ABSTRACT
Intensive interviewing techniques involving in-depth, one-on-one conversations with selected respondents are a primary instrument of qualitative research. A specialized interview is any interview in which the characteristics of respondents demand procedures different from those employed in standardized survey interviewing. Specialized interviewing is called for when researchers cannot assume that they and their respondents share a common vocabulary. A central difference between sample survey interviewing and elite interviewing is the degree to which the interview is standardized. Major difference between elite interviewing and survey interviewing is that, whereas survey interviews are generally highly scheduled interviews, elite interviews are largely unscheduled interviews. Researchers can guard against drawing invalid conclusions from elite interviews by following some general guidelines. Elite interviewers have to assume that potential respondents differ in how much they can contribute to the study and that each respondent has something unique to offer. Intensive interviewing techniques offer access to information about the world that cannot be obtained through other methods.
