-65 • Thematising – Formulating the purpose of the interview • Designing – Preparation of questions, planning the concrete steps and considering the ethical implications of the inquiry • Interviewing – Conducting the interview with control over knowledge and ethics96 • Transcribing – Full transcription or otherwise transferring of the oral speech to written text • Analysing – Deciding on the basis of the goal and the quality of the interview how exactly it contributes to the inquiry • Verifying – Ascertaining the validity and reliability of the findings • Reporting – Communicating the findings and the methods applied Each of these stages involves ethical issues. In addition, there are some ethical imperatives at the start of the interview which must be considered in each case. These include a clear statement of the mandate of the monitor and its limitations, a statement of the purpose of the interview, information about the extent to which information will remain confidential, obtaining informed consent, and reminders that the respondent may skip a question they do not want to answer or withdraw from the interview at any time. At the stages of thematising and designing, the key ethical issue to be considered are the consequences for the respondents for participating in the entire exercise. At the stage of interviewing, the main ethical considerations should be reassuring and providing an empathetic approach at all times, avoiding behaviour which is demanding, insincere and patronizing, and consideration of how critically the respondent may be questioned in view of the goals of the interview on the one hand, and his/her vulnerability on the other. At the stage of transcribing and analysing, the main concern should be the extent to which the text and the analysis remain loyal to the respondent’s oral statements. At the stage of reporting, consideration should be given to respecting the confidentiality of the source and the vulnerable group to which he/she belongs. Recording the interview with a person in a situation of vulnerability in detention may pose a specific challenge. The interest of the interviewer is 96. See next subsection for more details on the practice of interviewing. Prisoners in a Situation of Vulnerability