The following guidelines have been very helpful in CyPRG interviews.  They are also applicable in many kinds of organizational interview research.  

Setting up appointments can take some time.  Start as early as you can.  

Start with an e-mail message or a letter, then follow up with a phone call.  It may take several calls to track down the webmaster or person responsable for the web operation.  Generally however, the webmaster can be found through the website "Contacts" page.

2.  Rolling interviews

Use the webmaster interview opportunity to follow up one or two levels further inside the organization, with supervisor/boss, or someone else involved in the web operation, if any.  This will help in getting a clearer picture of what is actually going on in the organization as it confronts a new technology and its organizational effects.

3.  Importance of organizational focus in CyPRG work

The Web is technologically, organizationally AND politically significant for us, and in order to capture all three perspectives, we need to operate at all three levels.  Technologies only have effects on societies and politics through their effects in and on organizations, so we are always focused on the organizational issues surrounding the introduction and use of the Web.  

Therefore, our interviewing appear to be mundane organizational issues.  That is good.  Interviews with web operatives, such as webmasters, website editors, and the like, should concentrate on what they do, how their activities may have changed, and why.  This is what the operatives know best, after all.  We can piece together what the implications are as we go along.  If anything surprising comes up during the interviews, you can follow up on the spot.

4.  Note taking and taping

Traditionally during interviews we have taken discreet notes which we then redact the same day, at home or in our hotel rooms.  It is important to get notes transcribed and typed up soon after the interview, before details get lost and forgotten.  This is tedious, I know, but vital.

There are two schools of thought about taping interviews.  One is that it will scare people from saying anything useful.  The other is that it does in fact capture more details than note-taking does.  I've done it both ways, with success.  My preference would be to take notes, since they have to be transcribed and interpreted anyway, and the volume of output with tape transcriptions may be more than we need.  If you tape, use a discreet tape recorder with long--playing tapes to avoid distractions.  Identify yourself and the interviewee, and the date and place at the beginning.

In any case, I would never do anything that would dissuade an interviewee from speaking freely.  If in doubt, take notes.  

5.  Making the most of a CyPRG interview

While each session can take as little as 20-30 minutes, we find that they often last as long as two or more hours.  This is terrific.  Increased contact makes for a much more interesting result.  To make the most of an interview, try to do these things:

--emphasize that this is research conducted by researchers at the University of Arizona, George Mason, the Univ. of Roskilde in Denmark, and sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Pew Project on the Internet and American Life.  It is therefore subject to the usual norms of academic research, and is not for-profit or proprietary.  

--explain that we are interested in both theoretical research questions of the impact of networked information technologies on public organizations, but equally in the practical implications of our work:  we aim to help managers do the best they can during a time of rapid and sometimes confusing technological change. The interviews are to inform us, not to criticize them.  Telling them this will help them see that they may get something out of spending time with us.

--if people are nervous about the questions they will be asked, you may provide them with a copy ahead of time.  But do not encourage this.  We want good, informal face-to-face conversations, not written answers provided without discussion.  

--our data and findings are public, but request for non-attribution or privacy will be unconditionally respected.  We will be most happy to make our results available to interviewees and others.  However, we do not circulate our notes for approval or correction to anyone.  

--bring a copy of the radargraphs or data about the organization the interviewee works in, and relevant comparisons with other organizations in the same country or the equivalent organizations in other countries.  Everyone loves to know how they and their competition are doing.  I can help with this if you let me know what organizations you have made contact with.  Explaining the radargraphs greatly helps to communicate our interests and methodology, and immediately opens the door to a more detailed and sophisticated conversation than you ordinarily would have.

--as background, get a quick description of what the organization does, its structure, way of working, size, degree of centralization, etc.  This background information will help us understand overall context.

--when you are about to finish the interview and leave, ask who else in the organization might be good to contact.  This will help with the rolling interview technique we have adopted.

6.  Personal presentation

It goes without saying, but just to be sure:  be courteous, serious, and respectful, but also friendly and personable.  Wear appropriate clothes.  Make eye contact.  Speak clearly.  Avoid jargon.  

7.  Thank-you notes

And last, but not least:  follow-up with a short thank-you note.  We may want to visit them again, so it is good to cement a good impression.  What's more, it's the right thing to do.