It was Shillong once again which posed another problem.
The researcher was unaware that Anglo-Indians are known by
their tribal surnames in Shillong. Hence, it was extremely
difficult to get in touch with the group who were waiting
to be interviewed.
The next section goes on to discuss the issues raised by
the use of the interview as a research tool.
8. THE INTERVIEW: The interview roles did not vary during
the survey, that is, the transaction took place to gain
information from the respondent who supplied it, but the
motive for taking part in the interview differed. For
example, some respondents participated because of political
reasons, and the opportunity to explore the "backward
label", which was in the forefront of political debate in
India.
The interviews were all conducted in English. The group
interviews with the students were conducted in single-sex
groups, except for the youngest children aged 5 to 7 who
were interviewed together. Each interview always started
with factual questions about themselves and ended with
open-ended questions. The students were asked simple
questions related to their social and educational
environment.
Each interview lasted approximately one and a half hours.
Five interviews lasted two hours and three interviews
lasted two and a half hours. Ten group interviews were
taped, and notes were also taken during the interviews.
Most of the respondents were willing to be photographed.
The use of the interview was important as a specific
research tool in this fieldwork. The formal interview was
employed in which the six questions were asked and the
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