Key Informant Interviews

Deborah Rubin and

Ruth Meinzen-Dick

A4NH Gender-Nutrition Methods Workshop

December 6-7, Nairobi, Kenya

OVERVIEW

• Sampling: whom to interview as a key informant

• Technique: how to interview key informants

KII FG Village record

HH survey

Indivsurvey

Antrhopometry

Nutrition

Diet diversity X

Stunting x

Program design X

Ag production x x x

Market access x X

SAMPLING

• Who are Key Informants?

– Specialized knowledge

• About programs (government officials, program staff)

• About context (local government, local leaders)

• One person who can answer for many (efficiency)

– Influential opinions

– Gatekeepers

• Consider how “courtesy calls” can become KII

SAMPLE BIAS

• Key Informants often shape the research questions, so be aware of

– Elite capture, “official” story line

– Gender bias: are there knowledgeable women you are missing?

• Be aware that KII gives you their perspective, not necessarily an abstract “truth”

• What are they telling you (and what are they not telling you)?

KII INFO FOR GENDER & NUTRITION

• Perceptions of gender roles

• Perceptions of nutrition

• What they are trying to do in their programs or communities

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Official IRB standards of anonymity are higher for standard surveys than for KII of officials

• Release of KII data (and even some reports based on KII) can ruin careers of KII, put them in jeopardy

• Journalism vs research

INTERVIEW PRINCIPLES• The informational interview is a conversation

with a purpose. It needs to combine both social and professional elements.

• At the start, take time for a greeting and offer an explanation of the purpose of your interview.

• Express ignorance. Show respect. The purpose of the interview is for you to learn from the informant.

TRY TO MOVE BEYOND STEROTYPES 8

CONDUCT OF INTERVIEWS• Have key questions/information needs in

mind, but also be ready to follow up, probe deeper.

• Watch body language, areas of discomfort.

• Recording options: trade-offs between complete recording and comfort of respondent

– Voice recording

– Computer notes

– Hand notes

– Memory (written up shortly thereafter)

CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS ON GENDER

• Context: Women and men interviewees may respond differently to women or men interviewers. Married women may respond differently when interviewed alone or with her husband; Married men may respond differently when interviewed along or with his wife/wives. Both may respond differently when alone or with others.

• Content: Gendered access to information means different respondents may tell different stories – both may be correct.

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ASKING QUESTIONS

• Collect/check basic information.

Open-ended questions:

• Descriptive questions are broad and general and allow people to describe their experiences and their daily activities, e.g., “Tell me about a typical day.”

• Structural questions explore responses to descriptive questions. They are used to understand how the respondent organizes knowledge.

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• Avoid asking the informant questions that make him or her do the analytical work for you. • Instead of asking, “What do you mean that it is “too hard” to find workers at planting time?” you might ask, “What efforts did you take to find workers at planting time?” or “Give me an example of what you did to find workers.” • Avoid asking multi-part questions, but do follow up if answers are not clear.

DURING THE INTERVIEW

ENDING THE INTERVIEW

• At the end of the interview, briefly summarize the main points to check that you have understood the interviewee’s position.

• Ask if the informant has questions for you.

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