded to these challenges. Advance briefing of interpreters to better prepare them for the interview and adherence to sound interview practices were generally seen as beneficial. Implications of the findings for rapport-based interviews are discussed in terms of professional codes of ethics and conduct for interpreters. Aspects of policy, practice and research are identified for further attention to foster effective highstakes interpreter-assisted interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have become increasingly interested in better understanding the survey data collection process in interviewer-administered surveys. However, tools for analysing paradata capturing information about field processes, also called call record data, are still not yet fully explored. This paper introduces sequence analysis as a simple tool for investigating such data with the aim of better understanding and improving survey processes. A novel approach is to use sequence analysis within interviewers, which allows the identification of unusual interviewer calling behaviours, and may provide guidance on interviewer performance. Combining the technique with clustering, optimal matching and multidimensional scaling, the method offers a way of visualising, displaying and summarising complex call record data. The method is introduced to inform survey management and survey monitoring. The method is hence informative for adaptive survey designs and will help to identify unusual behaviour and outliers and to improve survey processes. Sequence analysis is applied to call record data from the UK Understanding Society survey. The findings inform further modelling of call record data to increase efficiency in call scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel multiple membership models account for situations where lower level units are nested within multiple higher level units from the same classification. Not accounting correctly for such multiple membership structures leads to biased results. The use of a multiple membership model requires selection of weights reflecting the hypothesized contribution of each level two unit and their relationship to the level one outcome. The Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) has been proposed to identify such weights. For the case of logistic regression, this study assesses, through simulation, the model identification rates of the DIC to detect the correct multiple membership weights, and the properties of model variance estimators for different weight specifications across a range of scenarios. The study is motivated by analyzing interviewer effects across waves in a longitudinal study. Interviewers can substantially influence the behavior of sample survey respondents, including their decision to participate in the survey. In the case of a longitudinal survey several interviewers may contact sample members to participate across different waves. Multilevel multiple membership models are suitable to account for the inclusion of higher-level random effects for interviewers at various waves, and to assess, for example, the relative importance of previous and current wave interviewers on current wave nonresponse. To illustrate the application, multiple membership models are applied to the UK Family and Children Survey to identify interviewer effects in a longitudinal study. The paper takes a critical view on the substantive interpretation of the model weights and provides practical guidance to statistical modelers. The main recommendation is that it is best to specify the weights in a multiple membership model by exploring different weight specifications based on the DIC, rather than prespecifying the weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how an interviewer’s characteristics affect how respondents answer survey questions about democracy and political engagement. I analyze data from the 2008 Afrobarometer surveys, in which 810 interviewers surveyed 27,713 respondents across 20 countries in sub- Saharan Africa. Using these data, I study how interviewer education, age, and gender affect two outcomes: (1) response distributions to attitudinal and behavioral survey questions and (2) the likelihood of respondents saying ‘don’t know’ to a survey question. The analysis also investigates how the respondent’s perception of who sponsored the survey (NGO, private sector, government) affects attitudes. The results show that these interviewer characteristics affect the quality of survey data on political attitudes and behaviors. In the discussion, I consider the implications for research based on public opinion data about democracy and political engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2009 I have been part of three projects examining the history of service in the Australian military of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI). The oral histories of these current and ex-service personnel contain tales that include family violence (both as perpetrators and survivors), war trauma, alcoholism, and sexual assault. There are also many silences, particularly among Vietnam veterans, when discussing misbehavior on rest-and-convalescence leave in the Vietnamese coastal town of Vung Tau. In this article, I explore some of the ways that I have navigated the ethical dilemmas of writing these histories, referring in particular to how the concepts of ethnographic refusal and reticence have influenced my practice. I argue that interviewers need to be cautious when confronting participants' reticence to engage with particular lines of questioning. Researchers must consider the wider social, political, and personal implications of their research for their narrators and decide whether ethnographic refusal—avoiding the subject matter to protect the interviewees—is an appropriate strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a burgeoning discussion in oral history about the nature of embodiment in the oral history interview and how we might include considerations of this embodiment in the process and products of oral history. This article suggests ways in which interviewers can "embody" the interview transcript with evocative written description; it uses transcribed excerpts and audio clips of an interview conducted by the author to illustrate both what to include in an embodied transcript, and what to keep in mind when undertaking the tricky business of translating the multidimensional interview encounter to the two-dimensional page. Note on Multimedia Content The online version of this article, doi:10.1093/ohr/ohx071, includes audio and video clips that allow readers to see or listen to excerpts of recorded interviews. In the HTML version, readers may simply click and play; in the PDF version, it is necessary first to download the PDF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey research designs that integrate contextual data have become more prevalent in recent decades, presumably to enable a more refined focus on the person as the unit of analysis and a greater emphasis on interindividual differences due to social forces and contextual conditions. This article reviews varied approaches to contextualizing survey data and examines the value of linking two data sources to respondent information: interviewer ratings and neighborhood information (measured via census tracts). The utility of an integrative approach is illustrated with data from the Health and Retirement Study. The results reveal modest gains by using a contextualized approach but also demonstrate that neglecting contextual factors may lead to misdirected substantive conclusions, especially for older racial and ethnic minorities. To enhance the ecological validity of survey data, investigators should select theoretically-meaningful contextual data for specific research questions and consider cross-level interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premised on a body of literature suggesting target-interviewer rapport is a critical component of successful interviews, we explored the effect of two interpreter-related variables – the physical placement of the interpreter in the room, and the nature of the relationship between the interpreter and the target – on target-interviewer rapport. A total of 125 bilingual (Spanish/English) participants viewed a mock crime video and were then interviewed, via an interpreter (or not). Interpreters either built rapport with the participant immediately prior to the interview or did not, and were either seated beside the interviewer or behind the target, commensurate with recommendations from training manuals. When the interpreter and target engaged in a short rapport-building session prior to an investigative interview, the target rated their interaction with the interviewer less negatively compared to when rapport building did not occur. Furthermore, when the interpreter sat behind the target, the target viewed the interaction more negatively than when the interpreter sat beside the interviewer (triangular configuration). These findings suggest ways in which interpreters can be utilized more effectively, especially in terms of seating configuration, rapport development between a target and interpreter, and importantly, the potential for that target-interpreter rapport to transfer to the target-interviewer relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite important progress in knowledge about interview 'best practice' with child victims, few studies had yet evaluated the impact of interviewers' personal characteristics on adherence to these 'best practice'. This study was designed to determine whether interviewers' personal characteristics are associated with adherence to a structured interview protocol (National Institute of Child and Human Development), the use of open-ended questions and the amount of details provided in children's responses during investigative interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse. 114 interviews were scored from 13 police investigators after they followed a one-week training program. Results showed that experience, emotional intelligence, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Neuroticism were related with adherence to the protocol and ratio of open-ended questions. Cognitive abilities were related to the amount of details obtained from the child. Generalized estimating equations were used to compare relative contribution of each variable. These findings raise questions about how investigative interviewers are selected and trained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on a metacognitive framework of heuristic judgments, we investigate the effect of applicant stigma on interviewers’ overconfidence in their (biased) judgments. There were 193 experienced interviewers conducting a face-to-face interview with an applicant who was facially stigmatized or not, and who was visible (traditional interview) or not (partially blind interview), to the interviewer during the rapport-building stage. In traditional interviews, interview judgments of stigmatized applicants were negatively biased, and interviewers reported overconfidence in these judgments. This effect was partially mediated by the interviewer’s professional performance during rapport building. Interview procedure moderated both the direct and indirect effect (through professional performance) of applicant stigma on interviewer confidence. Results show that interviewer (over)confidence in biased judgments is driven by the initial effects of, and reactions to, the stigmatized applicant. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research uses binary logistic regression to test for a connection between the race of interviewer and race of respondent on five questions in the General Social Survey about the use of physical force by the police. Results indicate two instances of race-of-interviewer effect: (1) black respondents were more likely to voice disapproval about whether the police can strike a citizen trying to escape when speaking to a black interviewer, and (2) white respondents were less likely to voice approval of police striking an adult male citizen in the presence of a black interviewer. Secondary findings indicate that education is consistently significant regardless of race of respondent and the survey question, while social class, sex, age, and region are significant in only limited scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We offer the first empirical test of the ‘stranger-interviewer norm’, according to which interviewers in social, demographic, and health surveys should be strangers—not personally familiar with respondents. We use data from an experimental survey in the Dominican Republic that featured three types of interviewer: from out of town (outsiders); local but unknown to the respondent (local-strangers); and local with a previous relationship to the respondent (insiders). We were able to validate answers to up to 18 questions per respondent, mainly by checking official documents in their possession. Contrary to expectations derived from the stranger-interviewer norm, respondents were more reluctant to show the documents needed for validation when the interviewer was an outsider. Furthermore, and again at odds with the stranger-interviewer norm, we found no difference in accuracy by type of interviewer. Our results have important implications for the selection of survey interviewers in less developed and non-Western settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: This paper compares the panel interview (PI) performance with the multiple mini interview (MMI) performance and indication of behavioural concerns of a sample of medical school applicants. The acceptability of the MMI was also assessed. Materials and methods: All applicants shortlisted for a PI were invited to an MMI. Applicants attended a 30-min PI with two faculty interviewers followed by an MMI consisting of ten 8-min stations. Applicants were assessed on their performance at each MMI station by one faculty. The interviewer also indicated if they perceived the applicant to be a concern. Finally, applicants completed an acceptability questionnaire. Results: From the analysis of 133 (75.1%) completed MMI scoresheets, the MMI scores correlated statistically significantly with the PI scores (r=0.438, p=0.001). Both were not statistically associated with sex, age, race, or pre-university academic ability to any significance. Applicants assessed as a concern at two or more stations performed statistically significantly less well at the MMI when compared with those who were assessed as a concern at one station or none at all. However, there was no association with PI performance. Acceptability scores were generally high, and comparison of mean scores for each of the acceptability questionnaire items did not show statistically significant differences between sex and race categories. Conclusions: Although PI and MMI performances are correlated, the MMI may have the added advantage of more objectively generating multiple impressions of the applicant's interpersonal skill, thoughtfulness, and general demeanour. Results of the present study indicated that the MMI is acceptable in a multicultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I recently completed 74 oral history interviews with refugees from multiple origins to ascertain how they interpret and learn from popular and government-produced media throughout their relocation to the USA. This multisited, multilingual research presented a unique manifestation of the ethical and pragmatic considerations inherent within qualitative research. In this brief essay, I reflect on the challenges and implications of planning, doing, and writing engaged scholarship in peculiar contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The strategic use of evidence in interviews with suspects has been shown to increase the ability of interviewers to accurately and consistently distinguish truthful from deceptive accounts. The present study considers the effect of early and gradual revelation of evidence by the interviewer, and the effect of shorter and longer delay on the verbal quality of truth-teller and liar statements within a mock crime paradigm. It was hypothesised that gradual disclosure of evidence (1) in terms of inconsistencies (a) within statements and (b) between statements and such evidence and (2) of the criteria of Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) and of Reality Monitoring (RM) would emphasise differences in the verbal quality of truth-teller and liar statements. Forty-two high school students took part in the study. The use of statement-evidence and within-statement inconsistency appears to be a robust cue to deception across interview style and delay. This indicates that gradual disclosure in interviews may increase interviewer accuracy in veracity decisions by eliciting statement inconsistencies. However, gradual revelation and delay affected the ability of CBCA and RM criteria to distinguish the veracity of suspect statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispositional reasoning is defined as general reasoning about traits, behaviors, and situations. Although earlier accuracy studies found that it predicted interview judgment accuracy, they did not distinguish between its underlying components (i.e., trait induction, trait extrapolation, and trait contextualization). This drawback has hampered insight into the nature of the dispositional reasoning construct. Therefore, we use a componential approach to test if dispositional reasoning adheres to classical criteria for an intelligence. Results from 146 managerial interviewers who observed videotaped interviewees showed that the dispositional reasoning components had positive manifold and predicted interview accuracy. Moreover, they demonstrated discriminant validity with personality and incremental validity over cognitive ability in predicting interview accuracy. Together, findings suggest that dispositional reasoning broadly adheres to the classical criteria for an intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elicitation techniques are a category of research tasks that use visual, verbal, or written stimuli to encourage participants to talk about their ideas. These tasks are particularly useful for exploring topics that may be difficult to discuss in formal interviews, such as those that involve sensitive issues or rely on tacit knowledge. Elicitation techniques can also reduce power imbalances between interviewers and respondents, and they can enhance participants’ ability to elaborate on their own conceptions of the world, rather than limiting them to categories derived from theory or previous research. Among the most useful of such techniques are those that involve respondents inarrangingstimulus materials,constructingmaterials in response to stimuli, andexplainingstimulus materials. Each of these has been used to explore important topics in social education, and familiarity with a range of elicitation techniques enables researchers to overcome many barriers to productive interviewing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We tested whether simulated child sexual abuse (CSA) interviews with computer-generated child avatars could improve interview quality. Feedback was provided not only on question types, as in previous research, but also on whether the conclusions drawn by the interviewers were correct. Twenty-one psychology students (average ageM= 24.5) interviewed four different avatars which had a simulated story of either abuse or non-abuse. The participants were randomly divided into two groups: one received feedback on question types and conclusions after each simulated interview and the other one did not receive any feedback. Avatars revealed pre-defined ‘memories’ as a function of algorithms formulated based on previous empirical research on children's suggestibility. The feedback group used more open-ended and fewer closed questions. They also made more correct conclusions and found more correct details in the last two interviews compared to the no-feedback group. Feedback on both the question types and conclusions in simulated CSA interviews with avatars can improve the quality of investigative interviews in only one hour. The implications for training practice were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives:Positive interviewer feedback should encourage positive experiences and outcomes for interviewees. Yet, positive feedback is inconsistent with socially anxious interviewees' negative self-views. Socially anxious interviewees might experience increased self-focus while attempting to reconcile the inconsistency between their self-perceptions and that feedback. This could interfere with successful interview performance.Design:This study used a 3 (feedback: positive, negative, no) × 2 (social anxiety: high, low) between-subjects design.Method:Undergraduate students (N= 88) completed a measure of dispositional social anxiety. They then engaged in a simulated interview with a White confederate trained to adhere to a standardized script. Interviewees received positive, negative, or no interviewer feedback. Each interview was video recorded to code anxiety displays, impression management tactics, and interview success.Results:Following positive feedback, socially anxious interviewees displayed more anxiety, less assertiveness, and received lower success ratings. Among anxious interviewees, increased self-focus provided an indirect path between positive feedback and lower success.Conclusions:Consistent with self-verification theory, anxious interviewees had poorer interview performance following positive feedback that contradicted their negative self-views. Thus, socially anxious interviewees might be at a disadvantage when interviewing, especially following positive feedback. Implications for interviewees and interviewers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the development of a synchronous text-based online interviewing tool with a continuity of private discussion that is not achieved in open-ended questionnaires, email interviews and online discussion boards. The participants were women who had undergone a surgical or natural menopause, who in a pilot interview highlighted the potential sensitivity of this subject and inspired the implementation of this method. The overall feedback was positive with the main advantages centred on feelings of anonymity, convenience and a more comfortable interview environment. Disadvantages included lack of body language and technical issues with computers. This technique ensures a degree of confidentiality while still obtaining depth of enquiry, where other qualitative methods potentially risk invading a participant’s privacy. It can be offered both alongside other interviewing techniques to allow participant choice and on its own when exploring sensitive and personal topics or when extra participant anonymity is appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the use of verbal probes in cognitive interviews (CIs) undertaken to test the usefulness, validity and reliability of survey questions. Through examining the use of probes by three interviewers undertaking interviews as part the piloting of a cross-national crime survey, we examine which of the various types of probes used in CIs produce the most useful information. Other influences on interview quality are examined, including differences between interviewers and respondents themselves. The analyses rely on multi-level modelling and suggest that anticipated, emergent and conditional probes provide the most useful data. Furthermore, age, gender and educational levels appear to have no bearing on the quality of the data generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]