Do you hit the bull’s-eye with your investigations and enforcement? Old systems, even as “old” as ten years, are no longer reliable as they once were thought to be. With today’s advances in technology and improved reliability, you can increase the accuracy, dependability, and timeliness of interviewing. With an updated system like iRecord’s, the technology is more consistent, reliable, and allows for easier sharing, among many of its advantages.
According to Dictionary.com, reliability can be defined as something “that may be relied on or trusted; dependable in achievement, accuracy, honesty, etc.” Do your interviews meet this definition? If not, how can you make them more reliable?
The Importance of Reliability
In all research (whether academic or investigative), reliability is crucial. According to the Annenberg Institute:
Reliability is the consistency of the measurement, either across like respondents or across administrations of the survey… [A]n interview requires reliability across interviewers – each asking the question in the same way. One way to increase reliability is to ask a number of different questions about the same phenomenon. Piloting or pretesting the survey can also help you check its reliability.
Are you getting the similar responses with different questions? Are multiple people telling the same story? Discrepancies may not be initially evident, however, through recording, an investigator can go back and review the interviews and notice similarities or differences.
Interviewers also improve with practice in feedback. Many public speakers record themselves so that they can view their performance, take notes, and make subsequent improvements. With recording, an interviewer can do the same. As consistency improves, so does reliability.
Are you ready to improve the reliability of your interviews through recording them with digital technology? Contact us so we can help you find the best solution!