4 key themes to review
1- effectiveness of various components of CI
2- relationship between CI and other methods
3- different measures of memory performance on findings
4- interviewer variables and effects of training quality
Effectiveness of CI interview components
Which component is the most effective? 1 way to know is isolating each component and testing them individually
Milne found no difference across the effectiveness of each component but the whole procedure resulted in higher recall than any of the components alone
Relationship between CI and other methods
The standard interview is not a standardised set of procedures, so it is impossible to compare it with the CI as they differ too much.
Trained interviewers may be more motivated than others, or less trained than others
Different measures of memory performance and effect on findings
The majority of studies of memory performance in terms of a % of correct statements or number of correct and incorrect statements
Measures of memory need to consider that the CI may change an interviewee's understanding of what the interviewer wants from them
Interviewer variables and effects of training quality on interviewer performance
The amount of training that interviewers are given vary from study to study
Cognitive interviewers said doing a CI = demanding and exhausting, more so than an SI, and it may produce more errors
Individual differences and prior experience need to be taken into account
Conclusions
We still need to research the CI further, establishing the appropriate comparison groups and suitable memory measures
Individual differences still are a significant challenge for researchers
Evaluation
High ecological validity but using fake events in interviews causes ethical issues