There is no one general rule how to interview, when informants are shy. I think the basic idea is to be patient, to show respect, in accepted way and give key informants lot of time for an answer. Try not to cause any pressure and start an interview with subjects, which are subtle, a bit neutral and would not confuse your key informants. Also, try to discover individual, linguistic characteristic of launguage of your informants and speak on similar level of vocabulary. There is lot of references in books and qualitative research literature. I can recommend Stainar Kvale. Good luck in the field.

Dear Wahyudi David,

Like Beata said, there are no known formats for interview. However, considering that we are talking of indigenous people, the following will help in my opinion:

1. Thoroughly research their culture since this would give clues as to what not to say, and help in framing questions that would be appropriate in language and tone.

2. If there is a dictionary of their language and the interviewer's native language, it would be advisable to use it extensively in framing questions and even writing down the answers or taking notes. This would help in understanding our conversation with them in the correct cultural perspective, resulting in accuracy.

3. Check with other researchers in the field if there is anything insensitive in the way the interviewer proposes to be dressed up or interviewers mannerisms that could convey an appearance of 'superiority' or cultural prejudice. This could easily put off an otherwise hospitable participant.

4. We should not imitate them in their manners in the belief that it may put them at ease. Sometimes, this results in misunderstanding.

5. An interpreter conversant in both the languages is an asset.

6. Do not offer things to appease, unless it is acceptable in their social custom. If it is okay, offer only those things that are not construed as 'offensive' or 'boorish'.

Long ago, as part of my work, I had to extensively interact with tribal populations in some remote part of my country. Apart from the fact that I had to access information from them, I had to carry out certain tasks with their co-operation. The above are some of the steps that I had to adopt in order to satisfactorily accomplish my tasks. Hope this helps!!

Thanks Beata and Srinivasan...

Hi, David.

My experience is: let them know about the reasons why you are doing questions. This atitude make them confident about your plans. In case of indigenous people being shy may be a kind of protection. After show them the results of your experience and they´ll see their (and your) contribution to the field of your research.

Best regards. Patrícia

In addition to the recommendations listed above, I suggest using open-ended questions at the beginning of interviews, and listening carefully to the way your subject approaches the answers. I'm very sensitive to the ways that people frame answers, and also to body language. I tend to subtly adopt my style in a direction that seems to make the informant more comfortable (though I agree with Srinivasan Rajamanickam that imitating outright is not usually a good idea). I also agree with Patricia Gazoni, that transparency is very important. People should know exactly why you are interviewing them and what you will do with the information. In the end, though, being a good interviewer has a lot more to do with one's "people skills" than it does with memorizing rules or instructions. Improving your own comfort level with people who are not like you, and learning to be at home in situations that you don't control, are also important skills to cultivate, as is flexibility.

I totally agree with Kali

Thanks Kali & Patricia

In my experience, I try to keep them at ease by interviewing them in a place that is more casual, such as a restaurant. My questions are often simply constructed, utilizing key words for the interviewee to latch onto and begin speaking. Once the person begins to talk, as they become comfortable, they will often diverge into several different topics. The challenge will be to capture as much information as possible, yet try and keep the interviewee on topic.

@Beata, @ Srinivasan & @ Wahyudi David,

As pointed out by Beata & Srinivasan, there appears to be no hard and fast rule. The suggestions made by Srinivasan Sir seem to be quite meaningful. Patience and empathy would definitely help in such situations. Try sincerely to be a part of the indigenous community to whom you are dealing, in a natural manner rather than in an artificial manner (like, imitating their customs and practices). Suggestions as above made by different researchers be kept in mind, and that would be quite adequate for an interviewer to be successful in such kinds of research settings. Because, there cannot at all be ready-made or quick-fix solutions or answers.

Dr. MANOJ P K, CUSAT, KERALA, INDIA.

@ Agnes, @ Manoj thank you

Wahyudi,you are quite welcome,and I wish you the best in your research endeavors.

Hi Wahyudi,

I'm not sure what you mean by indigenous people exactly, but "studying" Indigenous groups i.e. Aboriginal peoples, is highly problematic. Thus, the easiest solution to your problem is to study the forces that act upon them.

Having said that, many of the suggestions above provide sound advice. Building on the discussion, It might be that they are 'shy' because of cultural differences, or perhaps they are not shy at all but see you as an 'outsider' and/or don't trust you. Ethnographers spend years in communities to build up trust before considering the validity of what is shared with them. Often, interviewees will tell you things they think you want to hear.

The best approach is to be empathetic, act as an advocate to their concerns (which requires background knowledge), and begin with a general discussion/conversation until they feel comfortable and start opening up to you, at which point you can ask follow up questions to flush out and clarify their responses/answers.

I just finished some interviews where the respondents where reluctant to speak to me. I kept talking to them until they said something that was relevant to my study, and then I tried to build on that. By the end of the interviews, both parties seemed satisfied with the outcome and many respondents where willing to keep in contact with me after the interviews. So, building rapport is an important aspect, especially for follow up.

Hope this helps and the interviews go well.

Guy

Hi Guy, thanks for your help, my research is in Jambi, Indonesia. I am doing interview with Suku Anak Dalam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubu_people). The research goal is to look the interaction between dietary pattern and local biodiversity...

Yes, I am trying to have a conversation and make them feel comfortable and start the questions..

Wahyudi, the study sounds exciting. Given your research group I suspect they have had people "studying" them for quite a while and thus are going to be very stand offish. The same is true of Indigenous groups here in Canada. A lot of the dietary patterns can be supplemented with an observational study as well. Make some friends and hang out as much as possible. If you can be part of their daily routine in terms of collecting, preparing, and eating food that would go along way in terms of understanding your research question, gaining knowledge and insight into the culture, and giving you legitimacy within the community. So a participant observational approach with semi-structured or open-ended interviews might be more appropriate and a way for them to open up more. And hopefully there's not a tight deadline on the research project.

Guy

@ Mahdi: Thank you, @ Guy: yes observational study much give benefit and new perspective. @Larisa: Thank You.

I agree with the others that there is no specific method however, I would highly recommend 'gaining trust' , that is the key to interview. But I would suggest several things that you might like to consider before going for an interview:

i. it is to an advantage if you can obtain the background of the interviewee

ii. i believe interview questions should be develop based on the method you choose. based on my reading, research method i.e case study would have different approach to a grounded theory so the interview questions would implicitly be different.

iii. there are stages of interview, so again, if it is initial stage, the interview questions should designed differently from the following stage due to the different aim of your study.

iv. what is handy is to learn how the journalist or presenter asked questions - it is good way of creating or developing leading questions (probing)

v. body language is also helpful because body language gives you indicator.

I find wengraff (2001- if i am not mistaken) would be a good reference.