1. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES No4
Key informant interviews
I - What is a key informant interview?
• The term “Key Informant” refers to a person who can provide detailed information and
opinions on a particular subject based on his/her knowledge of this particular issue.
Example: If you need information on how project activities have influenced the
use of water resources in the community, key informants could be the leaders of
a Water Users’ Groups.
• Key informants can be young or old, and from a variety of socio-economic or ethnic
groups.
• Key informant interviews are open-ended, semi-structured interviews. Every interview
should have clear objectives in terms of what kind of information is needed and how
this information will be used.
• The output of a key informant interview is a textual description of a situation, guided by
standard questions.
II- When do I need to conduct key informants’ interviews?
• Key informant interviews are tools that will help you develop an in-depth understanding
on qualitative issues.
• Often, key informant interviews are used to gather qualitative information that will be
used to “triangulate”1 the findings of other types of evaluation methods.
Example: If a recent survey showed that 80% of members or Farmers Groups are
not satisfied with project services, you can organize key informant interviews to
understand exactly what is wrong with project services.
• While there are other qualitative evaluation tools (e.g. Focus Group Discussions), key
informant interviews are best used if you think that some type of information can only
be obtained in a context of full confidentiality.
Example: In order to understand why 80% of members or Farmers Groups are
not satisfied with project services, interviewing key informants (e.g. reputable
leaders of Farmer Groups) may be better than organizing Focus Group
Discussions as farmers may be too shy to express their views in public or in front
of their leaders.
• Key informant interviews are also helpful to obtain suggestions and recommendations
from key informants. They may provide a basis to explore new ideas that were never
discussed before.
1
In social sciences, triangulation means that more than two methods are used in a study with a view to
double (or triple) checking results. This is also called "cross examination

2. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES No4 - Key informant interviews
III - Limitations of key informant interviews
• Information obtained can be biased if the key informant was not properly selected. Key
informants are not necessary among village elites or leaders; a key informant can also be
a simple farmer who is known to be smart, respected and outspoken.
• Results of key informant interviews will not necessary be representative of what the
entire community thinks and they may overlook the perspectives of community
members who are less visible. Again, this stresses the importance of careful selection of
key informants.
• The information that you will get will provide very little basis for quantification. This is
why such method should be used in conjunction with surveys.
• Open-ended information is more difficult and time-consuming to synthesize well
enough to obtain clear results. Also, it can be difficult to keep interviews focused,
making different interviews difficult to compare properly.
• Key informant interviews are also usually more difficult to conduct and require more
skills from the interviewer, needs to be well prepared and well informed in order to get
the most out of the interview.
• Key informant interviews are also susceptible to interviewer’s biases, as the interviewer
may only pick up information that confirms his/her preconceived ideas.
IV –Before going to the field
• Identify the discussion topics for which you need answers. The number and kinds of
topics to discuss with key informants will depend on the time and resources available
• For each discussion topic, prepare an interview guide. Interview guides are composed of
(i) name of interviewer and key informant, location and date, (ii) brief description of the
objectives of the interview, (iii) list of questions for the key informant with blank space
to write the answers, (iv) blank space for general comments by the interviewer(s). The
questions should be such that interviewees can express opinions through discussion. A
logical sequence of the questions should help the discussion flow. See examples of
questions in section V.
• For each discussion topic, determine how many interviews are required (usually 3-4 per
discussion topic).
• Identify the key informants. This is usually done by:
(i) Identifying the relevant groups from which key informants may be drawn (e.g.
Water Users Associations).
(ii) Consulting several knowledgeable persons (e.g. village leaders, field workers,
project staff) who will help you select your key informants. For each discussion
topic, be sure to interview a mix of people (of different ages, ethnicity, religious
affiliation, educational level).

3. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES No4 - Key informant interviews
(iii) Prepare the final list of key informants; but be ready to add additional key
informants once you have started the interviews (it often happens that during
an interview with a key informant, a name of a new key informant may be
suggested).
In most cases, 15 to 35 key informants are sufficient for most studies, or even
less if key informant interviews are combined with other methods.
• Train interviewers to ensure that they understand the purpose and develop the proper
skills (how to encourage discussion, taking accurate and useful notes, etc.). Training
needs to address team preparation, interview context, selection of key informant,
sensitive listening, sensitive questioning, judging responses, recording the interview and
self-critical review.
• Pre-test the interview guides to make sure that the questions are appropriate and
accurate enough, and that the answers permit useful analysis. Pre-testing provides an
opportunity to determine whether wording of the questions is appropriate, whether
questions elicit discussion, and to identify questions that are not easily understood. Pre-
testing can be conducted during the training of enumerators.
V – Data collection: how to conduct a key informant’s interview
• At arrival in each village, talk to the village leader to present the work being conducted
and ask for permission to interview village members.
• When you start the interview with the key informant, introduce yourself, the project (if
needed) and explain the purpose of the interview. Be sure the informant understands
the purpose of the interview and what you intend to do with the information you will
receive from him/her.
• A good introduction will gain the interest and cooperation of the respondent without
biasing the respondent’s answers. Emphasize the fact that the interview results will
remain confidential (in the sense that the name of the informant will not be associated
with answers collected).
• As in focus group discussions, key informant interviews are best conducted by two
people, one leading the discussion and the other taking note. Accurate note taking is
particularly important to make analysis and interpretation possible.
• A good interviewer will have the following abilities:
o A good listener who shows neutrality and does not share his/her own views
on the subject
o Familiarity with the issue discussed, so as to be able to ask additional,
unanticipated questions if required.
o A person who is able to seek clarifications and elaboration on initial
responses provided while maintaining a conversational tone so as to avoid
that the informant feels interrogated, judged or misunderstood.

4. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES No4 - Key informant interviews
VI - Data analysis and reporting
• The performance questions of your project must guide the analysis, ie. you should refer
to them when you report the results of the interviews.
• The analysis is basically a consolidation of summaries of the interviews. For each
discussion topic, a short report (2-3 pages) should be produced, showing the most
important elements to take into consideration for project management. When the same
topic was discussed both in focus group and key informant interview, compile the
findings in the same report.
• Proper note taking during the interview will facilitate the analysis. It is also a good idea
to sit down right after each interview and put your thoughts on paper: a summary, your
impressions of the key informant’s feelings, and anything else that seems relevant.

5. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES No4 - Key informant interviews
EXAMPLE – FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING THE KEY INFORMANT QUESTIONNAIRE
Topic and key Objective Suggested questions
informant
Assess whether shocks or • What shocks have affected the population of the
other activities not related to village during the past 12 months? (drought,
the project have had a floods, crop pests and disease, livestock diseases,
1 – External factors significant impact of the food sudden lack or loss of employment, unusually high
affecting food security security of the population in level of human disease , fire, high costs of
during the last 12 the village agricultural inputs, earthquake, thefts, conflict,
etc.)
months
• How have these shocks affected agricultural
Village leader or any
production/income?
individual who lived in
the village during the • Which categories of households were the most
past 12 months affected (e.g. farmers, pastoralist, female-headed
household…)?
• What are the other effects on food security at
household and community level?
2 - Natural resources Assess whether NR activities • Since when is the group functional?
management are having the intended
• How many members are active?
impact on livelihoods of the
Member of the NRM community • What are the problems encountered?
group, or person in
charge of NRM Identify problems and find • How can NRM activities be improved?
solutions for improvement
3 - Infrastructure Understand whether • Condition of existing infrastructure? (roads,
management infrastructure are effectively schools, drinking water, transport, irrigation,
managed and respond to the communication, sanitation)
Person in charge of needs of the community
managing/maintaining • Who benefits from this infrastructure?
the infrastructure Identify ways for
• How has the infrastructure changed the living
improvement
conditions of the beneficiaries?
• Do people pay fees or taxes to use this
infrastructure?
• Are people satisfied with the infrastructure ?
4 – Microfinance Better understand who • When was the group formed and is it currently
benefits from microfinance operational? Why, why not?
Head of the saving services (targeting)
/credit group, or any • Who are the members?
member of the group Identify problems
• What are the problems encountered and how can
with active involvement these be overcome?
5 – Markets Assess whether access to • Roads constructed or rehabilitated? Functioning?
market has improved in the
Person responsible for • Use of the road?
community, identify problems
market management / Market and storage facilities? Processing
and constraints •
market information facilities?
system
• Markets used by whom and how?
6 – Social Understand if the • Is the infrastructure currently used by the
infrastructure constructed by community?

6. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES No4 - Key informant interviews
infrastructure the project is effectively • How?
managed and used
Person responsible for • If not, why?
managing the social • Do you think it will continue to operate after the
infrastructure project? Why, why not?
User of the social
infrastructure
7 - Empowerment of Identify ways for better • What is the role of the organization in the
grassroots institutions empowering grassroots community?
institutions
Member/leader of • Do you have decision power in…?
grassroots organization Identify constraints and
• What does empowerment mean to you? How
challenges
would this translate in the reality of your
organization? Is this the case? What are the
constraints and challenges?
• Have activities of the project had an impact of the
way you organization is working for the
community?
Links:
Tips for conducting key informant interviews: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABS541.pdf
WFP technical guidance sheet on qualitative data analysis:
http://www.wfp.org/content/technical-guidance-sheet-no9-qualitative-data-collection-and-
analysis-food-security-assessments