Cognitive interview evaluation

• LIMITATION

  • CI is time-consuming
  • Kebell et al surveyed UK police officers, and they expressed their concerns with the amount of time the interview takes and the special training to administer it
  • may not always be a practical method to employ
  • in reality police may not have time or the funding for CI
• LIMITATION

  • some elements of CI may be more valuable than others
  • Milne and Bull found that a combination of Report everything and Context reinstatement produced better recall than any of the other techniques
  • so these 2 elements should at least be used
  • this casts doubts on the credibility of the whole interview
• STRENGTH

  • strong evidence from a meta-analysis by Kohnken for the effectiveness of the enhanced CI
  • found through combined data from 50 studies that the enhanced CI consistently provided more correct information than the standard interview used by police
  • real practical benefits
• LIMITATION

  • CI may not be suitable for all interviewees
  • Geiselman reviewed several studies and concluded that the age of the witness is a factor to consider when deciding when to use the interview
  • CI worked less well for ages under 6, because they might find the instructions hard to understand
  • children are less articulate and may need more questioning than a CI, so this limits the applicability of the technique