When on television we hear about the results of opinion polls, the question often arises: “Interviewer - who is it?” Let's understand the terminology.
Interviewers in sociology are people who interview respondents or interview other people who fall within a particular sample. At the same time, not the entire population is questioned, but only those categories of citizens who meet certain criteria. The selection is made by gender, age, social status, income, education, etc., depending on the goals and objectives of the study. Accordingly, those people who fell under such a sample are called respondents. In other words, interviewers are those who interview, and respondents are those who are interviewed.
At the same time, this definition does not quite explain: the interviewer - who is it? The fact is that in sociology there are several research methods. In mass interviews, when it is required to interview a large number of respondents (about 1200-2400 people), they usually resort to interviews, individual interviews. Then the interviewer finds the respondent and conducts a personal conversation with him, asking the questions recorded in the questionnaire (or in the interview form, speaking in a sociological language). This conversation is called the "interview."
Another technique - a focused group interview, or focus group - involves working with a limited number of respondents, about 8-12 people. In this case, the conversation is recorded on the recorder or video, the recording of which is then decrypted. The task of the interviewer (moderator) in this case is to try to “talk” with the focus group participants, to make them answer the questions as accurately and frankly as possible.
Thus, answering the question “Interviewer - who is this?”, We can say that this is a person who collects and organizes information. He does not analyze the data obtained, but is responsible for their objectivity, as well as for compliance with the standards set forth in the research program.
Work as an interviewer in this regard is akin to the work of an amateur psychologist. If the interviewer cannot “talk” the respondent, does not force him to speak openly (and this is very difficult, given the amount of work involved in conducting mass interviews), then such an interviewer can be considered incompetent. In this case, he is fined or even completely removed from the “field”.
In principle, the answer to the question “Interviewer - who is it?” lies in the plane of the functional “connection” with other participants in a sociological study. So, if a sociologist and analyst work individually (develops the front of work, calculations, creates a questionnaire and compiles a sample, writes a report), then the interviewer works in a team.
Let’s say an apartment survey. Of course, you can interview yourself, but usually at each address they work in pairs. Which, in principle, is understandable: a man may not be opened, and a girl - almost always. On hands 30-50 questionnaires are issued. At an average pace and a simple questionnaire, it is possible to interview 10-15 people.
It turns out that the respondent and the interviewer are sui generis dialectic opposites to each other: the task of one is to maintain maximum information, while the task of the other is to obtain the necessary amount of information. Therefore, effective work is obtained only when they quickly find mutual psychological contact. And this is the professionalism of the interviewer.
