Step 1: Notify each participant ahead of time that you want to schedule an interview, explaining its main purpose and importance.

Participants will be more motivated to agree to an interview and cooperate fully if they know what to expect. Chances are that those targeted for interviews already will be contributing in other ways to data collection in a broader evaluation effort. Thus, it is prudent to notify participants at the very beginning of the evaluation that they may be asked to participate in an interview.

About a month before the interview, notify participants about the time window and the main purpose of the interview. If the evaluation team has regular face-to-face contact with participants, then they can be notified verbally. If there is little or no contact with participants, then a personalized notification letter should be sent. This letter should be brief and include the following information:

• The approximate date when the interview will be scheduled (e.g., "the second week in March")


• The main purpose of the interview


• Why it is important for the person to participate (e.g., "your feedback will help us improve the training course")


• The approximate time it will take to complete the interview (e.g., "about one hour of your time")


• A statement of thanks


• The organization or project sponsoring the interview (letterhead may convey this information)

An example of a notification letter appears in the Scenario section of this module.