How to conclude the Survey Interview?

At the beginning of the research itself, you are focused completely on designing of the questionnaire and making all other arrangements that would be required for the survey. With all the tangibles in place, you may simply forget to prepare yourself mentally about the way you are going to close the interview. Though, it seems like it doesn’t require any preparation in terms of collecting things, but you must do some preparation and mental planning to make sure that the way you transit to the closure of the interview, you are doing justice to the entire effort,  as well as, to the respondent.

There are some important things to remember about the way you decide to close the interview:

Give gratitude to the respondent: This is something you must never forget to do. Even if the respondent has not given complete cooperation and has been troublesome or uninformative, you must show courtesy and thank him for the time spared for you.

Commit to sending them the results in a time frame:  It is very annoying when researchers do not send the results to the respondents, after committing to them for doing it.  This is something that the researcher owes to the respondent. Keeping in mind the intellectual capacity of the respondent, the researcher must prepare a short summary of the interview that can be sent to the respondent.

Don’t let the ending be abrupt:  After you have winded up the conversation from your end, it is a good idea to give a few minutes to the respondent to know anything that he wants to. He may have the curiosity to know a little about the objectives of your research and the way your results are going to get used. Having a constructive conversation, in the end, is a good way to wind up the conversation. Give a polite and courteous close to the conversation. Don’t let it be draggy but surely have an ear for the concerns of the respondent, as well.

Make personalised notes, immediately:  There will be some observations in the interview that you would have in your mind, but not written. It is a good idea to pin them down at the earliest possibility. You should not be trusting your memory to retain it for a long time. Put down your comments and observation, but remember to keep them distinguished from the formal notes of an interview.