Interviews with key stakeholders with expertise relevant to a particular community issue are lengthy, one to one interviews that may last an hour or two, and require specialist skill to use the time effectively, and to elicit relevant and specific information. The interviewer should be able to gain insights from a 'casual' conversation so the person being interviewed does not get too narrow in addressing a single point (unless you want a lot of info about a specific issue). This interviewing technique is like the technique in focus groups, because you can keep asking questions until you get a satisfactory response. These are expensive and hard to do well, but they are very good sources of information and are especially useful when it is important to understand the views of certain people (because of their position or their expertise).
This page originally copied with permission from the Citizens Science Toolbox
