Interviewing: My Fave in Data Gathering

Choosing between techniques such as interviewing, document review, observation, and use of questionnaires in gathering data simply depends on the type of data to be gathered. "How" data should be gathered simply equates to "what" type of data should be gathered. I am not really bragging (because I know my classmates are also the same) but I am comfortable in using any of these techniques. I can apply or use any technique needed. But due to some sometimes subtle and sometimes huge differences of the said technique I have opted on using what I should call as my favorite technique and that is "Interviewing".

On important occasions, such as data gathering I am a bit of a mouthful. True that talking to well of people, most of which is older, smarter and people who have a certain air of power like the ones we interviewed in our past company hunting, I easily get intimated and abashed but then I already proved that I can gather more accurate data in interviewing. Sure that this technique have some downsides like starting off an interview with these people which from my experience is the hardest part in this technique, and when sometimes the interviewee starts talking of things the interviewer isn't familiar with (which really sucks at times) or when the interviewee talks about things that aren't really related with the question but then it has the most advantages than the other techniques.

What are these advantages? For one, when we compare interviewing with observation, we can't really make sure that what we observed is correct because we are basing it from our inept and inexperienced eyes. With questionnaires, we can't be sure that we have exact answers, especially when numbers are involved. And if we use document review, we will just get stuck with their past data. All of these glitches can be prevented through the use of interviewing.

Being a opinionated (I think so) and mouthful person like myself, interviewing is the best match for me. I like to ask questions, and branch out new questions from my interviewees answers or replies, its justlike socializing for me. It also enables me to not only get exact data but also get additional information that can be useful for my study. From my past experiences, I didn't only learned a lot of things about what data I was supposed to gather but I also discovered a lot of new things, things useful not only for my studies but also on my outlook on life. Our mentor in our HRM adopted company taught us a lot more than HRM related studies but also on other things such as goal setting, how to get employed and other useful tips. This is the benefit one can get through interviewing.