Cognitive interview conducted in-person and over-the-phone for informants' memory of overheard conversations

The current study examined the Cognitive Interview (CI) for eliciting information about an overheard conversation (planning a future crime). Interviews were conducted either in-person or via telephone. The CI elicited more information, and at a comparable accuracy level, in comparison to a structured interview (SI). The efficacy of the CI was not significantly influenced by whether the interview was conducted in-person or via telephone. It took more time to conduct the CI than the SI. Finally, various measures of efficiency showed that the CI was as or more efficient than the SI. Suggestions are offered about adapting the CI for telephone interviews.