Comprehensive Guide to Interviewing, Surveys, and Ethical Value Judgments in Human Interactions

Value judgments

Each party must determine what is ethical according to personal and prevailing societal values in judging the degree of right and wrong, goodness or badness in diverse situations and actions.

Values

Fundamental beliefs about ideal states of existence and modes of behavior.

Verbal interactions

Words (arbitrary connections of letters) that serve as symbols for people, places, things, events, beliefs, and feelings.

Videoconference

Technology that enables interview parties to see and hear one another and to interact in real time.

Virtual interview

An electronic interview employed most often for practice and simulation.

Web survey

A survey that is conducted over the Internet rather than face-to-face or over the telephone.

Webinar

A presentation to an audience on the Web that may become an interview if it is a collaborative exchange between two parties who ask questions and provide answers to one another.

Yes (no) question pitfall

A question that has only one obvious answer.

Yes-but approach

An approach that begins with areas of agreement and approaches points of disagreement after goodwill and a supportive climate are established.

Yes-yes approach

The attempt to get another party in the habit of saying yes so agreements may continue.

Zoom

Enables groups of people to collaborate with one another verbally and visually by computer in boardrooms, classrooms, offices, and homes.

Tunnel sequence

A series of similar questions that are either open or closed.

lu quoque

An effort to dodge an issue or objection by revolving it upon the challenger or questioner.

Two parties

An interviewer and an interviewee party consisting of one or more persons with distinct roles and purposes such as getting and giving information, counseling and being counseled, persuading and being persuaded, recruiting and being recruited.

Undercover marketing

When a sales representative pretends to be a friendly, disinterested party rather than a sales representative. Also called stealth marketing.

Unintentional bipolar question pitfall

A question unintentionally designed to elicit a yes or no answer or a choice among two poles such as approve or disapprove when the interviewer desires a lengthy answer.

Unintentional leading question pitfall

A question unintentionally phrased to influence how an interviewee will answer a question.

Unipolar question

A question that has only one obvious or desired answer.

Universal performance interviewing model

A performance review that focuses on coaching by starting with positive behavior a manager wants the employee to maintain and then moving to behaviors that need to be corrected.

Unsanitized setting

A real-world interview setting with all of its problems, crises, interruptions, and unexpected happenings.

Upward communication

An interview in which a subordinate in an organizational hierarchy is attempting to interact as interviewer with a superior in the hierarchy.

Thin entering wedge tactic

An argument that one decision, action, or law after another is leading inevitably toward some sort of danger.

Tight rater

An interviewer who believes that no one can perform at the necessary standards.

Time sequence

An outline that treats topics and subtopics in chronological order.

Timing

The strategic selection of time and date to maximize likelihood of success.

Too high, too low question pitfall

A question that asks for information that is beneath or above the interviewee's level of information or expertise.

Tongue-in-cheek test response

A pleasant, perhaps humorous response that sends a signal to a recruiter that he or she has asked an unlawful question.

Topical sequence

An outline sequence that follows the natural divisions of a topic or subtopic.

Traditional forms

Standard types of interviews such as informational, survey, employment, performance review, counseling, and health care.

Traditional recruiter questions

Common questions generations of recruiters have asked, such as where do you plan to be five years from now.

Transfer interviews

Interviews designed to promote employees, to assign them to positions, or to move them from one position or location to another.

Transferring guilt

An effort to dodge an issue by turning the accuser, victim, or questioner into the guilty party.

Trial closing

The attempt to determine if an interviewee is read to close an interview with an agreement of some sort.

Talent or trait-based selection process

A recruiting interview in which all interviewer questions focus on specific talents or traits included in the applicant profile.

Talkative interviewee

An interviewee who gives overly long answers and talks too freely.

Task oriented

An interviewer who is more concerned with performing a task efficiently and effectively than in communicating effectively with an interviewee.

Team interview

When two to five persons representing an organization may interview an applicant at the same time.

Telephone interview

An interview that is conducted over the telephone rather than face-to-face.

Tell me everything question pitfall

An extremely open question with no restrictions or guidelines for the respondent.

Territorial markers

An imaginary bubble around us that we consider nearly as private as our body.

Territoriality

The physical and psychological space in which an interview takes place.

Test of job relatedness

Effort to meet EEO laws by establishing legally defensible selection criteria, asking questions related to these criteria, asking the same questions of all applicants, being cautious when probing into answers, being cautious during informal chit-chat, focusing questions on what applicants can do, and steering applicants away from volunteering unlawful information.

The 360-degree approach

A performance review model that obtains as many views of a person's performance as possible from observers who interact with the person on a regular basis.

Source-proposition conflict

Occurs when a person experiences clashes between two strongly-held positions on issues.

Space sequence

An outline that arranges topics and subtopics according to spatial divisions such as left to right, north to south.

Standard/learned principle

Principles people learn through life that automatically guide actions and decisions.

STAR method

When an applicant structures an answer in four parts by addressing the situation, the task, the action taken, and the results of this action.

Status difference

The difference in social or organizational hierarchy between interviewer and interviewee.

Stealth marketing

When a sales representative pretends to be a friendly, disinterested party rather than a sales representative.

Strategic ambiguities

The strategic use of words with multiple or vague meanings to avoid specific definitions or explanations.

Strategic answers

When interviewees answer questions to their advantage.

Stratified random sampling

A sampling method that selects the number of respondents according to their percentages in the target population.

Structure

A predetermined arrangement of parts or stages into a meaningful whole.

Supportive climate

A climate in which there is trust and respect between parties.

System

A degree of structure or organization that guides a planned interaction between two parties.

Table of random numbers

A sample of respondents selected by assigning each respondent a number and using a table of random numbers for picking a sample.

Shuffle strategy

A question strategy that enables interviewers to avoid responses based on the order rather than the content of answer options.

Silence

The absence of vocal communication from one or both parties in an interview.

Silent probe

When an interviewer remains silent after an answer and may use nonverbal signals to encourage the respondent to continue answering.

Similarity

Characteristics, experiences, interests, beliefs, attitudes, values, and expectations interview parties have in common.

Situation

A total interview context that includes events prior to and after, time, place, and surroundings.

Situational schema

A schema that includes all of the different types of interviews.

Skip interval or random digit sample

A sampling method in which every predetermined number on a list is selected, such as every 10th name in a directory.

Skype

A program that enables interviewers and interviewees to communicate instantly over the Internet by using a microphone and webcam.

Slang

Unofficial jargon that groups use.

Slogan or tabloid thinking

A clever phrase that encapsulates a position, stand, or goal of a persuader.

Social media

Blogs and Web sites such as My Space and Facebook that interviewers and interviewees use to interact socially with others.

Sound-alikes

Words that sound alike but have different meanings.

Self-concept

How a person perceives self physically, socially, and psychologically.

Self-disclosure

The willingness and ability to disclose information pertaining to oneself.

Self-esteem

Positive and negative feelings a person has of self.

Self-evident truth

A claim that a question or issue is not arguable because it is settled by rule or fact.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

A prediction that comes true because a person expects or predicts it will be so.

Self-identity

How, what, and with whom people identify themselves.

Self-persuasion

A situation in which a persuader encourages a person to persuade self rather than being persuaded by another.

Self-selection

When respondents alone determine if they will be included in a survey sample.

Seminar format

An interview format in which one or more recruiters interview several applicants at the same time.

Sequential phase model

A counseling model that centers on four phases based on affective (emotional) and cognitive (thinking) functions.

Sex

The genders of interview parties.

Shock-absorber phrases

Phrases that reduce the sting of critical questions.

Résumé

A brief accounting of an applicant's career goal, education, training, and experiences.

Résumé or application form question pitfall

Asking a question that is already answered on the résumé or application form.

Reticent interviewee

An interviewee who seems unwilling or unable to talk and respond freely.

Role competence

The ability of an interview party to play the roles of interviewer and interviewee effectively.

Rule of reciprocation

Instills in an interviewee a sense of obligation to repay in kind what another provides.

Sample point or block sampling

Preassigned numbers and types of respondents are chosen from assigned geographical areas.

Sample size

The number of persons interviewed during a survey when the whole population is too large to interview.

Sampling principles

Principles that create a sample that accurately represents the population under study.

Scannable résumé

A résumé designed specifically to be scanned effectively by electronic software used by recruiters.

Scanning software

Computer software that enables recruiters to scan résumés electronically to reduce the time required to select applicants to be interviewed.

Screening interviews

Interviews designed to select applicants for additional interviews.

Selection interview

An interview in which the purpose is to select a person for employment or membership within an organization.

Self

Focus of the interviewee on the interviewee during a counseling interview.

Self-analysis

A careful, thorough, and insightful analysis of self an applicant conducts prior to taking part in interviews.

Rejection then retreat

The persuader retreats to a second or fallback option if the interviewee rejects the preferred proposal.

Relational

An interpersonal connection between two parties or persons.

Relational dimensions

Critical dimensions such as similarity, inclusion, affection, and trust that determine the nature of relationships.

Relational distance

The closeness of the relationship between interview parties.

Relational history

The past, present, and future connections between two parties or persons.

Relational memory

What interview parties remember from previous encounters with one another.