The oral interview, as a method of data collection, consists of a conversation between two people which has a specific purpose:  one person (the interviewer) seeks to learn about and to document (or make a record) of the opinions, beliefs, feelings and  experience of the other person (the interviewee).

By engaging in this particular form of conversation, the interviewer obtains specific information that can be used in qualitative analysis. For our purpose, all of us who are or will be conducting interviews should look at it as an interactive and learning process. The interviews will help us to achieve a better understanding of the people whose experiences, beliefs, practices and feelings are the focus of our research. Combined with the quantitative analysis, our findings from the oral interviews may help prove or disprove the hypotheses that shape the conceptual framework of our study, “Four Displaced Communities of Islamic Cultures.” For this reason, although the approach seems to be “freer” than the questionnaire, the oral interview still has a focus and must follow rules.

An interview session starts with a brief introduction, explaining the purpose of the research and the interview, and thanking the respondent for participation in the conversation. The interviewee is also assured that the process is confidential and that her or his identity will remain anonymous.   On the basis of this fundamental trust, the interviewee is asked for consent in recording the conversation.   So, there is an ethical and personal contract involved in this process which we must make clear at the outset. 

Interviews are open-ended, but work from a basic outline of guiding questions.