As part of my research towards my dissertation, I am going to be interviewing the person responsible for blocking access to all forms of social from within our organisation. In the interests of evenhandedness, I need to make sure that I don't go in there with a one-eyed point of view and a list of questions that serve my own agenda.
What would you ask him?
My husband, who is a CIO himself, has started the ball rolling with the following questions:
- What was the business case for blocking access to social media?
- What is the impact of allowing free access to social media?
- What is the impact of blocking access to social media?
5 comments:
I'd start more softly in order to draw out his perceptions of social media and his beliefs about its impact.
If you ask closed, loaded questions, your interview may be short and unpleasant.
Use the qualitative interviewing technique of asking an open question, then ask him to expand on specific things he says. For example, he may make a claim regarding risk, so ask him to characterise it or why he holds the belief.
If he doesn't mention it himself, ask about his circle of colleagues and what views they hold, and whether this has influenced his decision.
During the interview, avoid making judgements about his responses, and keep smiling. Also, avoid summarising his responses in threatening terms--"reticence" is a much nicer term than "unfounded fear" :-)
Best of success!
Thanks for the tip, Ron!
I'd be very tempted to ask which of the tools he uses, if any.
I'd also like to know what feedback is given for someone who asks to have a particular site unblocked...
...and also who to appeal to if an unblocking request is refused...
...and...and...and... lots more that is to do with my own situation rather than yours...
(...but I would like to know what tools/sites he uses...)
Have you had the interview, Karen? How did it go?
Neil: I totally understand your situation, and this is exactly my concern. That, instead of going in to learn something about why an IT person would block access and what their concerns are, I would go in with an axe to grind and attempt to convince the man that he is wrong. That doesn't constitute research.
Norman: Not yet. We'll be scheduling it for later this month. What I do need to do, though, is find a means of recording the interview. If it were to be done over the phone, I cold use Skype. Perhaps I shall just have to go low-tech with a casette recorder... if I can get my hands on one!
Post a Comment