Writing Questions and Conducting the Interview with a Professor
1. Writing Your Questions
Remember, you are interviewing your professor to find out about the major, the kind of
subjects people in the major study, the kinds of questions they ask; the kinds of research
they conduct to answer those questions, and the kind of writing they do and for whom.
So you might begin by asking your professor how he or she came to that field. Which
discipline does it belong to or is it an interdisciplinary subject? Has that changed over time?
For example, some professors in Communications argue that it is one of the social;
however, others argue that it should be considered one of the humanities.
Ask about the kinds of subjects people investigate and how they make knowledge in the
field. Do they conduct experiments or take surveys or read primary texts? Do they come up
with ideas for their scholarship by looking at what other scholars have done?
What is the most important aspect of their research? What must they do when they write
about it to ensure that other scholars find their work convincing?
What kinds of publications does this professor write or hope to write? For what audiences?
How does that differ from the kind of writing assigned to undergraduates? What about
secondary research. Does the professor use one particular databse and which journal does
he or she read regularly. What style manual does the field employ?
Keep questions clear but avoid the kind that can be answered with yes or no. Limit
the number of questions you ask.
2. Before the Interview
Prepare. No interview can be successful without some amount of preparation. Know the
person you're going to talk to. Know enough about the topic to be able to ask the right
questions, and consequently, impress upon the interviewee that you care enough to
prepare. Your own anxiety will lesson the better prepared you are, but the preparation is a
guideline, not a script. Some people benefit from a tentative list of questions, others from
some background material.
Scheduling. Make the appointment as convenient as possible for the interviewee. You are at
their whim. While you should not go anywhere or schedule a time you're not comfortable
with, you should bend over backwards to accommodate the schedule and preferences of the
interviewee. Be sure to be frank when talking with the interviewee, telling he/she the
purpose of the interview and the audience.
Practice. If you are nervous or would like the practice, do a dry run with a friend just to make
the experience a bit more familiar to you (have them make up answers to your questions).
3. During the Interview:
Provide an Overview. Tell the interviewee exactly how long you plan to talk and ask if that is
ok (if not, make the appropriate changes in your head). Build rapport with the interviewee in
any genuine way you can (common interests, weather, family, office, etc.). Be creative, but
make sure you're not doing most of the talking (true anywhere in the interview process). If
you want to use any recording device, ask for their permission, and then ask again while the
tape is rolling so you have their permission on tape.
Dispel any fear/apprehension or confusion right at the beginning by asking if the interviewee
has any questions before you get started. Be honest and friendly. Smile a lot.
Get busy, and ask your questions. Do not ever appear to be wasting their time.
Listen actively. Eye contact is vitally important. If you are taking notes, learn to take most of
them without looking at the page (another good reason to record the conversation). Do not
be afraid to show genuine emotion at appropriate times in the conversation (this builds
rapport).
Follow up some questions with another question on the same subject. It is rarely the case
that a subject is adequately exhausted with one question. You may need to ask the same
question in several ways, or diligently press for more detail to really get a good answer. If
the interviewee strays from the subject, try not to interrupt, but do not hesitate to ask them to
talk more about your specific question. Make sure the interviewee is as specific as possible.
Do not be afraid to stray from you prepared questions—tangents often yield valuable
information you can not anticipate. As soon as the info feels irrelevant, though, steer them
back on track. Use questions like the following:
Why?
What else?
Can you give an example?
What about this idea in terms of ___________?
Always build rapport. You may be listening actively all the way through the interview, but you
may need to save the hardest, most difficult questions for when you have had a chance to
build a relationship with this interviewee. Feel free to briefly relate a story or situation of your
own to build rapport, but do not dominate the conversation.
Control the interview. Do not allow the interviewee to be asking most of the questions.
Answer questions with questions if you have to in order to keep the interviewee talking
about the subject at hand. Don't be rude, but keep the inquiry on track.
Conclude. When you are out of time or you think you do not need any more information from
this person, ask four very important questions:
Have I left anything out? Is there anything else I should have asked about
__________?
Is there anyone else (or any other sources) I should talk to about this? Can help me
contact/find them?
When can I get the paperwork/forms/information you mentioned in this interview from
you? (Give a specified date.)
If I have any further questions or clarifications, how can I get in touch with you again?
Thank them sincerely and often for their time and help. It's hard to exaggerate this. Really
convince them you appreciate their time and expertise (even if you didn't get any).
4. After the Interview
It is not uncommon to call your interviewee, e-mail them, or send a card thanking them
again for their time and help. This further builds rapport, as well as makes it possible to see
them again if you need to in the future.